IRAN REPEATED OPPOSITION TO MULTINATIONAL FORCE IN AFGHANISTAN
KABOL 21 Dec. (IPS) Iran's Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi repeatd his country’s fierce opposition to the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan, saying that such a presence might add further to Afghanistan’s hardships.
Speaking at a press conference held after the reopening ceremonies of the Iranian embassy in Kabol, Mr. Kharrazi said Afghans themselves must be responsible for maintaining and securing peace and security in their country.
"From the outset we have been against the creation of a multinational peacekeeping force for Afghanistan", Mr. Kharrazi told journalists.
Mr. Kharrazi had arrived in Kabol Friday on a two-day official visit to take part in both the official reopening of Iranian embassy in the Afghan capital and ceremonies for transition of power in Afghanistan, scheduled for Saturday.
According to a protocol worked out by Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nation’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan that supervised the formation of the interim Administration, Mr. Borhaneddin Rabbani, the nominal Head of the "Islamic Government of Afghanistan" is to pass the powers to Mr. Karzai during official ceremonies at the presidential palace.
Afghan interim Foreign Minister Dr. Abdollah Abollah was among the officials present at the inaugural ceremony.
Mr. Kharrazi voiced Iran’s strong opposition to multinational forces for Afghanistan as the first units of the force, made of more than 50 British marine commandos had landed in Bagram airport Thursday night.
The Afghan interim government agreed with the coming of a 3000 men peacekeeping force to be led by Britain and joined by France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey and possibly Jordan, among other contributing nations.
"Our proposal to Afghans was that they should form their own national army and police to keep security and peace", he reiterated.
"It is not in the interest of the Afghans, foreign armies and the regional nations that foreign forces be positioned here, therefore from the outset our position was that security, peace and stability must be kept by the Afghan themselves", he added.
According to Mr. Kharrazi, not only the long-term presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan is against the interest of Afghans, but it also complicates further problems and difficulties for the new Afghan political system.
"Our advice was and is that by the end of the interim government, foreign forces must leave the country and transfer the peacekeeping task to the Afghans", he suggested.
Observing that in his view, the transfer of power is a difficult process, Mr. Kharrazi nevertheless express satisfaction that the interim government was "broad-base" and includes all Afghan forces.
"Contrary to what other might have thought, our suggestion to our friends in the Northern Alliance was to include others in the power sharing and not to repeat past mistakes. We happy to see that this is what has happened now", he said.
Meeting with Mr. Hamid Karzai, the interim Prime Minister, Mr. Kharrazi
assured him of "full Iranian backing and support" for the
reconstruction of the war-shattered nation.
He congratulated Mr. Karzai, a Pashtoon leader, on the "Afghan people's victory" and said after years of struggle, the Afghan people now can lay the foundation for an independent government based on Islamic values.
"Such a victory, that have been gained thanks to bloods of martyrs, should lead to formation of a broad-based government", Mr. Kharrazi said, as reported by the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
He stressed that both Iran and Afghanistan share common concerns and interests, adding reconstruction of Afghanistan, economic and agricultural reforms and uprooting drug trafficking are of high significance.
Karzai thanked Iran for its attention to Afghanistan and said the solidarity showed by Iran's Supreme Leader and President in the years of Afghan nation's hardship would not be forgotten.
He added that his country gives priority to cooperation with Iran. "Afghanistan will remain the Iranian nation's friend and brother; you have hosted and received many Afghan refugees and we are indebted to you", Karzai said, quoted by IRNA.
The Iranian Foreign Minister and Karzai also reached an agreement on formation of a joint commission to review the Tehran-Kabol mutual co-operation.
Assuring that Tehran had devised "extensive plans" for
reconstruction of Afghanistan, Kharrazi said that after the establishment of the
interim government in Afghanistan delegations are to be dispatched to Kabul to
survey ways and means for Iran's contribution to Afghanistan's reconstruction.
Iran is the first country to announce resumption of its commercial flights to
Kabol on Friday, the first regular flights to the Afghan capital after the
collapse of the Taleban at the hands of the Americans.
Iran-Afghanistan air route opened on Friday as an Iranian passenger plane belonging to the Mahan Ariways, a company operated by the Deprived Foundation, landed in Bagram Airport north of Kabol on Friday, IRNA reported.
Iran's private aviation company has announced that it has plans to conduct flights to Kabol, Herat and Mazar Sharif from Tehran and Mash’had (Khorasan Province). ENDS IRAN AFQANESTAN 211201