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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BubbaFred who wrote (41590)	11/12/2001 9:44:02 PM
From: BubbaFred	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

UN races to set up a new regime in Kabul TUESDAY NOVEMBER 13 2001 BY JAMES BONE IN NEW YORK AND PHILIP WEBSTER, POLITICAL EDITOR thetimes.co.uk THE United Nations was pushing last night for a meeting of a potential new Afghan government within days, amid fears that events on the ground in Afghanistan were changing more quickly than the international community could keep up with. Key foreign ministers, trapped in the UN building by a security clampdown after the crash of the American Airlines jet, agreed to invite leading Afghan figures to meet on neutral ground, probably in Europe, later this week. Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, told members of the "six plus two" group — bringing together the United States and Russia with Afghanistan’s six neighbours — that they had to accelerate their efforts to establish a postTaleban government. One source at the closed-door meeting said that General Powell noted the "rapidly deteriorating military position of the Taleban" and gave warning that there could be "an evacuation of the political authority of the Taleban" from Kabul in the next few days. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, said: "The group stressed the need for speed. As things are moving very fast, we need to try to bring the political aspects in line with the movements on the ground. "We have always been aware that when we get into these types of operations, things can move very fast and sometimes can get stuck. At the very start I used the words ‘We have to be nimble’. I think we are at the stage where nimbleness comes into play." Lakhdar Brahimi, the UN’s troubleshooter for Afghanistan, promised to try to organise a meeting of Afghan representatives within days, at a venue yet to be determined. He said: "Because of the developments on the ground, we are going to try to get a representative sampling of the Afghan population together and see what kind of interim arrangements we can work together for Kabul. "Everybody agrees we need a broad-based government. We are trying to get people representing the various groups, the various processes, together as soon as possible." Mr Brahimi did not explicitly rule out the participation of the Taleban, saying only that the process would be open to "everyone willing to participate". Geneva and Vienna were mentioned yesterday as possible locations, although diplomats said that Mecca, Ankara and Tokyo are also being considered. The "six plus two" group was created by Mr Brahimi in 1997, but he stepped down as the UN’s Afghan envoy two years later out of frustration at obstruction by Pakistan, which ignored calls to stop backing the Taleban. Yesterday’s meeting was the first ministerial session of the group since Mr Brahimi was reappointed and Pakistan changed its policy in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The security "lockdown" at the UN’s headquarters prevented Abdul Sattar, the Pakistani Foreign Minister, from getting into the building. Pakistan was represented instead by Riaz Mohammad Khan, additional secretary at the Foreign Ministry. The eight nations supported a joint declaration calling for the al-Qaeda terrorist network and its Taleban supporters to be brought to justice. "The ministers supported efforts by the Afghan people to rid themselves of the Taleban regime," the declaration said. The ministers also endorsed Mr Brahimi’s continuing effort to set up an "broad-based, multi-ethnic, politically balanced, freely chosen Afghan administration" drawn from "both within Afghanistan and from among the Afghan diaspora". A US official who was at the talks said: "The diplomatic challenge is to accelerate Afghan political talks and to take advantage of the humanitarian openings." In Britain, Foreign Office sources said that they hoped a UN Security Council resolution, drawn up by Britain and France, could be completed by the end of the week. After talks with Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Indian Prime Minister, Tony Blair said: "It does appear that there are very significant gains that have been made now by the Northern Alliance and by the international coalition." Asked whether he expected that the rebel troops, who have seized almost half of Afghanistan in the past few days, would simply sweep on into Kabul, Mr Blair said: "As people speaking for the Northern Alliance have made clear, it is not their intention to do that." The Prime Minister’s spokesman expressed confidence that the Northern Alliance would heed calls by Britain and the US not to take Kabul. "They are happy to abide by what guidance they are given as to how far they go," the spokesman said. Britain and America insist that there must be a broad-based government to replace the Taleban, including representatives of the Pashtuns — the country’s biggest ethnic group — as well as the Uzbeks and Tajiks, who make up most of the Alliance’s supporters. The "dramatic" gains by the Northern Alliance showed that Taleban morale was crumbling, with defections increasing as the regime ran out of money to pay its supporters, the spokesman said. "The Taleban are fast running out of money. Very large numbers of their troops and functionaries have not been paid for some time. Many are being paid less than a dollar a day and many are defecting."