People took to the streets of the Afghan capital Kabul this week to show their opposition to the U.S. military presence in the country

By Mutiallah Tayeb, IOL Afghanistan Correspondent    

KABUL, May 8 (IslamOnline.net) - A large number of people took to the streets of the Afghan capital Kabul this week to show their opposition to the U.S. military presence in the country and president Hamid Karzai's policies.

Shouting "Death to America", the demonstrators gathered near the ministry of communications and denounced "the phantom government of President Hamid Karzai which had been sold to foreigners."

Witnessing a slow pace of reconstruction in the war-ravaged country and lack of security as well as delay of paying their salaries, the demonstrators chanted the scathing slogans with one message; the situation here is not as much different as was before the ouster of the Taliban regime more than a year ago.

The protest was organized by Siddiq Afghan, a professor of philosophy. He denounced in a scathing speech "the irresponsibility of the government which betrayed the people" and "the foreign invasion".

The protests came after U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Afghanistan, declaring that U.S. military combat operations in the country are over and sights should be now set on reconstruction efforts as well as keeping a watchful eye on the southeastern borders, thought to be the stronghold of Taliban remnants.

But many Afghans questioned U.S. efforts to improve their living conditions, as they still live in ramshackle houses amid contaminated water supplies and poor sanitation. 

"Access to safe drinking water is sparse and access to sanitation is also low," said Afghanistan's Urban Development and Housing Minister Yousuf Pashtun, noting that an average of 18 members of a family lived in one house in the capital.

"Our infrastructure, which has been destroyed and damaged can not cater to this large influx of people to the urban areas,"  Pashtun added.

The demonstrations are also seen as an indicator of how far the country has walked on the road to democracy and freedom of speech since the downfall of Taliban.

But many protestors recalled the student demonstration "crushed" by police last month, raising popular and international concerns over the way the government deal with peaceful gatherings.

Also, sentiments of civilians are still boiling against the foreign military presence in their country. A U.S. aircraft claimed the lives of 11 Afghan civilians earlier on April 2003. Some 50 wedding guests were also cut down by U.S. warplanes in June 2002.

Former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar sent a message to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in March 2003 in which he detailed the “heinous crimes” perpetrated by U.S. forces against Afghan civilians.

Conflict On Taliban

Separately, Karzai moved a new step to reduce power struggle and consolidate his political assets amid reports of his enjoying small base of support among the diversified population who believed the Afghan leader reneged on his promises of spreading peace and prosperity in the country.

The Afghan president moved down to the south, where there is wide support for Taliban, and told inhabitants he was ready to begin dialogue with "moderate" leaders of the group whom he said might join the political scene.

Analysts said that the move is rather meant to contain Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants that have survived U.S. military operations all over the year and avoid involvement in guerilla war.

Over the past month, a surge of attacks on foreign and government targets triggered fears the ousted Taliban and its al-Qaeda allies were regrouping for a fresh offensive.

Two U.S. servicemen were killed in a fire fight near the Pakistani border earlier this month.

This week suspected Taliban seized control of part of a district in southern Zabul province before hundreds of Afghan troops were sent to the area to back local forces.

Reports also said earlier this week that a delegation of Taliban, led by former Health Minister Mullah Abbas, secretly arrived in the Afghan capital for expected talks with Karzai.

The talks also came against several attacks on U.S. forces here, believed to be carried out by Taliban members.

Karzai’s government has attempted to disarm some 100,000 militiamen and reintegrate them into the nascent national army but warlords and local militias retain control of much of the country.

Since deposing the Taliban regime in November 2001, a U.S.-dominated military coalition of some 10,000 troops is still in Afghanistan allegedly to hunt Taliban and al-Qaeda members.