11-18-2009, 16:53
|
#1
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: NorCal
Posts: 15,370
|
Afghan Attorney General to Indict Five Leading Politicians
Just one day before Afghan President Hamid Karzai is sworn in for his second term, the country's attorney general has announced that he has prepared indictments against five top politicians on charges of corruption.
And so it goes...
Richard's $.02
Quote:
Afghan Attorney General to Indict Five Leading Politicians
Matthias Gebauer, Der Spiegel, 18 Nov 2009
When Hamid Karzai takes his oath of office in the presidential office in Kabul at 11 a.m. on Thursday, the amount of attention focused on him will likely not be to his liking. Every word of his speech will be analyzed by the international community, led by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is currently in Afghanistan. Even normally reserved diplomats are doing little to conceal their high expectations. "If he doesn't say anything concrete, or even names names, he will feel the wrath," said one European diplomat. "And he knows that."
The pressure on Karzai is immense. In recent days, a veritable parade of ambassadors has descended on his office. Diplomats are speaking of a "shopping list" that they have presented to Karzai, who has found himself weakened since the manipulated elections that recently returned him to office. They have made it clear to Karzai that he is expected to discard some of his aides and take concrete steps against rampant corruption in his country. Visits from Clinton and other leading Western politicians are aimed at upping the pressure.
Kabul's justice department appears to have gotten the message. One day before Karzai is sworn in for his second term in office, Attorney General Mohammed Ishaq Aloko told SPIEGEL ONLINE in Kabul that his office has prepared indictments against five high-ranking politicians. "We have indictments with sufficient proof against five ministers," Aloko said. "Two of them are in the current cabinet and three are former ministers." The indictments have been submitted to President Karzai. "The president only has to grant his approval, then the trials can proceed," Aloko said.
An Uncomfortable Position
Citing Afghan law, the attorney general declined to name the politicians involved until the trials begin. He said he was confident that the legal proceedings would result in "stiff penalties." In conjunction with other government officials from the Justice and Interior Ministries, Aloko on Monday announced the creation of an anti-corruption task force, which would receive the assistance of foreign experts.
Should the indictments be acted upon, it would represent a significant step taken by the government against corruption. The fact that Karzai now must make a decision regarding the five cases places him in a decidedly uncomfortable position. Afghan ministers are often chosen based on a complicated formula taking into account ethnicities and other factors. Should Karzai play tough, it could cost him vital political alliances upon which his power rests.
Western diplomats have responded with reserve to news of Akolo's indictments. They are keeping their enthusiasm on hold until they know exactly who has been targeted. Those who are familiar with the way politics work in Kabul are concerned that corruption proceedings could be used to get rid of unwanted political adversaries. Still, said one diplomat, the indictments are fundamentally "a step in the right direction."
One of the ministers in Aloko's sights could be the mining minister, Mohammad Ibrahim Adel. Citing a US official, the Washington Post reported Wednesday that Adel, in granting a copper mining contract worth almost $3 billion, allegedly pocketed $30 million in bribes. The minister, a confidant of the Afghan warlord Dostum, is said to have received the money in cash in Dubai.
25 Million Dollars Immediately
Such details shine a spotlight on the kind of business practices that have become normal in Afghanistan. One of the bidders on the copper mining contract -- which provides access to one of the largest remaining un-mined copper reserves in the world -- claimed that the minister indicated he needed $25 million in cash immediately. The money was necessary to prove that the company's application was "serious." Reports of such requests made by leading officials in Karzai's administration have become commonplace.
Just how Karzai should meet the demands of the international community remains unclear. Washington and London are pressuring him to discard his designated vice president, the feared former warlord Mohammad Qasim Fahim, known to Afghans simply as "Marshall Fahim." Fahim isn't just considered to be corrupt, but is also thought to head up the country's lucrative kidnapping industry. Karzai chose Fahim for the votes he brought with him.
Diplomats in Kabul merely roll their eyes when asked about Fahim. "Fahim is for us a non-person who we would rather see before the International Criminal Court in The Hague instead of in the presidential palace," one high-level NATO official from Brussels recently told SPIEGEL ONLINE. Just as problematic for NATO is General Dostum, who Karzai recalled from his exile in Turkey in an effort to secure the support of those in northern Afghanistan who remain loyal to Dostum. Dostum is now demanding a number of top posts for his followers.
ISAF Joins the Anti-Corruption Fight
In order to increase the pressure on Karzai, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is now set to support the fight against corruption. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL ONLINE, ISAF Commander Stanley McChrystal has issued an order to all NATO troops to forward evidence of corruption among politicians and officials to Afghan authorities. Even information gathered by intelligence services is to be checked and, in cases where it is deemed appropriate, passed on to the Afghan attorney general.
The order represents a shift in NATO policy, which has long seen corruption as an internal matter for Afghanistan. "The new guidance directs forces to share that information through normal reporting channels to the government of Afghanistan and proper law enforcement agencies that can take action," NATO said in a statement e-mailed to SPIEGEL ONLINE. Corruption, NATO wrote in the statement, feeds "negative security trends" and "has a direct bearing on the insurgency" in Afghanistan. "During the course of normal framework operations, ISAF forces often uncover evidence or information regarding corrupt officials or malign actors," NATO wrote.
'It Won't Happen Overnight'
In a country as huge and diverse as Afghanistan, it is difficult to foresee what the effect of the new measures might be. Skeptics are concerned that, once Karzai is sworn in, the pressure on him to act may recede. US diplomats, for their part, want to continue the push. Karzai's brother, Ahmed Wali, one of the most powerful men in Afghanistan and also suspected of being corrupt, expressed confidence on the eve of his brother's swearing-in ceremony. "This country is ruled by kings," he said. "And the relatives of the king are very powerful."
