December 19, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 24, 1424

KABUL, Dec 18: Amnesty International and the United Nations on Thursday condemned threats against an outspoken Afghan woman delegate at a constitutional convention who accused former anti-Soviet fighters of dragging the country into civil war.

“Some present were heard to say that they would kill the woman while others intervened to protect her,” Amnesty said in a statement.

“If delegates are threatened or otherwise prevented from expressing their views, this process of building a new future for Afghanistan will be severely threatened,” the rights watchdog said.

Malalai Joya, a female delegate to the loya jirga (“grand assembly”), Wednesday criticised the powerful mujahedin for dominating proceedings and said they were responsible for dragging Afghanistan into civil war, which ended only when the Taliban seized power in 1996.

Joya said the mujahedin had had their chance to run the country, made a mess of it and should not be allowed to take power again. She said they should be tried in national and international courts.

Dozens of angry mujahedin delegates immediately stood up and rushed to the stage and demanded the expulsion of Joya, one of around 100 female delegates.

The UN also deplored the incident in which Joya was nearly expelled by the loya jirga chairman.

“We deplore very much the incident that marred the plenary session of yesterday,” spokesman Manoel de Almeida e Silva told reporters.—AFP