|
Karzai Says a Rebuilt Afghanistan Will Be a Good Neighbor
 |
| Interim
President Hamid Karzai speaking at National Press Club in Washington |
By S.M. Khalid, IOL Washington correspondent
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (IslamOnline) - Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai appealed once again Tuesday to the international community to make good on its pledges of economic assistance to help rebuild his devastated Central Asian nation.
Speaking at special appearance at the National Press Club, Karzai told audience members that a self-sufficient Afghanistan would enhance regional security and would have good relations with neighboring states, such as Iran and Pakistan.
"It's in the interests of all of us to have free and friendly relations," said Karzai. "We're also determined to protect our borders and our territorial integrity. The reason that our country was destroyed, the reason this happened was because our borders were violated."
Karzai, who is on a whirlwind official visit, said he was not alarmed at reports that some of his neighbors were funding or supplying dissident forces across Afghanistan.
The Afghan leader said, however, that Pakistan has already offered $10 million in cash to help support his fledgling government and another $100 in development assistance to restart Afghanistan's formal economy.
Karzai also said that Iran had pledged to give $100 in economic assistance for each of the next five years. He said that he was in frequent contact with Iranian President Ali Khatami and that he would travel to Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders.
When questioned about former Taliban and al-Qaeda combatants, many of them mercenaries from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries, now being held at "Camp X-Ray" at the U.S. Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Karzai said they should be treated well. But he also made clear his views on their legal status.
"These people that we detained in Guantanamo are not prisoners of war," said Karzai. "I see it in very clear terms. They are criminals. They brutalized us, they killed us, they destroyed our lands. They really turned our land into killing fields. They did the same thing here in America on September 11th in about half an hour.
"We kept telling the world community about the consequences it faced with the Taliban. Unfortunately, our predictions came true in a tragic way for Afghanistan and the United States."
Karzai, who initially supported the Taliban, described them as "people who were against life itself, the essence of life."
The Afghan leader, however, said it was important for the detainees to be well treated.
"I want them to be treated nicely," he added. "There should be a difference between them and us. They were bad; we should be good."
Karzai said he hoped that U.S. military forces would remain in Afghanistan indefinitely, to help root out remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. He said many Afghans he had spoken with recently were concerned that Washington would neglect their country, as it had following the withdrawal of Soviet forces more than a decade ago.
"Until we have reached a state of self-sufficiency and the Taliban are completely defeated in Afghanistan, only then can we relax," said Karzai. "As long as the war on terrorism goes on, the U.S. should stay. There is no time frame. It's a job. That job has to be done, then we can decide."
When asked about a possible departure date for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Karzai joked, "We'll keep them [U.S. troops] prisoner. There will be no exit strategy."
On a serious note, the Afghan leader said he received personal assurances from U.S. President George W. Bush that the United States would supply training and basic equipment in the establishment of a new national Afghan army.
"We had a strong army, a national army before the Soviet invasion in 1979," said Karzai. "We need an army for all Afghans that is trusted by all Afghans. We want an army trained by the best around and the Americans are among the best around. They have agreed to train and provide the basics for that new army."
Karzai, whose six-month term expires in June, said that his government was already making progress in reviving national institutions that were destroyed in a quarter century of war.
The new Afghan leader toured the Capital building, where he met several high-ranking members of Congress. He also scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defense of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
The chairman of Afghanistan's new government bristled at suggestions made by some members of Congress that economic assistance should be tied to his government's efforts to eradicate poppy production, which is used to manufacture opium and heroin.
"Putting conditions is no good," added Karzai, "we're asking for a good partnership. In a good partnership, there must be an all-out effort against all bad things."
He promised his government would do its best to eliminate poppy production and the drug trade, which was a significant source of income for past Afghan governments, including the Taliban.
"The true beneficiaries are the drug dealers, the drug traders - the big fish," said Karzai. "We [Afghans] get the bad name and they get the money."
He emphasized that sufficient economic assistance from the international community was necessary for Afghan farmers to stop growing poppy and resume the cultivation of foodstuffs, specifically wheat, fruits and vegetables.
Karzai said his interim government needs about $10 million each month to pay the salaries of government workers. He said leaders of the deposed Taliban robbed the country's central bank of about $5.3 million in reserves before it was chased from power by U.S.-led forces.
The Afghan people, he added, were impatient. "People have told me they want change and they want it quickly," added Karzai, "with help, we will deliver."
The Afghan leader promised that his administration would be vigilant against possible government corruption.
"If you want us to be a good neighbor, if the international community wants us, then it must begin to help us," said Karzai. "The world must understand this."
|
