Brawl, walkouts mar Afghan loya jirga

Some delegates at the loya jirga have accused faction leaders of intimidation

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Dozens of delegates have walked out of the second day of Afghanistan's traditional council gathering -- the loya jirga -- just hours after a brawl broke out outside the assembly.

Around 60 to 70 delegates, frustrated over what they said was the lack of a free vote over the country's future, left the 1,500-member meeting Wednesday.

The delegates said they were not being consulted on leaders for a transitional administration, while others accused the faction leaders of intimidation. (The loya jirga)

Despite tight security at the assembly -- where delegates are set to select a head of state by Thursday and later on appoint a new government that will run the country until the summer of 2004 -- tensions grew outside. (Kabul on alert)

Several bodyguards were arrested, after aiming weapons at international security forces guarding the compound, according to a military spokesperson.

Bribery

AUDIO CNN's Gary Tuchman reports how a group of armed men tried to disrupt the second day of Afghanistan's historic loya jirga 1.83MB / 2:54 min WAV sound   LOYA JIRGA Focus: A very Afghan gathering  Profile: Key players    CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Gary Tuchman reports delegates have delayed the opening of a grand tribal assembly to choose a new government for Afghanistan (June 10) Play video   MORE STORIES Afghan troops, UN forces beef up security for council

German security forces arrested four men for pointing AK-47 rifles at them, a German forces spokesman said Wednesday.

The detained men were reportedly bodyguards or aides of Ahmad Wali Masood, a top delegate at the meeting.

"At 8:00 this morning at a roundabout near the Intercontinental Hotel, one of our German patrol was aimed at by people in camouflaged uniform," said Lt. Colonel Thomas Loebbering, a German forces press spokesman.

While there was some "body contact" with the German forces, Loebbering said no shots were fired and no one was hurt.

The violence followed a dramatic opening day in which the former king withdrew from any bid for power in the new government and the former president withdrew his candidacy.

The creation of the loya jirga, which meets in a giant, air conditioned and carpeted tent, is in accordance with an agreement hammered out among leaders of Afghan factions in Bonn, Germany, late last year, to build a post-Taliban Afghan government.

Disillusioned

Despite calls by former monarch Mohammed Zahir Shah for delegates to work for the unity of the country after 23 devastating years of war, the political maneuvering surrounding the loya jirga has left some delegates disillusioned

Many fear intimidation and bribery have ensured Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's interim government chairman since last December, and the man who leads the vote for president.

Afghanistan's former king has given his support to Karzai, after withdrawing himself from any bid for power in the new government.

"This is not a democracy; it is a rubber stamp," Seema Samar, the current interim women's affairs minister was quoted as saying by Associated Press.

Many warlords had pressed for Shah to be a candidate, and warned there could be bloodshed if he didn't win.

Karzai, who is backed by the United States and its allies, also picked up the support of former president Burhanuddin Rabbani after he withdrew his candidacy Tuesday.

But Rabbani, who was titular head of the northern alliance, will receive government influence and power in return for giving up his own candidacy, sources said.

He will be able to help decide on the future composition of the Cabinet and other key posts. (Key players)

Not an easy task

The only remaining contender, Masooda Jalal -- a female employee of the World Food Program, is not expected to mount a serious challenge although her candidacy marks a major step after years of discrimination against women by the Taliban.

A major challenge for the new government will be representing Afghanistan's many fractured ethnic groups -- such as the Pashtuns, Shiites, Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks -- which have fought with one another through the years over property and land.

Some hostility among the groups remains, even though those who formed the interim council in Germany last year tried to balance the factions and create a multi-ethnic government.

The loya jirga is scheduled to end June 16. If no decisions have been made by then, a provision allows delegates to extend their session until June 22.

That date is final because it marks the end of the six-month mandate of the Karzai-led interim government.