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| Afghanistan/South Asia |
| Karzai courts rank-and-file Taliban |
| 2004-04-26 |
| Afghan President Hamid Karzai, returning Sunday to a Taliban stronghold where he was nearly assassinated 19 months ago, said he would welcome rank-and-file members of the militia back into society. But Karzai said about 150 leaders of the movement supplanted by his government after a U.S.-led war were unworthy of rehabilitation and could be prosecuted. "Our problem is mainly with the top Taliban -- who may number no more than 150 people -- who had links with al Qaeda," said Karzai, referring to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. "Those people are the enemies of Afghanistan, and we are against them. But those Taliban who are doing jobs and tilling the fields and working as shopkeepers, we want to welcome those Taliban." The president has said in the past that he believed most Taliban members could be reintegrated into society, but this appeared to be the first time he put a number on those the nation sought to prosecute. Karzai said the government had been negotiating with less radical Taliban leaders for months, though he did not give names or other details. Officials did not expect that Taliban leader Mohammad Omar and his inner circle would be offered an olive branch by the government. The idea of reintegrating less radical members of the Taliban has been floated for months. There also have been reports that the government is negotiating with some supporters of a renegade warlord, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, in an effort to get them to switch sides. The notion appears to have U.S. support. On Tuesday, the U.S. ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, said he favored amnesty for all but the worst members of the old government -- those who had allied themselves with the al Qaeda network and committed crimes against humanity. It was Karzai's first trip to Kandahar since a gunman opened fire on him in September 2002 outside the provincial governor's house. Security was tight Sunday, and a local security official said at least one man was arrested in Kandahar on suspicion of plotting terrorist acts. A two-car U.N. convoy carrying national and international staff working on preparations for September elections was targeted in a bombing attack Thursday on a road just outside Kandahar, U.N. spokesman David Singh said at a news conference in the capital on Sunday. There were no injuries, but one of the vehicles was damaged and thrown several yards after the bomb exploded. A man believed to be trying to plant a bomb at another point on the same road blew himself up earlier that morning. The United Nations has warned that if security throughout the country does not improve, it will be nearly impossible to hold successful elections. The vote was to take place in June, but violence has slowed voter registration, forcing the delay. The government has said it hopes to disarm 40 percent of the estimated 100,000 private militiamen throughout the country by the end of June, though many observers say that goal is optimistic. On his Kandahar trip, Karzai met with the governor and tribal elders. He urged residents to participate in the elections by registering to vote and called on militiamen under the control of local warlords to embrace the government's disarmament program, which provides economic benefits for those who give up their weapons. Karzai also traveled to his home town, Karz, just outside Kandahar, and visited his father's grave. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 I think Karzai is wise! You go guy!! This is the way to do things. Obviously, there are many in Afghanistan who support the Taliban's idea of doing things. While we understand that it's a throw-back of several thousand years, that's not important. What's important is that he is giving them a voice in the government. That's what a representative democracy is all about. Right on, Karzai. |
| Posted by: B 2004-04-26 9:42:13 AM |