Wali, often referred to as the "Al Capone of Kandahar" by US officials, was philosophical about the need for change in his country. "Things will change," he conceded. "But it won't happen overnight."
http://www.spiegel.de/international/...662067,00.html
|
__________________
“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
|
Richard is offline
|
|
11-19-2009, 06:27
|
#2
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: NorCal
Posts: 15,370
|
Afghan President Karzai Sworn In To Second 5-year Term
And now we'll see...
Richard's $.02
Quote:
Afghan President Karzai Sworn In To Second 5-year Term
USAToday, 19 Nov 2009
Afghan President Hamid Karzai promised Thursday to prosecute corrupt officials and end a culture of impunity in an inauguration speech made under intense international pressure that he shed the cronyism and graft that marked his first term.
Karzai, who has often bristled at the criticism leveled at him from Western powers, said his government was doing whatever it could to implement reforms, and pledged that Afghan forces would be able to take control of the country's security in the next five years.
He said he believed the "problem of international terrorism" in Afghanistan would be overcome.
"We are trying our best to implement social, judicial and administrative reforms in our country," Karzai said. "Being a president is a heavy task and we will try our best to honestly fulfill this task in the future."
Karzai was sworn in to a second five-year term by the head of the Supreme Court during a ceremony attended by about 800 Afghan and foreign dignitaries from more than 40 countries. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and British Foreign Minister David Miliband were among them.
Traditionally rocky relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which share a 1,510-mile-long border, have improved steadily since Pakistan's elected government led by Zardari replaced the military dictatorship of Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Karzai said Zardari's presence at his inauguration was a sign of "good relationship, good brotherhood."
Karzai said a conference would be held soon in Kabul to address ways to tackle corruption, and that his government would take its fight against drug trafficking seriously, prosecuting those who are linked to narcotics as well as those who are engaged in corruption.
"Those who spread corruption should be tried and prosecuted," he said. "Corruption is a very dangerous enemy of the state."
The president insisted he would select "expert ministers" capable of providing competent leadership.
In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen congratulated Karzai, saying his election illustrated the determination of the Afghan people to chose their leaders.
"We strongly support his intention to form a capable and inclusive administration, and to make it accountable, one in which corruption has no place," Rasmussen said in a statement. "It is critically important that the Afghan people, and the citizens of the countries sending troops to the international mission, see concrete progress in this regard."
Karzai won this year's fraud-marred presidential election by default, after his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of a runoff, saying it was impossible for the vote to be fair.
In his speech, the president sought to portray himself as a unifying force and invited the other presidential candidates who ran in the election to contribute to the new government.
"I am the servant of all the people of Afghanistan, from every ethnicity, every tribe, from every place, from every province — from every age, whether they are small children, whether they are old people, women — I invite all the presidential candidates to come and help in serving this nation," he said.
The Taliban, however, said the inauguration ceremony was meaningless and that they would not accept his call for national unity.
"Today is not a historic day. This is a government based on nothing because of the continuing presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan," spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a telephone call.
"Karzai's call to the Taliban to come to the government has no meaning. He became president through fraud and lies," Mujahid said.
The head of Afghanistan's human rights commission said the speech struck the right tone of reform but that the Karzai government would not be able to succeed without the help of its international allies.
"The speech was good because he said we need action," said Sima Samar. "He can deliver if there is a political will — but not just on his part, also on the part of the international community."
Others were hopeful, if somewhat skeptical, that Karzai could deliver on his promises.
"President Karzai has not done too well in the past four years. I hope he can perform better in the future," Sher Mohamad, a taxi driver, said as he passed through a police and army checkpoint on the boundary between Logar and Kabul provinces. "In this country if you want a good job you have to pay a bribe to get it. Maybe he can stop that."
To the north of the capital in the volatile province of Kapisa, Haji Abdelbassir, a tribal chief, said he hoped the president would live up to his pledges.
"When he swears on the holy Quran to serve Afghanistan, I hope he means it, because we are very poor and we need government help," he said. "He has spent a long time fighting. We hope he will spend more time helping us during his new term."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2...hooModule_News
|
__________________
“Sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of (another)… There are just some kind of men who – who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” - To Kill A Mockingbird (Atticus Finch)
“Almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.” - Robert Heinlein
|
Richard is offline
|
|
11-19-2009, 06:39
|
#3
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Sneaking back and forth across the Border
Posts: 6,628
|
I can only hope that they will try to clean up their act.
The Problem is this is a Cultural problem. This is a hard road to travel with everyone thinking in the moment and me.
Wonder if the President is protected from his AG. Do not throw stones if you live in a glass house.
|
SF_BHT is offline
|
|
11-19-2009, 21:47
|
#4
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: OCONUS...again
Posts: 4,702
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by SF_BHT
I can only hope that they will try to clean up their act.
|
Don't hold your breath...
Quote:
The Problem is this is a Cultural problem. This is a hard road to travel with everyone thinking in the moment and me.
|
Stay safe.
__________________
“It is better to have sheep led by a lion than lions led by a sheep.”
-DE OPPRESSO LIBER-
|
Guy is offline
|
|
11-20-2009, 07:45
|
#5
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Sneaking back and forth across the Border
Posts: 6,628
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guy
Don't hold your breath...
Stay safe.
|
I am not........ I am a realist as you know.......
I just try to keep my ass safe and get the job done that I am given.
Watch out and keep safe........
|
SF_BHT is offline
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 14:08.
|
|
|