U.N. urges Afghan groups to decide quickly on peacekeeping and interim administration

By ANWAR FARUQI
Associated Press Writer

KOENIGSWINTER, Germany – The U.N. spokesman for Afghanistan said Monday that Afghan groups must decide quickly on a security force and an interim administration, as fears persist that the eventual fall of the last Taliban stronghold of Kandahar would ignite infighting among the northern alliance.

The four Afghan delegations gathering at a secluded hotel overlooking the Rhine River face intense international pressure to reach a consensus on Afghanistan's political future, with 18 nations, including the United States and Britain, exerting influence from the corridors.

Formal talks begin Tuesday, but a senior U.S. official here warned Monday that the Afghan factions can expect no aid for rebuilding the war-ravaged country unless they agree on a broad-based government.

"Until there is a government that is broadly representative and recognized by us, there's not going to be any reconstruction assistance," said the official, who is close to the talks and spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

Some delegates arrived early and started informal discussions Sunday, including those representing ex-King Mohammad Zaher Shah and a group of exiles based in Cyprus. Those conversations continued Monday.

The U.N. spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, said the United Nations was imposing no conditions on the Afghans.

"It's their choice. They know what the international community has to offer," Fawzi said. "Without peace there will be no development. Without peace there will be no investment."

In addition to the ex-king and the so-called Cyprus group, there are also delegations representing the northern alliance and another exile group based in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. The talks aim to form a transitional administration and a security force to police a post-Taliban Afghanistan.

Rapid changes on the Afghan front in recent days increased the urgency of a quick consensus, as fears grew that local militias could battle for power.

"Speed is of the essence," said Fawzi, who is spokesman for Lakhdar Brahimi, the top U.N. envoy for Afghanistan.

The delegates must decide how long a transitional administration would run the country before convening a loya jirga, or national assembly, and the makeup of a peacekeeping force under a U.N. mandate.

With the fall of the city of Kunduz to the northern alliance on Sunday and fighting raging in the last Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, none of the most important warlords were at the talks.

Northern alliance leader Burhanuddin Rabbani was not attending, sending instead his acting interior minister, Yunus Qanooni. The other leading figure, Zaher Shah, stayed in Rome, where he has lived in exile since 1973, to remain above politics.

"His majesty is above such meetings. His role is that of a father figure," said Mostapha Zaher, his grandson, who was part of the delegation.

There is great pressure on the Afghans to succeed. If they fail to reach an agreement and slide into another round of factional conflict, the world could lose interest in Afghanistan once more.

The country has lacked a central authority, a legal system and most other trappings of government since the Taliban pulled out of the capital Nov. 13.

Afghans have vivid memories of the factional fighting in 1992-96 when rival armed groups – many now sitting for talks – flattened much of Kabul in fierce rocket exchanges that killed tens of thousands of civilians.

There had been talk that moderate Taliban would be included in the talks. But the head of the Cyprus delegation, Houmayoun Jareer, said after arriving for the talks that they no longer had a role.

While there is no single group purporting to speak for all Pashtuns, Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, at least three of the delegations in Germany include Pashtuns.

"You can't solve all the problems of the past 22 years here, but this is a good beginning," said Mostapha Zaher.

He said private talks with the Cyprus Group on Sunday had been "encouraging," and that he planned to meet with the northern alliance after it arrives later Tuesday.

If the talks succeed, Afghanistan could have its first stable government since the 1970s, and the international community is poised to offer hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of dollars to a bankrupt nation in desperate need of reconstruction.

"This is a golden opportunity for Afghanistan," Fawzi said.

APNP-11-26-01 1418CST