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Afghanistan this Week

Paul | 03.07.2004 12:47 | London | Oxford

A Bush success story. Disarmament much slower than expected. Postponed elections openly been talked about. Only presidential elections this year, may be. Increase in security violence (people being killed and disabled);most probably not Taliban. I have given a short personal account and then a few articles to brouse.

Afghanistan this Week

NATO has promised another 2,000 troops but only to the relatively stable north of the country.

Disarmament is much slower than promised. Each combatant who handed in a weapon was given $200 in two installments. Unfortunately often commanders waited outside, had them beaten and the money taken from them. Instead of giving them the money in smaller amounts or as a supplement to jobs they are helped to obtain it was decided to stop giving them the $200 completely. This of course meant that the deal had been broken by those implementing disarmament and trust lost. Now they are thinking of reversing the decision after a few riots but still the trust has been badly damaged.

It is dubious that all the attacks are by the Taliban. I had dinner recently with a media friend of mine who came here 35 years ago as a hippy and stayed. He speaks all the local languages fluently and has seen Afghanistan under the Taliban who he knew well and did not find as bad as the Northern Alliance. He points out that the old Taliban such as Mullah Omar are keeping quiet instead of claiming responsibility and suspects most of the attacks are not Taliban but every attack is reported as Taliban because it suits the government’s and US purpose instead of reporting insurgence from a variety of groups for a variety of reasons. For example 11 Chinese workers were killed in the north. It was not very sensitive, with high unemployment, to bring foreign labourers into Afghanistan. The construction company was asked for $50 a day protection money and when it was not given the men were killed. Another story but uncorroborated is concerning the killing of the 16 men in the south who were killed after they were found to have registration cards for the soon to come elections. The story I heard was that some months ago a local commander wanted a boy from a village (sex with boys is very common in the south especially) and the community refused leading to a gun battle. The commander called in the Americans saying they were fighting Taliban. The Americans bombed and the relatives of those who died are the ones trying to derail the election process in their area. I do not know if this is true but old hand here say it has the ring of truth.

The glut of opium has meant that the prices have dropped and in some areas it is more profitable to grow vegetables. The good old capitalist supply and demand. So what would be the effect of legalizing opium?

Members of the transitional government are now talking openly about the second postponement of the elections. Something everyone knew long ago. It now looks as if they will be in mid October. Any later will be impossible because of snow in the central highlands. They are also now openly talking of only having presidential elections this year and parliamentary next year. This is again anyone working in elections here could have predicted months ago and did.

Choose a few attached articles to look at.

All best,

Paul

Paul

Comments

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al jazeera report

03.07.2004 20:59

196K doc above is an 8 page security report for violent incidents in one afghan week. worth reading.

also, al jazeera:

.....

Afghan polls may be delayed again

Thursday 01 July 2004,

There are 22 political parties registered to field candidates


Afghanistan's landmark democratic elections due in September look set to be delayed again as political parties have refused to agree on a date for the polls.

The presidential and parliamentary polls were originally scheduled for June but were delayed until September for logistical reasons.

Now 20 of the 22 political parties registered to contest the elections could not agree on a final date for the poll, said Joint Electoral Management Body head Faruq Wardak.

Under Afghan law, the Joint Electoral Management Body that is organising the election must consult with political parties, the government and other interested groups before the poll date is decided.

Mixed views

Thirteen of the parties want to delay the polls, four want both presidential and parliamentary polls held in September or October, and three want presidential elections this year but the parliamentary vote to be delayed, Wardak said.

Wardak said he expected the date for the election to be announced "in a week's time".

Meanwhile, there have been several killings in a series of violent incidents across the country.

Members of the ousted Taliban government said they cut the throat of a Muslim cleric Maulawi Asad Allah after they discovered him propagating Christianity.

The group warned foreign aid workers they would face similar treatment if they did the same.

Evidence

Taliban spokesman Abd al-Latif Hakimi said the cleric was killed in the remote Awdand district of Ghazni province on Wednesday.

"We have enough evidence and local accounts to prove that he was involved in the conversion of Muslims to Christianity," he said.

In eastern Afghanistan, three more people died after being injured in two bomb blasts in Jalalabad, bringing to four the number of fatalities from the attacks, an official said.

Bombs were detonated on Wednesday at two security posts in Jalalabad city, close to the border with Pakistan.

In southeastern Zabul province, four suspected Taliban insurgents were killed after they attacked a unit of Afghan commandos, a senior official said.

Six Taliban suspects were captured and an Afghan soldier was injured in the attack on Wednesday, General Abdul Wasay said.

- -


Karzai's hat

04.07.2004 14:49

For animal rights campaigners who like Karzai did you know his hat is made from sheep fetus.

Paul


while we are talking about animals

12.07.2004 22:27

This is a bit obscure, but shows how Afghnaistan has lapsed into anarchy.

BBC reports how Taliban protected the Snow lewopard (just by having a govenrement) whereas the current war;lordism has led to hunting to extinction.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/sci/tech/3150667.stm

 http://freespace.virgin.net/swindon.stopwar/afghanistan_allnews.htm

andy
mail e-mail: swindon@stopwar.org.uk


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