VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Eid Day celebration has given a special blessing for the people of Afghanistan. A glimmer of hope for peace arises in a country that continues to be engulfed in armed conflict. Since Sunday, when Muslims around the world celebrated Eid, the Afghan government and the Taliban have carried out a planned ceasefire for three days. This meant stopping, though temporarily, a civil war that had lasted for 19 years. With this, the Afghan people can enjoy a happy atmosphere on the festive Eid day.

Marking the truce, the Afghan government releases 100 Taliban prisoners. The policy was in response to the implementation of a ceasefire on the second day of Eid. Afghan National Security Council spokesman Javod Faisal even said, there was a possibility of the release of up to 2000 Afghan prisoners. The government also stated, as a form of ceasefire there would be 100 prisoners released every day. That seems to be a signal for the initiative to negotiate.

A ceasefire that holds back firefighting and bombings certainly makes the people of the country happy because they can celebrate Eid peacefully and happily, just like other Muslims in a country not hit by civil war or armed conflict. Before the ceasefire, as a sign of good will, the government released at least 1,000 prisoners, while the Taliban released 300 detained government troops.

In a joint statement, the ceasefire in Afghanistan was immediately welcomed by at least five countries including Indonesia. The other four are Germany, Norway, Qatar and Uzbekistan.

The truce in Afghanistan has caused joy among people in Afghanistan. After years of living in conflict, they really long for peace. Moreover, this seems to provide new hope for the people of Afghanistan, especially young people, teenagers and children, who during the conflict seemed to have no future.

The question is then, to what extent are the leaders, both within the Government and the Taliban, able to control hostility? The fact that a ceasefire was previously carried out and did not end in peace, could have been repeated after Eid.