USA: Leaders from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka address the U.N. General Assembly

The U.N. General Assembly went into its second day on Wednesday (September 20) with the morning session including addresses by the presidents of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said that foreign troops in Afghanistan will not be able to end attacks by Taliban militants unless steps are also taken to "destroy terrorist sanctuaries" outside the country, in a reference to Pakistan. "Terrorism does not emanate from within Afghanistan. Afghanistan is its worst victim. Military action of Afghanistan alone therefore will not deliver our shared goal of eliminating terrorism. We must look beyond Afghanistan to the sources of terrorism, we must destroy terrorist sanctuaries beyond Afghanistan. We must dismantle the elaborate networks in the region that recruit, indoctrinate, train, finance, arm and deploy terrorists," said Karzai. NATO troops are battling to quell the heaviest bout of violence in Afghanistan since 2001 when U.S.-led forces overthrew the Islamic-fundamentalist Taliban, which had been sheltering Osama bin-Laden and his al Qaeda organization. Karzai told the U.N. General Assembly that outsiders, whom he did not identify, were behind the new upsurge of violence. U.S. Army Gen. John Abizaid, the commander overseeing American operations in Afghanistan, on Tuesday expressed concern about Taliban military activity being organised and supported from inside Pakistan. Rebels can freely cross the mountainous frontier between the two countries. Some Afghan leaders have accused Islamabad of failing to do enough to stop infiltration, or even of continuing to support its former protégé, the Taliban. U.S. President George W. Bush will host a joint meeting in Washington next week with Karzai and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to discuss the situation. Pro-Taliban militants and the Pakistani government reached a peace deal on Sept. 5 under which the militants agreed to stop attacks in the country and in Afghanistan in return for a halt in government's operations in the region. Critics say Pakistan's government has virtually caved in to the militants' demands and the strategy risked creating a safe haven for Taliban insurgents and their al Qaeda allies. Karzai said the fight against terror was linked to faltering attempts to eradicate the narcotics trade. He blamed booming poppy production on weak security for Afghan counter-narcotics agents and the lack of credible programs to persuade Afghan farmers to grow other crops. "Afghanistan is committed to fighting narcotics alongside terrorism with strength and determination. And through the combination of law enforcement and economic measures we expect that the international community will continue supporting us in this fight by enabling us to provide meaningful alternative livelihood to our farmers," said Karzai. The Afghani President also expressed his concern over "incidents of Islamophobia in the west." "This trend does not bode well for the cause of building understanding and cooperation across civilizations," Karzai said, "As a Muslim nation Afghanistan is committed to safeguarding not only the interests of our holy faith but also to building bridges of understanding and friendship among followers of all fathers." In his address to the Security Council, also in the morning, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said his country was threatened by terrorism but that his government was committed to support global efforts to combat the scourge. "It is our hope that the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) will transform itself from a terrorist outfit to one that is committed to dialogue and democracy. Our government stands ready to respond to any display of good will and a move toward a non violent approach," said Rajapaksha. Peace broker Norway had said recently that the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE have agreed to meet for talks after weeks of the worst fighting since a 2002 truce killed hundreds of troops, civilians and rebels. But sporadic exchanges of artillery and mortar fire continue on Jaffna peninsula, the birthplace of many top Tiger fighters and regarded as the cradle of the island's minority Tamil civilisation. The rebels, driven out in the mid-1990s, want it back. The army has captured Tiger territory on the southern lip of the strategic northeastern harbour of Trincomalee and says it has pushed the rebels back around a kilometre from their forward defense lines in Jaffna. Emboldened by their successes after a string of failures before the truce, some troops and commanders increasingly feel it is time to take the fight to the Tigers -- much to the alarm of the international community. The rebels vow there can be no permanent end to a two-decade war that has killed more than 65,000 people since 1983 until the government agrees to their demands for a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils in the north and east -- something President Mahinda Rajapakse has flatly ruled out. The Tigers and government each accuse the other of trying to force a full-blown return to war. Analysts fear the fighting will grind on. And in the middle, civilians pay the price. Rajapakse also said in his General Assembly speech that Sri Lanka was looking forward to continue and contribute to the work of Security Council reform, in making its composition more representative and its decision making more democratic. He emphasised that it was important that the Security Council reflects the current geopolitical realities in Asia, Africa and in Latin America. rz/jrc

ITN Source | September 21, 2006

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