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Afghanistan opens inaugural parliamentary session

Afghanistan opened its first session of parliament after three decades of occupation and war yesterday with an emotional ceremony attended by US Vice President Dick Cheney.

The sitting of the first parliament since 1973 was crucial to securing the future of the war-ravaged country, President Hamid Karzai said after swearing in the 351 new parliamentarians, some of them former warlords accused of rights abuses.

"Let me tell the world that Afghanistan is rising from the ashes of invasion and will live forever," Karzai said, his voice breaking with emotion.

His speech prompted applause and tears from the new members of parliament (MPs), most of whom wore the traditional shalwar kamiz and turbans for the historic occasion.

The opening of the parliament is the final step of a transition to democracy launched after the extremist Taliban regime, which imposed harsh Islamic law on war-weary Afghanistan, was toppled in a US-led invasion four years ago.

Other milestones along the way have included the adoption of a new constitution in 2003 and the election that confirmed interim leader Karzai as president in October last year.

The ceremony took place under tight security because of fears of attacks by loyalists of the Taliban now waging a deadly insurgency against the US-backed government that has killed about 1,500 people this year.

Karzai praised the "great leaders" of the resistance to the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation for helping Afghanistan to its "victorious independence."

Many of these mujahidin fighters were deeply involved in a bloody civil war that followed the occupation, with some -- among them new MPs -- accused of war crimes during the conflict.

The parliament also includes a handful of former members of the Taliban, which took power in 1996 before being toppled after they did not surrender Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the US.

The presence of figures from Afghanistan's bitter past was condemned by MP Malalai Joya.

"I see the future of this parliament as very dark because of the presence of warlords, druglords and those whose hands are stained with the blood of the people," she told reporters after the ceremony.

One of the former commanders who is accused of rights abuses, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, dismissed such criticism saying that, "The parliament represents the reality of Afghanistan."

"The subject of warlords belongs to Afghanistan's past," said another MP and one-time presidential contender, Yunus Qanooni.

Karzai urged the new MPs to put aside their differences.

"Difference of opinion is good as long as long as it's in the interest of the country," he said.

"But you [MPs] should consider the national interest as of your priority," he said.
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