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Afghan Taliban Thumb Nose At U.N. As Sanctions Loom
KABUL (News Agencies) - Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia remained defiant in the face of tougher U.N. sanctions Thursday, saying no amount of coercion or hardship would force them to hand over Osama bin Laden.
"We will never expel him by force but he can leave Afghanistan if he wishes," Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal said, reiterating the militia's unswerving line a day before fresh U.N. sanctions take effect.
Jamal called on the Islamic world to stand by the militia and help offset the impact of the restrictions, aimed at forcing Kabul to extradite bin Laden and shut alleged terrorist camps.
"Islamic countries should not keep silent anymore, rather they should embark on bold deeds," Jamal said.
He said it was unfair to punish a whole nation, already torn apart by relentless war and drought, for the sake of one man.
A U.S. court has indicted bin Laden to stand trial for allegedly masterminding twin U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa in 1998, but the Taliban insist he is a "guest" in Afghanistan and there is no evidence against him.
The trial of four of his alleged associates, who have pleaded not guilty, has already begun in New York. Of 18 others who have been charged, one has pleaded guilty, three are in Britain awaiting extradition and 14 are at large.
The U.N. Security Council resolution adopted last month calls for an arms embargo on the Taliban, the closure of its overseas offices, a ban on foreign trips by Taliban officials and the freezing of bin Laden's assets.
The council said the sanctions, which enlarge on curbs imposed in 1999, would take force in 30 days, or on January 19th, if the Taliban failed to cooperate.
In a last ditch effort, the foreign ministry Thursday urged the incoming U.S. administration to block the measures, reiterating the Taliban's claims that they will create a humanitarian catastrophe.
"This reality merits mentioning to the new U.S. government that the sanctions policy will only bring about hunger and suffering for the Afghan people," foreign ministry spokesman Faiz Ahmed Faiz said.
He called upon President-elect George W. Bush to seek a negotiated settlement.
"Bush should work to remove hatreds and solve the problems through negotiations," Faiz said, advising him not to repeat the "failed experiences" of outgoing President Bill Clinton.
He rejected U.S. and U.N. assurances that the sanctions had been carefully tailored to avoid humanitarian impacts on the country, one of the most impoverished in the world thanks to relentless war and a cruel drought.
The U.S. State Department however said the sanctions were "carefully targeted" against the Taliban leadership and not against the people of Afghanistan.
"The sanctions are political and not economic sanctions - they do not prohibit private-sector trade and commerce, including the importation of food and medicines into Afghanistan," the statement released by the U.S. embassy in Pakistan said.
"The chronic humanitarian crisis is the result of over 20 years of war, which is continuing in large part because of the Taliban's refusal to seek a political settlement.
"The Taliban have failed appallingly to provide for the basic human requirements of Afghanistan's population."
It also rejected the Taliban's frequently repeated claim that the Security Council resolution was an attack against Muslims and Islam.
"The issue is terrorism, not Islam. The U.N. has imposed sanctions on the Taliban because the Taliban support international terrorism, not because Afghans are Muslims," it said.
The Security Council has come under fire from aid workers for using the blunt tool of sanctions against a country as fragile as Afghanistan.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has said the measures will not help vital humanitarian efforts or U.N.-backed peace talks between the Taliban and opposition forces, which the militia has threatened to boycott.
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