Posted on 06/09/2002 10:55:13 PM PDT by HAL9000
KABUL, Afghanistan, Jun 10, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- The loya jirga, the grand council called to organize a new government and give war-weary Afghans hope for a peaceful future, was in trouble even before it was to begin Monday.The 1,550 delegates, among them 200 women, were to convene Monday morning to begin the task of electing a head of state, deciding the framework of the transitional government and naming ministers to key posts. The new government will lead for 18 months pending elections.
Late Sunday, however, diplomatic sources said the opening session had been postponed until mid-afternoon because of differences over the future role of the former king, Mohammad Zaher Shah, who is to convene the loya jirga.
The former northern alliance, which wields most of the power in the current interim administration but is dominated by ethnic minorities, opposes any formal role for Zaher Shah in the next government.
Zaher Shah, who returned to his homeland last April after 29 years in exile, has been touted as the man who can unify Afghanistan, fractured by decades of war that has given rise to bitter ethnic differences.
Ethnic Tajiks, who dominate the former northern alliance, are in power today and Afghanistan's largest community, the Pashtuns, has been largely sidelined because it is the ethnic group of the deposed Taliban.
Since the Taliban were driven from power last year by the United States and its northern alliance allies, many Pashtuns have complained of discrimination and brutality at the hands of the Tajiks.
A truck driver from eastern Afghanistan, Gul Mohammed, pulled back his shirt to show his bruises. He held up an empty money pouch, complaining he had been robbed by ethnic Tajiks in uniform who stopped him as part of security for the loya jirga.
"They said 'What can you do? We will say you are Taliban,"' Mohammed said.
When the Taliban ruled, they sidelined the country's minority ethnic groups too. Before them, the Tajiks squandered their first opportunity at rule when they sidelined ethnic Pashtuns after the pro-Communist government collapsed in 1992.
"People say they have learned their lessons, but they haven't learned any lessons. Everyone just wants power. Now they will try to hold on to power, and there will be fighting - again," sighed Musa Jan, a businessman in Kabul. "We want the loya jirga to get rid of all these leaders. We want new ones."
Many Afghans say they want the former king because there was peace in Afghanistan during his 40-year rule that ended in 1973 when he was deposed by his cousin Mohammed Daoud.
Although an ethnic Pashtun, his popularity appears to cross all ethnic lines. Although he said he wanted no official role, he never ruled one out.
In an interview in Rome with The Associated Press in April, Zaher Shah said: "I will carry out any role or mission the people of Afghanistan wish to bestow on me."
Asked whether he would accept a restoration of the monarchy, he replied: "I cannot say no."
A random sampling of delegates shows support for the king.
"We think the king is the best man to come to power," said Lal Aga, a delegate from Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan. In Kabul, Shahzad Khan, a truck driver, warned of new fighting among Afghanistan's ethnic groups if the new government - like the old - is dominated by northern alliance factions.
"If the cabinet is the same, then why spend all this money on the loya jirga?" asked businessman Sher Mohammed, himself an ethnic Tajik. "Why not spend it on fixing the streets?"
Procedures and rules for the loya jirga are as fluid and uncertain as the future of the country itself.
As of Sunday night, it was still unclear whether votes will be by a show of hands or secret ballot. It was not even certain whether there will be a single head of state and government or whether the positions will be divided.
"God willing, we will be witnessing the loya jirga - the great manifestation of the will of the Afghan people," said Ismail Qasim Yar, chairman of the commission that organized the meeting.
However, the process has already been tainted by accusations of influence peddling, attempts to buy delegates and the addition of 50 new delegates chosen to accommodate demands of some powerful warlords who had first been excluded.
"As hard, difficult, complicated, sometimes frustrating as the job has been these past couple months, the real work will start on Monday," said Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. special representative to Afghanistan.
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
Afghan Loya Jirga Postponed for Several Hour
KABUL, Jun 10, 2002 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Emergency Loya Jirga in Afghanistan, which is expected to open at local time 8 a.m. (GMT 0330), is postponed till 3 p.m. (GMT 1030), a staff working for the press center of the Loya Jirga told Xinhua on Monday.
He did not give any reason for the delay.
The Loya Jirga is derived from the model of the tribal jirga ( council) which has been used over centuries by villagers to make decisions on crucial community issues.
The first Loya Jirga meeting, which is regarded as the birth of contemporary Afghanistan, was held in 1747 when Ahmad Shah Durrani was elected as the king.
Copyright 2002 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY.
APNewsAlertJun 10, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghanistan's loya jirga meeting, scheduled to open Monday, likely to be delayed 24 hours, Foreign Ministry spokesman says.
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
Last week, he should have been getting prepared to start the Loya Jirga today.
Instead, he was up in Ireland meeting with Bill Clinton and Bono.
