AFGHAN BONN TALKS TO OPEN ON TUESDAY

BONN 25 Nov.    With 24 hours to go to the first meeting, to be held in the historic castle of Petersberg, near Bonn, the capital of former Western Germany, between of some Afghan warring groups in more than 20 years, the United Nations that sponsore the conference expressed mild optimism over the meeting's outcome.

    All together 32 Afghan peronalities, representing the dominant Northern Alliance (11), the Rome group (11), that represents the former Afghan Monarch Mohammad Zaher Shah, the Cyprus group (5), that is backed by neighbouring Iran and the Peshawar group, (5) made mostly of Pashtoons, who form the largest of Afghan ethnics would take part at the meeting, sponsored by the United Nations.

     ''If the participants can reach agreement over the five-points plan submitted to them, we woud consider the meeting as successful'', said Mr. Ahmad Fawzi, the spokesman for Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations Special Envoy for Afghanistan.

    Briefing journalists on board of a ship anchored at the Rheine river shore opposite the Maritim Hotel, where all other delegates and journalists are parked, Mr. Fawzi said the UN would impose nothing on the participants, ''leaving them alone to decide for themselves''.

    ''There is no timetable, no time limit, no agenda. Delegates would be free to study Mr. Brahimi's plans and if they decide to jump to point number three, or to consider the formation of a national council instead of an interim administration, much better'', he added.

    The Brahimi plan calls for the convention of a Council for National Unity to decide the convention of a Loya Jirga, or the assemmbly of the elders, which in time would appoint an administration acceptable to all Afghan parties.

    Though UN diplomats have cautionned against ''too much expectations'' from the conference, analysts and experts are more pessimistic.

It is a compicated situation. If the conference goes to the end, we would consider it a success'', added the Egyptian Fawzi, pointing that for people who ad fought each other for the last two decades, it would not b easy to address each other without problem.

    Mr. Fawzi also confirmed that at least three women are coming as delegates, two with the Zaher Shah delegation and at least one another with the Northern Alliance.

       UN Sources said the formation of a broad-based government acceptable to all parties, the role of the former King as an interim caretaker leader, the presence of foreign forces and above all, the role and participation of the Poshtoons, to which belongs most of the infamous Taleban fundamentalists are among the main subjects to be debated by the delegates and their advisers.

    Afghanistan's two major neighbours, Iran and Pakistan not only support rival factions, but also differs on all the above-mentionned issues.

     Fearing that the combination of American military presence in Afghanistan and the former King playing a constructive role in an interim period, Tehran is adamantly opposing both, as voinced by Ayatollah ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, the Islamic Republic's number two leader on Friday.

    UN sources have expressed regrets at the ''negative'' role that is being played in Afghanistan by Iran and Pakistan.

ENDS AFQAN TALKS 251101