She need to establish a broad
based and freely chosen Afghan Government was recognized
by the "Six Plus Two" group during a high
level meeting under the chairmanship of Secretary-General
Kofi Annan this morning at the U.N.
The "Six
Plus Two" group, which was created in the early
1990s, includes China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the US and Russia. Representatives
of each country, except Pakistan, spoke this morning
on the need to rid the Afghan territory of Taliban
rule. The representative of Pakistan was not able to
enter the UN building which had been closed after a
plane crash in New York.
The
group issued a declaration Monday morning in
which they "pledged
their continued support to efforts of the Afghan
people to find a political
solution to the Afghan crisis, and they agreed
that there should be the establishment in Afghanistan
of a broad based multi-ethnic, politically balanced,
freely chosen Afghan administration representative
of their aspirations and at peace with its neighbors."
The declaration addressed the need for international
cooperation to root out terrorism worldwide. It
specifically encouraged the United Nations to take
an active role in assisting the Afghan people in
developing a political alternative to the Taliban
regime. Ministers and other senior officials signed
the declaration which becomes effective immediately.
During the meeting the Secretary-General's Special
Representative Lakhdar Brahimi spoke on his recent
visit to the Afghan region. He emphasized the need
for the UN to continue its humanitarian efforts
both inside Afghanistan, and in refugee camps located
in neighboring countries. In addition, the group
urged additional contributions from donor countries.
The next challenge facing the Six Plus Two is
how to go about implementing such a government.
In a press conference with Mr. Brahimi at an earlier
date, he spoke of the desire of the Afghan people
to implement a freely chosen government, independent
of outside influences. The feeling at the United
Nations over the past few days has been quite the
opposite, with many representative speaking of
the need for international intervention in Afghanistan
to oversee a safe, new government. The joint declaration
issued by the Six Plus Two group specially address
this need.
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