Putting Afghanistan's future on paper

The constitutional grand council, or loya jirga, which begins tomorrow and brings together 500 delegates in a vast tent here in the capital, is viewed by Afghan officials and their international allies as an important milestone in the peace process following decades of war.

But the threat of insurgent attacks on the assembly, and the recent deaths of more than a dozen children in two US bombings, have cast a cold shadow over the frenzied last-minute preparations.

The US-led military coalition yesterday defended its role in the bombing of a suspected rebel weapons cache that left six children and two women dead, saying it could not guarantee the safety of all civilians if they are living amid known suspects. The bodies were found under a collapsed wall in a compound used by an Islamic militant identified as Mullah Jalani near Gardez, capital of the eastern province of Paktia.

The raid, launched Dec. 5 but not announced until Wednesday, occurred a day after a US airstrike in the central province of Ghazni killed nine children and an adult and apparently missed its intended target, suspected Taliban fighter Mullah Wazir. The military has apologized for the Ghazni attack and described the innocent loss of life as a tragedy.

Still, the killings have outraged Afghans and drawn concern from the international community.

"An event like this not once but twice in a week is obviously something that should not happen," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad. "Every possible measure should be taken to prevent civilian casualties."

As well as the tragic human cost, Samad said, there is a political cost to such mistakes because they came as the government and its international allies face one of the most challenging political processes of post-Taliban rule. "This is a very sensitive time," he said. "It's a distraction that no one needs."

Resentment toward the coalition already runs high in many communities in the south and east of the country, the predominantly ethnic Pashtun areas where the coalition's hunt for Taliban remnants has been most active. Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Hilferty, the coalition spokesman, conceded this week that such incidents could make people "think ill" of the US military at a time when it is trying to build confidence in the countryside.

The coalition launched an offensive throughout southern Afghanistan last week, partly in a bid to disrupt what US officials said were credible indications that supporters of the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and renegade warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar planned to attack the assembly.

Kabul is on high alert, with soldiers spot-checking cars and tanks guarding the streets around the Soviet-built Kabul Polytechnic Institute, where the loya jirga is being held. Delegates filed past sandbags piled in the entrance to the compound, which is swarming with Afghan soldiers and international peacekeepers.

The government hopes to wrap up the assembly in about 10 days, but some delegates say it could last several weeks. During deliberations, the delegates will stay on campus while they debate, amend, and attempt to ratify the 160-article draft constitution published last month. They will determine the role of religion and the rights of women in Afghan society and the degree to which the president will share power with the legislature.

Delegates interviewed at the site this week indicated that the relationship between Islamic law and international standards and ideals would top the agenda.

"We want the Islamic laws because that's what we fought for more than 20 years," said Pacha, a delegate from Zabul province who goes by one name, referring to the war against Soviet occupation.

The draft constitution says no law may contravene Islamic code. Liberal Afghans and Western officials worry that this vague principle could be used to make Islamic doctrine paramount. The Taliban regime espoused a draconian interpretation of Islamic law, including the use of stonings and forced amputations as punishment for crimes.

But delegates said they wanted to spell out more clearly the supremacy of Islamic law.

"We have to make sure the document sticks to the principles of Islam in every detail," Ghulam Rabbani, a professor of Islamic studies from the northern province of Takhar, said as he drank tea in a delegates' lounge lined with low cushions. "If we have to choose between an Islamic law and an international law, we'll choose the Islamic one."

Another key topic will be the structure of power, say Afghan and Western officials familiar with the process. The version of the constitution allowed for a president and a prime minister, but the latter post was nixed at the 11th hour by the office of the current president, Hamid Karzai, who fears such an arrangement would spark a power struggle.

Karzai said Wednesday he would not run for reelection in voting set for June 2004 if the loya jirga revives the prime minister's post. "In countries where there are no strong institutions, where the remnants of conflict are still [present], we need a system with one central power, not many centers," he said.

But on the floor of the assembly tent, he will have to battle influential members of the Northern Alliance. The former resistance movement, which helped US forces topple the Taliban in November 2001, is led by Burhanuddin Rabbani, who covets the prime minister's position.

Many Afghan and some Western officials argue that an unchallenged president would be tantamount to a dictator, and caution against designing a constitution that serves short-term needs rather than laying the groundwork for a robust system of government.

"We shouldn't only be worrying about the Karzai election . . . but for elections in the future," said one Western official here who asked not to be identified.

With such controversial questions open to debate, some delegates and observers worry that such issues as women's rights and free access to education will be sidelined, and debates dominated by a handful of political strongmen. Delegates also worry that the debate will be undermined by back-room political deals, as many believe was the case with the grand assembly in June 2002 that confirmed Karzai's presidency.

The process is as important as the outcome, some officials say.

"The Afghans are discussing issues they haven't discussed in their 5,000 years of history," US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters this week. "And they are debating with freedom and confidence."