New Afghan parliament presses for removal of security barriers

[Cocoa]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/01/international/asia/01cnd-afghan.html?pagewanted=print

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 1 - Afghanistan's new Parliament, in existence only 10 days, is already showing its teeth, pressing the government to act on an inflammatory issue involving the capital - namely the inconvenience caused by security barriers set up by foreign elements, like embassies, contractors and the American military.


<snip>

But the issue that threatens to cause an international incident is the frustration about traffic in the city, and the closing of whole districts when foreign or government dignitaries visit - as when Vice President Dick Cheney attended the recent opening of Parliament - causing widespread disruption.

"We have to open the roads that have been closed by foreign princes and war-princes," said Ramazan Bashardost, a populist member of Parliament, who has been speaking out on the issue. "The issue of security is the same for Afghans as for members of embassies. I am not convinced that security is solved by closing roads."

The day after Mr. Karzai's decree on Friday, the Ministry of Interior informed various foreign organizations, including the American military, American security contractors like DynCorp, private aid organizations and several embassies, that they had a week to remove barriers.

<snip>

American military forces were not rushing to comply, however. Representatives of the American-led coalition forces, among others, "registered their concerns about the general proposal" at Saturday's meeting with Interior Ministry officials, said an American military spokesman, Lt. Col. Laurent Fox. The issue was not resolved and will be discussed again at a later date, he said.

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[Warren Stupidity]

1. A hint about exactly how sovereign afghanistan is. eom.