20 years after his assassination in Afghanistan, a tribute to Commander Massoud in Paris
Audio 01:09
The city of Paris now has an avenue of the Champs-Elysées gardens in the name of Ahmed Chah Massoud.
A plaque inaugurated by the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo.
The Afghan commander, a figure of the resistance against the Taliban, was assassinated by al-Qaida in 2001. AFP - CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Almost 20 years after the assassination of Commander Massoud, “
an eternal figure of resistance
” in Afghanistan, a Parisian alley was named after him on Saturday March 27 by the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, in the presence of his son Ahmad Massoud.
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Report by
Louis Augry
Commander Massoud built his reputation as a military genius from the mountains of his native Pandshir region.
Against the Soviets first, then against the Taliban.
A fight he led, also on the front of ideas against religious extremism.
As his son Ahmad Massoud recalled
“
Commander Massoud was the manifestation and embodiment of wisdom and progressive Islam.
He was firmly against dogmatic and extremist ideas.
He defended the rights of all people, regardless of their race, religion or gender
”.
In the ideal of a peaceful Afghanistan, the Lion of the Pandshir was one of the first to approach the Taliban to consider negotiations without ever denying its primary values of freedom, as the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo reminds us:
"
Commander Massoud's fight is the fight for freedom, the fight also for the rights of women, the question of their freedom, of their liberation, the question of their rights is at the heart of your fight because it at the heart of freedoms and that it is at the heart of democracies
”.
Nearly 20 after his assassination, Commander Massoud now has a plaque in his name in Paris, it is the first tribute of this type paid to him in a Western country.
Allée du Commandant Massoud in the heart of the 8th arrondissement of @Paris @Anne_Hidalgo @ AhmadMassoud01 @BHL @CBeaune @jdHAUTESERRE https://t.co/gI1jtWmtVD
- Arnaud Ngatcha (@ ANgatcha9) March 27, 2021
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