On April 28, 1978, the president of AfghanistanMohammed Downd Han, is murdered with dozens of members of his family at the Kabul Presidential Palace during a military coup that was known as Surly Revolution. This was brought to power by the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), marking the beginning of a series of events that were to eventually lead to the Soviet invasion of 1979 and decades of civil conflict.
Downd Han, a member of the royal family and former prime minister, had risen to power in 1973 with a coup against his cousin, King Zahir Sach, by overthrowing the monarchy and establishing the first Afghan Republic. He initially worked with PDPA, a Marxist party with a strong presence in state mechanisms, especially in the army and security services. However, this relationship quickly turned into rivalry. Downd attempted to weaken communistsby removing them from key positions and suppressing their action.
The tension culminated in April 1978, when Mir Akbar Kaibara prominent PDPA executive, was assassinated under uncertain circumstances. His funeral evolved into a massive demonstration, which was particularly concerned about the government. A few days later the authorities proceeded to arrests of party leaders. Army officers, organized through the PDPA lines, fearing the party’s total dislocation, were immediately mobilized. On the morning of April 27, a coordinated attack on strategic targets in Kabul began using armor and air units.
Within about 24 hours, the coup d’etat had occupied the capital. The next day, units invaded the Presidential Palace and They murdered Downd and almost all members of his family. PDPA was taken over by the establishment of the People’s Republic of Afghanistan, which hired a Marxist-Leninist state with strong links with the Soviet Union.
Volatility and loss of control by the PDPA government led to Soviet military intervention in December 1979.
The new government proceeded to extensive reforms In the field of agricultural economy, education and women’s rights while attempted to limit the power of local tribes and religious leaders. These reforms, however, were treated with disbelief and sometimes with open hostility by large parts of the population, especially in the countryside, where social and cultural structures were deeply traditional. The resistance was rapidly organized and led to a revolt, which evolved into a large -scale civil war. Volatility and loss of control by the PDPA government led to Soviet military intervention in December 1979.
April 28 remained in Afghanistan’s historical memory as a date with multiple symbols. In 1992, exactly 14 years after the assassination of Daund Han, Islamic organizations of Mujahedin occupied Kabul, overturning the Communist government of Mohammed Najiboulah. Since, The day is honored as “Mujahedin’s Victory Day” by political and religious currents that see the defeat of the Communists as liberation. However, Mujahedin’s prevalence did not mean the end of conflict. Their factions soon turned against each other, sinking the country into a new cycle of bloody confrontation, which eventually resulted in the rise of the Taliban.
The revolution of Saur, though only two days, caused long -term turmoil inside and international positions of Afghanistan. The political change of April 1978 was not only an internal coup, but an event-catalyst for the involvement of foreign forces in the area, with consequences that shape the modern history of Afghanistan to this day.
Column: Myrto Katsiera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigoni-Despina Poumenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
