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Afghan Delegates Begin Constitution Talks
Delegates assembling from every corner of Afghanistan on Saturday faced tough debate in hammering out the first post-Taliban constitution, the bedrock of what Afghans hope will be a better life after years of war. The constitutional loya jirga, or grand council, which opens on Sunday, is a key step in the two-year drive to stabilize the country under an empowered central government, and will lead to landmark national elections planned for June. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Afghanistanâs new charter would be a ``major milestone in its transition to a constitutional, representative government that respects its traditions and protects the welfare of its citizens.ââ The European Union said it hoped the charter would be ``pluralistic and based on universal human rights, including equal rights for men and women.ââ
| I think most of us hope it won't be too awful... |
But the aspirations of ordinary Afghans, among the worldâs poorest people, are simpler. ``Look at the ruins of this country,ââ said Bismillah, a 43-year-old shopkeeper in Kabul who goes by only one name. ``Letâs get the constitution approved so the government can get to work.ââ
Sensible men. Is he running for office?
It could take 10 days to several weeks for the loya jirga, meeting in a huge tent at a Kabul college campus, to finalize the 160-article draft presented by a constitutional commission in October.
If it's got 160 articles, it's too detailed. They put all sorts of grand ideas and rights into these things, most of which are honored in the breech:
"You have the right to a pony of no fewer than 11 and no more than 14 hands. It will be gray, brown, black or white. Its mane will reach no less than halfway nor more than three quarters of the way to the ground."
That means nothing if there aren't any free ponies to hand out. |
While all the delegates have arrived without reported incident after last-minute elections in the provinces, the U.S. military has warned that Taliban militants plan to disrupt the gathering.
| Oh, surprise, surprise, surprise! |
With Taliban attacks increasing in the countryside, U.S. forces have launched their largest military operation since the fall of the Taliban two years ago - in part to protect the loya jirga. The new Afghan National Army has placed machine-gun posts and tanks near the council siteâs perimeter and the cityâs 5,500-strong international peacekeeping force is patrolling the nearby hills to prevent rocket attacks.
Letâs hope the Taliban masses all its forces for an attack.
Among the delegates cocooned at the carefully groomed loya jirga site, the strength of the presidency appears the most contentious issue. U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai favors a strong chief executive while opponents have pushed for a prime minister who would share power. Karzai this week said he would not run in next yearâs elections if a strong prime ministerâs post is created.
"Iâll be prime minister instead, unless the post of Grand Vizir opens up!"
| They're allergic to prime ministers after Hek... |
Afghans have bitter experience of such an arrangement. During part of the 1992-96 civil war, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, today near the top of a U.S. wanted list for siding with the Taliban, was officially prime minister - even as his forces bombarded the capital under President Burhanuddin Rabbani.
Hek will be noticable by his absence, and hopefully by his funeral.
Afghans appear torn, wanting a government strong enough to rein in powerful warlords but not so strong as to create the makings of a dictator.
| That's an adequate goal... |
``We do need a strong presidential system, one person that will be in control of everything,ââ said Abdullah Arsala, 30, U.S.-educated Pashtun businessman from Jalalabad who is a loya jirga delegate. But another delegate, 32-year-old Abdul Rehman, an ethnic Tajik, warned: ``If we give all the power to one man he will just do something for himself.ââ
Yep, depends on the quality of the people you elect first. Thank goodness we had George Washington.
| The man who could have been king... |
Posted by: Steve White 2003-12-14 |
