KABUL, 20 December 2005 — Former warlords, ex-communists, Taleban defectors and women activists were sworn in yesterday as members of the first Afghan Parliament in more than 30 years amid hopes of national reconciliation after decades of bloodshed.
The inauguration was peaceful despite threats by Taleban guerrillas and was greeted with tears of emotion although there is disappointment that many in the Parliament are accused of serious rights abuses and links to the drugs trade. “This meeting is a sign of us regaining our honor,” President Hamid Karzai said after swearing in the 351 lower and upper house members.
“This homeland will exist for ever!” he declared, prompting tears from many delegates. Karzai urged national reconciliation after almost three decades of warfare and reiterated a call to the Taleban to abandon their insurgency, which has intensified in the past year despite his efforts to encourage defections.
Parliament has to endorse Karzai’s ministers, and government officials said after the inauguration he was considering reshuffling his Cabinet and cutting the number of ministries.
The officials, speaking anonymously, said the reshuffle would affect at least two ministries, including foreign affairs. Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak confirmed the plan. “Yes, there will be some changes,” he said, but gave no details.
Analysts say Karzai appears to have enough support in Parliament to avoid major problems, but could face difficulties with appointments, given disappointment at his administration’s failure to improve people’s lives and carry out crucial reforms.
The inauguration was the culmination of a UN-backed plan to bring democracy to Afghanistan, drawn up after US-led forces overthrew the Taleban in 2001.
“It means a lot,” Karzai said. “It means progress, it means achievement, it means togetherness.”
US Vice President Dick Cheney, who attended the inauguration after a visit to Washington’s more troubled front in Iraq, called it a “historic day” and said the United States was committed to supporting Afghanistan for the long term.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a statement: “The extremist elements who threatened to disrupt Afghanistan’s electoral process and democratic institutions have failed.
“The seating of the National Assembly is the final step in the process begun four years ago with the assistance of the international community to create Afghanistan’s democratic institutions.”
Security was tight after a Taleban suicide attack near Parliament on Friday and a vow by the guerrillas for more attacks on “a symbol of American occupation.”
