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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan Loya Jirga Opening Delayed |
| 2002-06-10 |
| The opening session of Afghanistan's grand council to organize a new government was postponed for a day Monday, a delay diplomats blamed on differences within the Afghan leadership over the role of the former king. The council, or loya jirga, was supposed to start Monday; the opening was reset for Tuesday afternoon. U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad blamed the delay on confusion caused by reports that the former monarch, Mohammad Zaher Shah, would be a candidate for head of state, which the loya jirga is to choose. In an effort to resolve the controversy, Zaher Shah declared in a statement read by an aide that ``I have no intention of restoring the monarchy'' and ``I am not a candidate for any position in the loya jirga.'' Instead, Zaher Shah endorsed the candidacy of the current interim leader, Hamid Karzai, to run the country under the new government. The controversy over the role of the aged, former king threatened to derail the carefully prepared plans for the loya jirga, which is to decide on a new form of government for this war-ravaged country and choose ministers for an interim government to rule until elections in 18 months. Khalilzad bluntly told the Afghans to "get their act together'' and not miss their best chance in decades for peace. European envoys said unless the Afghans can agree on a broad-based government, international aid is likely to dry up. This isn't much of a surprise. They're all Afghans and when they're not fighting with each other they're arguing with each other. The shooting probably won't start until the loya jirga's over. But I think it's great they've managed to get this far. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |