15 December 2003
Karzai Calls For Unity Ahead of Afghan Constitution Debate
Loya Jirga assembly opens December 14 in Kabul
By Stephen Kaufman
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai opened the Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) debate on the country's draft constitution December 14, calling upon the assembled delegates to approve the document "in an atmosphere of national unity."
Approximately 500 men and women delegates, representing Afghanistan's various ethnic groups and geographic areas, convened in Kabul to finalize and approve the country's first constitution since 1964.
President Karzai described the constitution as "a national document," based upon "the religious, historical, materialistic and spiritual values of the nation," that will legalize Afghanistan's post-Taliban government and society. A translated transcript of his comments was obtained from the Voice of America.
"In this draft, serious and comprehensive attention has been paid to our people's religious, historical and national desires, realities of the Afghan society, demands of the modern era and the main points of international conventions and global declarations," he said.
According to news reports, much of the debate will center upon whether the country should be governed under a strong presidential system, as envisioned in the draft constitution, or a parliamentary system led by a prime minister, which some, including delegates representing former provincial mujahedeen commanders, favor.
Karzai called upon the delegates to approve the presidential system, saying a single center of power would "ensure supremacy of the law, consolidate peace and stability and maintain equilibrium between the three branches of state power."
He maintained that the country is still too divided to allow a national party to win an electoral majority to govern. Instead, small parties using force or pressure would form coalition governments "based on division of power and not on a united national goal," which, Karzai said, "can lead to disorder."
The delegates will also debate other contentious issues, such as the role of Islam in the government, the status and legal guarantees for women, and human rights.
Sebghatullah Mojaddedi, a former president and resistance leader against the country's Soviet military occupation in the 1980's, was elected chairman of the Loya Jirga proceedings. Four delegates, including one woman, were selected as deputy chairmen.
In his opening speech, President Karzai outlined what he considered major achievements in the country since Afghan and international coalition forces ousted the Taliban government in late 2001.
He reported that in a recent survey by foreign and Afghan organizations, 83 percent of Afghans feel more secure and are more hopeful about the future than they were two years before.
He said reconstruction projects, including roads, educational facilities and health centers were underway, with the help of international donors and aid groups.
Afghan police and security forces have been reconstituted, freedoms of speech and the press have been guaranteed, and Afghan women have regained basic rights such as voting and education, he said.
"To me the important thing is that Afghanistan has once again become a common home for all Afghans," said Karzai, adding that more than 2.5 million refugees have returned to the country since 2000.
The president also praised the introduction of a single strong currency. He said Afghanistan "is no longer a poor and broke country," and has registered 30 percent economic growth in 2002, in contrast to the negative growth the country suffered under the Taliban.
He said that despite the end of "terrorist rule," terrorist elements in the country still threaten and kill Afghan and foreign reconstruction workers and set schools on fire. "They can bring as many bombs, rockets and guns as they want, but we will continue our resistance to protect our nation, and they will be defeated because our religion, God and the nation are with us," said Karzai.
In order to realize the aspirations of Afghanistan's future generations and national heroes such as Ahmed Shah Masood, an Afghan resistance leader killed by the Taliban and al Qaeda, "we must get together and be united," he said.
"We are not only a warrior nation that can defend ourselves, but we are also a wise, experienced and political nation. We are a nation capable of building its future. We will prove this during the session of the Constitutional Loya Jirga by pondering, concentrating, discussing and debating the constitution [and] by approving the constitution in an atmosphere of national unity," said Karzai.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=December&x=20031215180752namfuaks0.5555536&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html
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