Afghan warlords' moves bring unease, resignation  June 08,
2002|By Laurie Goering, Tribune foreign correspondent.  KABUL,
Afghanistan — The regional warlords who have long wielded so
much of the real power in Afghanistan are supposed to stay on
the sidelines as the divided nation struggles to build its first
unified national government in 23 years.  The reality is that
nearly all the warlords have a seat at the table.  As
Afghanistan prepares for its loya jirga, the nationwide
governmental selection process that opens Monday, striking a
balance between democracy and the warlords' interests is proving
delicate.  Ignoring the edict that criminals and human-rights
abusers are barred from participating in the loya jirga,
supporters of Abdul Rasul Sayyaf on Friday voted the
fundamentalist warlord a spot in next week's grand council
meeting.  Sayyaf is widely accused of shelling Kabul, at huge
human cost, during turf fights that followed the end of Soviet
rule. He calls the charges baseless and defends his years of