Loya jirga meeting, scheduled to open Monday, likely to be delayed a day
KABUL, Afghanistan, Jun 10, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Afghanistan's loya jirga meeting, scheduled to open Monday to choose a transitional government for the next 18 months, was likely to be delayed a day, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Beset by rivalries but seen by many as the country's best hope for the future, the grand council meeting has drawn more than 1,500 delegates from around the country.
"(Ismail) Qasim Yar thinks it will be delayed 24 hours," Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad said, referring to the loya jirga commission head.
The surprise announcement followed late-night negotiations over the role of the troubled country's former king, Mohammad Zaher Shah. Leaders of the northern alliance who dominate the interim regime want no role for the ex-monarch, while there have been reports that others within the administration and delegates to the loya jirga want him to play a significant role.
Diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, cited reports that Mohammad Arif, the country's intelligence chief and a key northern alliance leader, sent armed men into the tightly guarded loya jirga compound, where delegates were waiting for the meeting to open.
There were concerns that they were sent in as a sign of control by minority Tajiks, who currently hold the key Cabinet portifolios of defense, interior and foreign ministry.
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
See this link - Massive secrecy shouds big name summit - June 7, 2002
Also see this link - Clinton traveling to Dublin for "private summit of current and former world leaders" - June 2, 2002.
Not sure I like all this secret meetings stuff. Then add Bubba to the mix.. and it gets even scarier. He is probably trying to figure out a way to do a Coupe (sp) on Bush!!
Oh boy.. anyway.. late. I best hit it. Nite and thanks for the pics and info.
Zahir: I am ready to head government
Kabul | By Behroz Khan | 10-06-2002
The historic Loya Jirga kicks off here today, following the first-ever public expression by Afghanistan's former king Mohammed Zahir Shah that he is ready to head the new government if called upon to do so.
The brief statement from Zahir Shah was telecast on Kabul television on Saturday night in which, the former monarch said that he and his son, Ahmad Shah Zahir, were willing to shoulder any responsibility entrusted to them by the Loya Jirga.
Observers believe that the former king's statement may bring about a radical shift in the political alignments within the Loya Jirga, complicating the situation for all other candidates including the incumbent chairman of the interim administration, Hamid Karzai.
Earlier in the day, Shah announced that he had thrown his support behind interim ruler Hamid Karzai, who is widely expected to be named leader of the next government at this week's Loya Jirga or grand assembly.
"He no doubt considers Karzai as the right person to head the transitional period," the former monarch's spokesman Amin Sediq had said. Amin also said the former king was not a candidate for leader.
"His majesty has said that he has not come for power, but let me repeat that the decision lies with the delegates and he has said that he would honour whatever role people want him to have in the government."
Tight security arrangements have been made in Kabul, especially on the roads leading to the venue of the Loya Jirga involving hundreds of personnel from the International Security Assistance force ( ISAF), local police and the newly-trained Afghan National Guards.
Although, fears and speculations persists about the smooth completion of Jirga process, there is general air of optimism among the war weary Afghans on the streets of Kabul as well as the delegates of the Jirga.
"I am happy that the Jirga is being convened. We will have the opportunity to speak our mind without fears or favour," said Haji Ahmad Khan a delegate from South-eastern Paktika province of Afghanistan.
"I have no idea that this country had any such Loya Jirga in its history. There was no such elected representation in the past," said Manuel De Almeida, spokesman for United Nations assistance Mission in Afghanistan ( UNOMA).
Meanwhile, the 21-member Commission for Loya Jirga was still busy finalising the names of the delegates and rules and procedure for the historic event. Almeida said that the inaugural session of the Loya Jirga may be delayed owing to the late arrivals of the delegates from remote areas of the country and other logistic arrangements.
He admitted that the election process could not take place in 21 districts in 11 provinces due to local problems and the commission had to nominate 33 delegates from these areas. Over 1,500 delegates are expected to attend the Loya Jirga from all over Afghanistan.
Three delegates from Pakistan's tribal areas have been given representation and invited to Kaul to attend the Jirga. Malik Darya Khan Zakhakhel (from Khyber Agency), Mian Shah Jehan (from Bajaur Agency) and Haji Ahmed Jan (from Mohmand Agency) are the three elected tribal delegates while Haji Khan Gul (from Kurram Agency) has been invited as observer. Islamabad has not reacted to the participation of tribal chieftains in the jirga.
German Technical Organisation (GTZ) has provided 2,800 sq meters tent, having a capacity for 2000 participants. The big white-colour tent has been installed in the premises of the Polytechnic Institute.
Similarly, a number of other UN affiliated agencies are also hosting delegates from all over the country.
The last recognised Loya Jirga meeting was held in 1977 when late Sardar Mohammed Daud Khan was in power after overthrowing his cousin Zahir Shah as king in a bloodless coup in 1973. The Loya Jirga made its debut in 1707 during the reign of Pashtun ruler Mirwais Khan Hotaki.
Emergency Loya Jirga meetings were also held during the Anglo-Afghan wars in 1841 and 1880 respectively. This will be the third emergency Loya Jirga, that is international recognised.
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