04/12/02Page A1 |
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Afghan government works to appease key militia leader
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SHEBERGHAN, Afghanistan - It is a small bullet hole, just one of millions that riddle walls and buildings across the country. This one is located in a mirrored closet in the dining room where Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum receives honored guests at his Sheberghan palace. The angle of the hole, and the lack of any matching mark in exterior walls or windows, raise the chilling possibility that someone fired the bullet while sitting inside the room. It is unclear whether Gen. Dostum, one of the country's richest and most powerful militia commanders, had anything to do with the bullet. But the fact that he leaves the hole unrepaired, for all visitors to see, speaks volumes about the chieftain who reigns supreme over northern Afghanistan. "He is a man of war. He was born in war and raised in war," said a senior Afghan official who asked not to be identified. "He has only lived in war and, I believe, can only survive in war." Gen. Dostum is one of several regional leaders in Afghanistan whose active support is essential to the success of any future national government. But gaining these leaders' cooperation to end 23 years of war involves a complicated diplomatic process of feeding egos while gently asking the impossible: that the warlords dismantle the militias that are the very basis of their power. The six northern provinces under Gen. Dostum's domination offer a glimpse of how difficult the disarmament process will be. U.N. officials are working with him and other rulers of provincial fiefdoms to win their cooperation before 500 of the nation's leaders convene a loya jirga, or grand council, in June. The loya jirga cannot be successful, diplomats say, unless Gen. Dostum and other chiefs agree not merely to participate but also to cede military control of the regions they command. The loya jirga will shape the next government to replace the interim one currently headed by Prime Minister Hamid Karzai, who already is more than halfway through his six-month term. Some formidable obstacles stand in the way. In the western province of Herat, Iran-backed tribal leader Ismail Khan has indicated that he will remain independent in the interest of protecting his mostly Shiite Muslim population from oppression by the country's Sunni Muslim majority. In southern Khost province, tribal leader Pacha Khan Zadran has launched military attacks on rival tribal leaders who refuse to accept him as their government representative. But perhaps most important to the loya jirga's success, Mr. Karzai repeatedly has emphasized, is winning the cooperation of Gen. Dostum. Over the objections of his own military commanders and Cabinet members, Mr. Karzai invited Gen. Dostum to join the interim government in December as deputy defense minister, a less-than-prestigious title that the general grudgingly accepted only minutes before Mr. Karzai was inaugurated. The deft appointment by Mr. Karzai helped ensure that, at least for the time being, the ethnic Uzbek general would not use the thousands of militiamen under his command to destabilize the fragile government as Afghanistan tries to put itself back together again. Gen. Dostum did not comment, and failed to show for three interview appointments in Sheberghan and the provincial capital, Mazar-e Sharif. In a speech two weeks ago, he made clear his intentions to cooperate in healing Afghanistan. "Now, we have a chance for peace. This is a special opportunity, a special moment that we must not lose," he told an audience in Mazar-e Sharif, with Mr. Karzai beside him on the dais. "We have learned from the past, and this time we will succeed in achieving peace. To succeed, though, we must stand together." Diplomats and other foreign observers who attended the speech said they were impressed by Gen. Dostum's words. But on the streets, where Gen. Dostum still has thousands of his Junbesh militiamen patrolling, it is far less clear where his real intentions lie. When asked what force they are serving in, militiamen and neighborhood commanders identified themselves only as "Junbesh," which means "the movement" in Afghanistan's predominant language, Dari. Junbesh is not only the name of Gen. Dostum's militia but also the political party he founded. In Sheberghan and Mazar-e Sharif, Gen. Dostum's portrait graces entrance archways of government buildings, schools, military installations and stores, similar to the way Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein uses his own ever-present portrait to remind his people exactly who is in charge. By comparison, Mr. Karzai's photo is rarely visible. In conversation, inhabitants of the region routinely refer to him not as "general" but rather as "the king." "In the past, Afghanistan was divided into different parts, like kingdoms. He was regarded as the king here," said Muhammad Isa Eftekhari, police chief in Mazar-e Sharif. "The people like him and want to support him. He is as powerful as ever." Areas under his control also use a separate currency, the junbeshi. A junbeshi note is almost identical to an afghani note except for some barely noticeable features, such as distinct serial numbers and spacing between letters. A junbeshi is worth half as much as an afghani, but it remains the currency of choice across northern Afghanistan. Gen. Dostum travels in motorcades that would rival a White House security detail in terms of firepower. At least six trucks, each loaded with six to 10 militiamen equipped with assault rifles, machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, accompany Gen. Dostum wherever he travels. "This place is still very dangerous," said Habibullah Haidiri, 40, a Junbesh commander in Mazar-e Sharif. "I hope we can disarm everybody soon. We're tired of all these gunbattles and fighting and people behaving badly." Gen. Dostum, who is in his late 50s, acquired his military rank in 1989 while serving in the Soviet-backed national army. His links with the Soviets and ongoing good relations with Moscow are additional points of friction with other military leaders, most of whom earned their credentials fighting with the mujahedeen guerrilla movement during the 1979-89 Soviet occupation. A key factor bolstering his power and independence is the physical separation of northern Afghanistan from the rest of the country caused by the natural divide of the Hindu Kush mountain range. A single, ice-laden highway tunnel pierces the Hindu Kush at 11,000 feet, serving as the only practical road link between Kabul and the north. Gen. Dostum's troops guard the northern approach to the tunnel, helping ensure that no opposing forces can attack from Kabul. There are other stark reminders of his fiercely guarded independence. In Mazar-e Sharif, Gen. Dostum operates his own Presidency of Foreign Affairs, where he receives diplomats and coordinates relations with nearby nations such as Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. He operates his own prison in Sheberghan, where he is keeping nearly 3,000 prisoners of war captured in November when the Taliban government fell. Not everyone is pleased with the pace of Gen. Dostum's transfer of power. His principal military deputy, Gen. Atta Muhammad, commander of the national army's northern division, blames Gen. Dostum, among other militia leaders, for blocking Mr. Karzai's disarmament and peace efforts. "Gen. Dostum should be more interested than anyone in dismantling the militia bases, but he doesn't seem interested," Gen. Muhammad said. At least 2,000 militiamen from various groups are still on the streets of Mazar-e Sharif, despite decrees requiring their removal, he added. Although Junbesh militiamen are by far the predominant force on the streets, gunmen from Gen. Muhammad's militia, Jamiat-e-Islami, also patrol some areas, in part as a check on Gen. Dostum's power. Gen. Muhammad said he has 700 national army troops in Mazar-e Sharif - all recruited from various militias - to enforce the disarmament decree. The troops are still in training, he acknowledged, and in no shape to challenge the militias. They are learning how to march in step, perform jumping jacks in unison and play volleyball as a team. "We are attempting to work this out peacefully," Gen. Muhammad said, adding that his job would be dramatically easier if the International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, were permitted to deploy on the streets of Mazar-e Sharif as it has in Kabul since January. Kabul is now largely militia-free. "The issue is guns. You've got guns everywhere ... and that's a formula for disaster," a diplomat said. If the United States is sincere in its desire to restore peace and security, he added, "You have to get serious. You put B-52s overhead and you disarm the people." In the view of some local security officials, the current approach of allowing Gen. Dostum's and other militias to roam the streets "is an utter, complete, total, unmitigated disaster," the diplomat said. He described the idea incorporating them into national forces as tantamount to dressing thugs and gunslingers in government uniforms. "We were soldiers yesterday, thieves before that," he said. "And now look - we're police!" |