New Afghan Constitution, Elections Will Realize Bonn
Stephen Kaufman
Washington File Staff Writer
11/18/2003
New Afghan Constitution, Elections Will Realize
Bonn
Agreement Afghan and U.S. dignitaries gather in Washington to
discuss progress
Washington -- With the expected ratification of a new constitution
in December and national elections planned for the first half
of 2004, Afghanistan is on the verge of realizing the political
goals laid out in the 2001 Bonn Agreement, said Afghan Foreign
Minister Abdullah Abdullah.
Abdullah and other Afghan leaders joined U.S.
officials for the 2003 Afghanistan-America Summit on Recovery
and Reconstruction at Georgetown University in Washington November
10.
"Today we are entering the last stages before
the Afghan people can, for the first time in their history,
freely elect their country's leader and legislature," said
Abdullah. "Let us not forget that direct election of a
legitimate and fully representative government by the men and
women of Afghanistan as scheduled for next year was but a distant
dream two years ago."
U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs
Paula Dobriansky described the elections, scheduled to be held
no later than June 10, 2004, as "a watershed in the advancement
of democracy in Afghanistan."
She said that in preparation, the United Nations
would field 305 voter registration teams consisting of 12 Afghan
men and women, and that eligible voters would receive registration
cards.
Also, she said, the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) was spending $8.86 million toward election
assistance "which will be used for such efforts as education
and training for political parties and civic activists."
Dobriansky called for increased security during
the elections -- for both international workers and voters --
in order to prevent possible intimidation and to help ensure
the legitimacy of the outcome.
The under secretary praised the Afghan constitutional
process as being "broadly inclusive." She noted that
public consultations were held throughout the country to ascertain
what the people wanted to see in the document.
She specifically noted that Afghan women were
active participants in those consultations. According to Dobriansky,
the U.S. government has funded public meetings and workshops
throughout the country, as well as a radio station in Mazar-E
Sharif, in order to raise political awareness and encourage
the participation of women, including those who are illiterate
or live in rural areas.
The elections "will be a particularly important
milestone for Afghan women, who will have an opportunity to
vote and establish a political role for women in a representative
government that respects the inalienable rights of all of its
people," said Dobriansky.
"We stand ready to assist the Afghan government
in guaranteeing that the rights enumerated by the new constitution
are adequately protected and that the document lives up to its
promise to be the supreme law of the land," she said.
Fatima Gailani, one of the 35 members of the constitutional
commission who visited mosques, schools and other public places
to discuss the document, said she would "cherish this experience"
throughout her life.
"[W]e had the most wonderful conversation
with these people," she said. She reported that most of
her fellow citizens told her they wanted an Islamic, democratic
country and favored national unity over linguistic and ethnic
barriers. She said they also emphasized the need for better
education and more access to health care.
"We accommodated as much as we could,"
said Gailani. She said the final text of the document would
be decided at the Loya Jirga assembly that is expected to convene
December 10. However, implementing the new constitution requires
"real determination on behalf of the government,"
she said, adding that her fellow citizens need to view their
vote as sacred and make sure their candidates will support the
document.
Yet, she said, the country needs peace, stability
and prosperity in order for the constitution to work, and she
asked the international community for further contributions
and help.
Foreign Minister Abdullah warned in his speech
that all of the funds pledged by the international community
at the 2002 Tokyo Donor's Conference will have been fully disbursed
"within the next few months."
Afghan Minister of Finance Ashraf Ghani said the
combination of the large narcotics trade, terrorism and growing
disenchantment on the part of Afghans waiting for their lives
to improve are beginning to close the current "window of
opportunity."
"We must all work in partnership to deliver
... what the people of Afghanistan want and so richly deserve
-- stability, prosperity, rule of law and democratic governance,"
said Ghani, speaking to the conference through a taped address.
Shair Baz Hakemy, Afghanistan's Minister-Advisor
of Private Sector Economic Affairs, envisioned the country returning
to its ancient role as a center for trade and transit between
its neighbors in Central and South Asia, Iran and China.
"South Asia's energy requirements over the
coming decades, considering Central Asia's vast energy reserves,
is a crucial point," said Hakemy. "Afghanistan's untapped
energy resources and mining resources -- i.e., gas and oil,
iron and copper, precious stones and many other precious and
other metals, coal and other mines -- represent a great potential
for investment."
USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios gave the conference
an update on his agency's reconstruction and humanitarian projects,
including the Kabul-Kandahar road.
Natsios said the application of a new layer of
asphalt, which he described as "phase one," would
be completed by December 31. "The second layer will be
put on next spring and the shoulders before June of next year,"
he said. "Then we have already begun the survey teams to
rebuild the road from Kandahar to Herat. The Europeans and the
World Bank are rebuilding the Ring Road from the top half of
the country."
The USAID administrator said that since the Taliban
regime was driven out in late 2001, 203 schools have been rebuilt,
with plans calling for another 1000 to be rebuilt or repaired
by 2006. Also, 121 health clinics were built, with another 400
planned.
Two million refugees and internally displaced
persons (IDPs) have been resettled, and many Afghans have received
training in education and medicine. Natsios also reminded his
audience that international efforts helped to prevent a famine
during the winter of 2001-2002, and with agricultural assistance,
the country's wheat harvest has now risen 82 percent to its
best yield ever.
U.S. Ambassador-designate and Special Presidential
Envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said the Bush administration's
commitment is "unyielding," as reflected by its $2.3
billion assistance plan for the 2004 fiscal year. He said that
in addition to helping build and train the Afghan National Army,
police and other security forces, the money would be used to
improve the quality of life by providing for health clinics,
irrigation, schools, power generation, private sector initiatives,
and other reconstruction projects.
Afghanistan is no longer "the playing ground
of terrorists and extremists such as al Qaeda," said Khalilzad.
"Our strategy and program is aimed to consolidate this
change." He said he hoped the country could become a model
for "moderation and cooperation between the world of Islam
and the West."
Afghanistan's appointed ambassador to the United
States, Said Tayeb Jawad, told the audience that his countrymen
were determined to seek a better future. He told the story of
how a girls' school in the province of Logar was set on fire
in early September and the students arrived the next day, "sat
next to the ashes of the burned-out class in the blazing sun
and insisted on proceeding with their lessons."
"This is the spirit of the Afghan people,"
said Jawad. "Afghans are determined to rebuild their country."
