Moving the presidential vote up to spring from August could undercut opponents, who still have to plan their campaigns
Kabul, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai’s declaration Saturday that Afghan presidential elections should be moved up to April or May has aggravated already tense political divisions in this increasingly unstable country.
The unpopular leader’s decree is at odds with the Independent Election Commission (IEC), which has set Aug. 20 as the date for the polls. The United States reiterated its support Saturday for the later date – a preference shared by other candidates, who say they need more time to plan a campaign.
Karzai’s presidential mandate legally ends in May, which could leave Afghanistan without a head of state for three months if polls were held in August. The president’s supporters say an earlier vote is necessary to avoid such a scenario. Critics say, however, that more than two months are needed to prepare for the elections.
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Government agencies are intimidating and arresting journalists. The crackdown marks the decline of a hard-won, post-Taliban achievement: press freedom
Kabul, Afghanistan - Naseer Fayaz, one of Afghanistan’s most famous television presenters, is used to fans and other well-wishers coming by the office. The host of a popular weekly program, “The Truth,” his exposés of government malfeasance have won him awards as well as a devoted following. But after a recent episode of the show that was especially critical of the government, Mr. Fayaz received unexpected visitors: members of the Afghan secret police.
“They questioned me and the next day arrested me,” he says. “I was kept in a cell for two days. They kept telling me I should quit working in the media.”
After protests from numerous Afghan media groups and global organizations, such as Amnesty International, Fayaz was released. But media groups say that the incident is the latest in a trend of increasing intimidation of Afghan journalists by the government.
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As bullets flew and MPs scampered on Sunday, many wondered how insurgents were able to penetrate such tight security. The Taliban claims that they didn’t intend to kill Karzai, but of course you wouldn’t expect them to say otherwise. However, if history is any guide, they might actually be telling the truth. During the last presidential elections the guerrillas curiously avoided attacking polling stations, a clear sign that they would rather have Karzai in power than a Northern Alliance commander or other such unknown quantity.
The prolific Syed Saleem Shahzad of Asia Times Online claims that the Haqqani Network and Hekmatyar’s Hizb-i-Islami engineered Sunday’s attack. If true, it might suggest another reason why the attackers may have been content to just turn the heat up a bit and not actually try to kill the President. On Saturday a well-placed source (a former Taliban official who is now in close contact with Rabbani of the Northern Alliance and Mr. Karzai) told me that Hekmatyar sent a letter to Karzai in an attempt to open negotiations. The letter reads, in part:
I have devoted my whole life to struggle, but I am now old. I only want what is best for my country of Afghanistan.
Hekmatyar goes on to ask Karzai to remove all foreign troops from urban centers. It isn’t clear what Hekmatyar says he will do in return, but the obvious inference would be that he’d lay down his arms and accept a post in the next government. The existence of such a letter fits well with the latest rumor on the Afghan street: Hekmatyar is angling to join the government (a rumor most recently spread by Zaynab TV)
How seriously can we take all this? The letter comes at an interesting time - see my article about Hizb-i-Islami’s growing presence in the north. Antonio Giustozzi suggests that Hizb-i-Islami is flush with funds and is increasing activity in the north. Why would a letter like this come now? Surely Hekmatyar isn’t so out of touch to realize that his boys have got a long way to go before they can actually play for state power. Therefore he might be using his newfound wealth to force the Karzai government take him more seriously.
Or it might be, like everything else in Afghanistan, a dirty game of conceit, lies and misinformation.
For those that don’t know: more on Hekmatyar
KABUL, Mar 28 (IPS) - The Shahr-e-now park in the centre of Kabul has seen better days. “It used to be really beautiful,” Kabul resident Torialay says, “back during the early-90s. But after the Mujahiddin war (a civil war between warlords and commanders in the mid-90s that destroyed much of the city) it has never been restored.”
“Look at this place,” he says, waving his hand over a dusty lot filled with begging children and unemployed men. “The government and the Americans haven’t done anything for us. And they haven’t built roads or provided jobs. They’ve had six years to do it, but they haven’t.”
A growing number of Afghans are expressing dissatisfaction with the Karzai government and foreign presence in their country. With widespread corruption in government circles and a slow pace of reconstruction, support for ruling and foreign institutions are at an all-time low, experts say.
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