Former fighters parade to launch disarmament program in Afghanistan

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Former fighters parade to launch disarmament program in Afghanistan


By AMIR SHAH
The Associated Press
10/24/03 1:10 PM


KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (AP) -- Parading without their Kalashnikov rifles, nearly 1,000 former Afghan fighters showed their commitment Friday to laying down their weapons at the start of a U.N.-sponsored disarmament program.

The fighters are members of militias loyal to local warlords, and their demobilization is an important part of President Hamid Karzai's effort to expand his government's control outside the capital, Kabul.

On Friday, Karzai praised the fighters for their service in jihad, or holy war, against foreign invaders, from the Soviets to al-Qaida.

But he called on them to undertake a new jihad "for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan, and to bring new life to the country."

"If we were the best during the struggle against the foreigners, we are also the best nation for reconstruction," Karzai said at a soccer field in the northern city of Kunduz. The parade was watched by thousands of residents, Afghan leaders and diplomats.

The program seeks to disarm soldiers and reintegrate them into normal life, a key step to ending the culture of war here after more than 20 years of conflict. By some estimates, there are 1 million weapons in the country of 28 million people.

After the militiamen marched in 100-strong units across the parade ground -- a few in uniform, but many wearing traditional Afghan shalwar kameez tunics and baggy pants -- Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim was handed the keys to a U.N. truck containing the weapons turned in by 982 soldiers.

more: http://www.nj.com/breakingnews/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0571_BC_Afghan-Disarmament&&news&tradecentercrash