Interview: Rejected Afghan Culture Minister Tells What's Next

Makhdum Rahin: I have to tell you that regardless of the vote of the friends [members of parliament], I feel proud of my very valuable service to Afghanistan's mass media, culture, and art.
 
RFE/RL: So, why did the lawmakers refuse to allow you back to your office? Do you have some shortcoming?
 
Rahin: I think all tribal and nontribal extremists from different ethnic groups probably do not agree with me because I took a very sober yet strict path regarding all ethnic and religious issues.
 
RFE/RL: Could you recall the successful things you accomplished during your ministerial term?
 
Rahin: I will summarize my activities in one sentence: the things that occurred during the last four and a half years in the Afghan Information and Culture Ministry are unprecedented in the last half a century.
 
RFE/RL: What exactly have you done?
 
Rahin: To be precise, I have to tell you that the steps taken by the ministry towards the freedom of expression and its institutionalization -- even if we had to take some risky moves -- are unprecedented for this country.
 
RFE/RL: What are your plans for the future now that you are no longer a minister?
 
Rahin: I teach at Kabul University and will keep working there. And my cultural and media activities will not be interrupted as they have been ongoing for the last 20 years.