Afghan constitutional convention paralysed by deep ethnic split

national post | 01/01/04 | STEPHEN GRAHAM

[mylife]

Afghan constitutional convention paralysed by deep ethnic split

STEPHEN GRAHAM Canadian Press

Thursday, January 01, 2004

Afghan loya jirga delegates line up Thursday in Kabul to vote for a new constitution. (AP/Aijaz Rahi)

CREDIT: (AP/Aijaz Rahi)

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KABUL (AP) - Afghanistan's marathon constitutional convention has been adjourned until Saturday in a desperate bid to reach a consensus amid a boycott by opponents of U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai.

The decision, taken Thursday after scores of delegates refused to take part in a vote on several amendments to the draft charter, was the latest setback for the historic gathering, which has already been marred by acrimony and a dangerous ethnic rift.

Opponents were particularly angry over Karzai's insistence on the creation of a strong presidency, which they say could shut minorities out of the halls of power.

Officials said more than half of the 502 members of the loya jirga cast their ballots in voting Thursday - enough to make the results binding. But after hours of behind-the-scenes wrangling, the meeting was called off until Saturday to allow more time to seek a compromise.

Karzai insists a simple majority of those voting is enough to pass the charter, but most observers recognize that a constitution that doesn't win wide-ranging support will hamstring the country as it seeks to put two decades of devastating conflict behind it.

The grand council, or loya jirga, has spent well over two weeks feuding over the charter in a huge tent on a Kabul college campus. It is open ended, but officials had predicted it would be over long ago.

Having failed to broker a consensus among the country's fractious ethnic groups, council leaders read out a list of proposed amendments Thursday morning, and urged the delegates to finally make some decisions.

"We've had enough speeches," said council chairman Sibghatullah Mujaddedi. "Let's start voting."

Some delegates quickly followed the call, lining up to place their ballots in one of 10 boxes decorated with the black, green and red of the Afghan flag.

But some 200 remained rooted to their chairs.

Karim Khalili, a Karzai deputy and ethnic Hazara faction leader, pleaded with delegates to take part, but he was shouted down.

Mahsa Toyie, a Tajik delegate from Herat, accused the government of trying to impose an unfair draft on small minorities.

"This constitution is not for one tribe, it is for the whole country," she said.

A draft presented by the government in November foresaw a tolerant Islamic state under the firm control of a centralized presidency.

Karzai appears to have persuaded a majority at the council that the country needs clear leadership as it recovers from more than two decades of fighting.

But his support comes mainly from his Pashtun kinsmen, producing a split from smaller groups from the north who helped the United States oust the mainly Pashtun Taliban two years ago.

Northern leaders such as Burhanuddin Rabbani, a Tajik who was president during Afghanistan's ruinous 1992-96 civil war, have warned that Karzai's plans could one day lead to a dictatorship and spark new conflict.

Delegates voted Thursday on whether provincial councils should have the power to propose candidates for governor, and if seats in parliament should be reserved for women and members of minority nomadic communities.

It was unclear when votes on more than a dozen other amendments, including critical motions on presidential powers and the status of minority languages would be held.

Council leaders said a hotly disputed proposal for the national anthem to be sung in Dari, the Farsi-related lingua franca of much of the country, as well as Pashto, hadn't drawn enough signatures.

Several delegates expressed frustration at the ominous tone of the debate in a country racked by ethnic suspicion.

Ashmat Ghani, a prominent Pashtun delegate and the brother of the country's finance minister, accused some leaders of manipulating the ethnic issue.

"Do not call us Pashtun, Uzbek, Hazara," said Ghani. "There are family relations between all groups."

He said some Uzbeks backed Pashto as the language of the national anthem. On the other hand, he said: "I'm happy for my son to go to school and learn several of the languages of my country."

[mylife]

Suprise! The tribal nature of Afghanistan is a problem for unification.

[U S Army EOD]

I'm just plain out shocked to learn this could happen between a bunch of Arabs.

[expatpat]

They're not Arabs -- but, other than that, the sense of your post remains valid.

[U S Army EOD]

I know Iranians aren't but I thought Afgans were, but then I remembered that they are basically their own race. There is actually some thought they may be the decendents of Alexander the Great's army. Have you ever heard that theory?

[ellery]

Oh, this is no different than the major problem our founding fathers faced -- the balance of power between states (provinces, tribes) and the federal govt. May I suggest federalism as a solution?

[mylife]

May I suggest federalism as a solution?

Yes you may.

[ellery]

Excellent. I suggest federalism as a solution. :)