Amid Calls for Unity, Afghans Contend With Stubborn Functionalism

After 23 years of war, an abrupt 24-hour postponement, and about an hour's delay, Afghanistan convened a Loya Jirga, or grand legislative council, at 4 p.m. in Kabul on June 11. The council, which aims to establish Afghanistan's political framework, began with pageantry and calls for national unity. However, some observers suggested that the subsequent surprise revalation that interim interior minister Yunus Qanooni will leave office could spark political jockeying among Afghan factions.

Mohammed Zahir Shah, the former king who returned from exile in April, opened the council a day after rejecting a movement to draft him as president. And for the first time in Afghan history, attendants heard the national anthem in Farsi and Dari. But the leadership's bid for unity prompted a few surprises – and may cause more dissention as the Loya Jirga proceeds.

Zahir Shah, a Pashtun like most residents of southern Afghanistan, has thrown his support behind fellow Pashtun Hamid Karzai, who has served as interim government chairman since December. Some warlords and politicians oppose Karzai because he has allied with former leaders of the Northern Alliance, ethnic Panjshiri Tajiks who dominate the current cabinet. The former king appeared with Karzai and a few members of his family as he addressed the roughly 1,500 delegates, saying he had no desire to restore the monarchy and affirming his backing for Karzai. "I advise delegates to take into consideration the high interests of the people," he said, adding that national unity and democracy based on Islamic values were his ideals.

The last time Zahir Shah convened a Loya Jirga was in 1964, when Afghans met to ratify a new constitution that put the country on the path to parliamentary democracy. That council was a third the size of this one, and its participants did not have to confront the terrorism, extremism and the legacy of two decades of warfare. Karzai followed Zahir Shah's address with an emotional talk about the country's challenges and the need for unity. He defended his government's actions over the past six months and outlined what the new cabinet has to do. He emphasized the need to ensure free speech and a free press for all Afghans. He then urged delegates – many of whom either are or serve regional strongmen – to rally around the idea of a national army. "We should stop warlordism," Karzai said. "We must have a single army, the National Army."

Having broached this topic, Karzai then talked at length about the exact position and prerogatives of the former king. He envisioned that Zahir Shah would play a ceremonial role while retaining some unofficial executive power. Karzai said he hoped Zahir Shah would open this Loya Jirga and its successor, which is slated for 2004, "control the process of writing the new constitution," and attend all major ceremonies. Karzai also proposed that Zahir Shah mediate in disputes and litigation where parties call for his participation.

Of course, Zahir Shah had already brokered a dispute over Karzai's prospects for remaining president. On June 10, the king nominated Karzai personally. The next day, former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, a former president who had talked of running for the post again, told reporters a couple of hours before the Loya Jirga began that he would withdraw. Rabbani said he had withdrawn his candidacy in favor of Karzai, and cast this decision as a gesture of national goodwill. "It wasn't pressure from foreigners, but members of different groups came and talked with me," Rabbani said. "I am with the big majority at Loya Jirga. These delegates have asked me to keep my nomination for presidency. But in the interests of unity in these critical moments, I have now changed my mind about that option. Of course, I have my rightful position to have my views about the new cabinet."

Participants will have to adjust to shakeups in the current administration. Shortly after Rabbani withdrew, Qanooni announced that he would leave his job as interior minister, citing misunderstandings. "We are inheriting the [value of self-sacrifice] from Ahmed Shah Massoud," he said, invoking the slain Northern Alliance leader whose photo adorns public spaces throughout Kabul. (Karzai declared Massoud, a Tajik, a national hero this spring.) "Today our country, for many reasons, needs to have another sacrifice and we are ready for that. This is the price to pay for achieving unity." With these words, he said he was tendering his resignation.

By stepping aside, Qanooni may be setting a complex deal in motion. Many of the former king's relatives wanted to see him assume a government position, in part because such a position brings opportunities for patronage. According to a well-known diplomat in Kabul, there is a chance for the king's family to take some key positions at the government level now that the king has come to an understanding with the different factions.

But this understanding will not come smoothly. As for Qanooni's resignation, the diplomat added: "Qanooni's resignation doesn't mean he is leaving the government. He has to move [to] a new, maybe even higher, position." So while some leaders are stepping forward to urge harmony, other operatives seem to be seeking advantage. Perhaps not coincidentally, some Zahir Shah supporters threatened to boycott the Loya Jirga as late as June 10. This threat may have influenced some opening day speeches. The next several days will determine whether those speeches discourage further maneuvering.