Afghanistan's constitutional convention agreed on a historic new charter on Sunday, overcoming weeks of division and mistrust to hammer out a compromise meant to bind together the war-ravaged nation's mosaic of ethnic groups. Just a day after warning that the meeting, or loya jirga, was heading toward a humiliating failure, chairman Sibghatullah Mujaddedi announced that last-ditch diplomacy had secured a deal. After the new draft was circulated, the 502 delegates gathered under a giant tent in the Afghan capital rose from their chairs, standing in silence for about 30 seconds to signal their support for the new charter. "Let's promise before God and our people to implement this constitution," Mujaddedi said. "If we don't, it will bring us no good."
| The Motorcycles of Doom set will be doing their best to scuttle it... |
The charter was amended to grant official status to northern minority languages where they are most commonly spoken, an issue which had brought the meeting close to collapse. U.N. Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad hailed the accord.
President Hamid Karzai was to make a speech to the gathering later Sunday. Sidiq Chakari, a Tajik delegate and spokesman for faction leader and former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who had taken part in a boycott Thursday, said the deal was a milestone on the way to peace. "It's a very big achievement. I do hope it will bring friendship between our ethnic groups," he said. "Everybody wants to switch to disarmament and reconstruction."
| The only people stopping you are yourselves... |
Some Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic group, had pressed until the last for the charter to reverse what they say is the domination of Dari names for public institutions such as universities and courts. But they went along in the end.
| "I mean, just because they learn how to read and write, why's that mean they got to dominate public institutions such as universities and courts?" |
"It will help demilitarize the capital and inject new freedom into education, the media, normal life," said Khalid Pashtun, a fervent advocate of his kinsmen's rights. The accord gives the U.S.-backed Karzai the presidential system he had insisted on, though only after some notable compromises. Karzai has argued strongly for a dominant chief executive to hold the country together as it rebuilds and reconciles after more than two decades of war, and said he wouldn't run again if he didn't get his way.
| It'd be better if he didn't run again anyway. John Hancock's job is done; now it's time for Washington. |
It was also a triumph for the United States and United Nations, whose officials worked tirelessly to broker a backroom agreement to bolster a peace process begun after the ouster of the Taliban two years ago. In three weeks of often rancorous debate, religious conservatives forced through amendments to make the constitution more Islamic — possibly with a ban on alcohol.
| Yeah, sure. That's important enough to be included in your constitution. We used to have it there, too. No doubt Afghans of future generations will wonder what the hell their ancestors were thinking, too... |
On the other hand, wording was changed to spell out that men and women should be treated equally — a key demand of human rights groups.
| There goes the Pashtuns' cultural heritage... |
In the most bruising tussle, minorities such as the Uzbeks and Turkmen from the north won official status for their languages in the areas where they are strongest, with only grudging acceptance from Pashtuns. Rivals of Karzai, mainly from the Northern Alliance faction which helped U.S. forces drive out the Taliban for harboring Osama bin Laden, strengthened parliament with amendments giving it veto power over some key appointments and policies. A new commission is to be set up to monitor implementation of the constitution — another potential power base for a rival. But with no provision for a prime minister or strong regional councils, the wide-ranging powers sought by Karzai in a draft released in November appeared to have survived mainly intact. The charter makes the president commander in chief of the armed forces, charges him with determining the nation's fundamental policies and gives him considerable power to press legislation. "The strong presidency was quickly settled," Khalilzad said, although he acknowledged parliament had been bolstered. "It's more balanced in that way." |