Afghanistan News February 26, 2006

February 26, 2006

Militants take over Afghan prison wing
By Yousuf Azimy
PUL-I-CHARKHI, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban and al Qaeda militants took control of a wing of the Afghan capital's main high security prison and at least 30 prisoners were wounded in attempts to quell the riot, officials said on Sunday.

The unrest erupted on Saturday night after prisoners led by Taliban and al Qaeda militants took two female guards captive during a row over attempts to implement a new rule requiring inmates to wear prison uniforms, government officials said.

"As far as we know, some 1,500 prisoners are involved in this incident," a security official told Reuters on condition he was not identified.

"It went out of control and a clash broke out between the prisoners, including many Taliban, and the police, in which 30 people have been wounded," he said.

Bursts of gunfire were heard from within the sprawling prison compound on the eastern outskirts of Kabul on Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Heavily armed police and troops backed by tanks and armoured personnel carriers took positions outside the perimeter and security forces prevented journalists from approaching.

Deputy Justice Minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai, who was tasked with quelling the riot, said four prisoners were wounded while trying to escape from the prison.

"I have also heard that 20 more prisoners have been wounded, but the people behind this unrest are not ready to hand them over to us for treatment," he told reporters outside the prison.

He said the situation was under control, but the riot was not over.

"THEY STILL CONTROL THE WING"
"Taliban and al Qaeda members from different countries are behind this unrest," he told Reuters. "They still control the wing from where they had started the riot."

Hashimzai said the prison housed more than 2,000 prisoners, about 350 of whom were Taliban or al Qaeda militants.

General Mahboub Amiri, chief of Kabul's Rapid Reaction Police Force, said Taliban members triggered the riot in an escape bid.

Hashimzai said the riot erupted after prison authorities began issuing blue uniforms to prisoners on Saturday.

The uniforms were intended to prevent a repeat of an escape by seven Taliban suspects from the prison last month who got out by mingling with visitors. Officials said they suspected the escapees were assisted by prison guards.

Pul-i-Charkhi is a large Soviet-style prison complex built in the 1970s. Thousands of Afghans who opposed communist rule were killed and tortured there in the 1980s.

Nowadays it is used to house common criminals as well as al Qaeda or Taliban-linked militants.

Last July, four al Qaeda suspects escaped from the main U.S. military prison in Afghanistan at Bagram to the north of Kabul.

They included Omar al-Faruq, al Qaeda's most senior operative in southeast Asia. He was captured in Indonesia in 2002 and turned over to the United States. He remains at large.

In 2003, 41 Taliban prisoners escaped from prison in the southern city of Kandahar through a 30-meter (yard) tunnel.

(Additional reporting by Sayed Salahuddin)

A First Look Back at the Horror
Afghans Begin to Address Decades of Brutality at Ex-Official's Trial
By Griff Witte Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, February 25, 2006; A10
KABUL, Afghanistan -- If there ever were lights in the makeshift courtroom where Asadullah Sarwari is on trial for his life, they are gone. The room is cold and cramped, the breath of the accused and his accusers swirling together in a faint gray haze.

"I t has been 27 years, and we don't know where our brothers and uncles and husbands and fathers are buried," Obeidullah el-Mogaddedi, 75, said during the trial last month, his voice cracking and his finger stabbing the air. "We want to know their fate."

Afghanistan's first war crimes trial has brought emotional pleas from witnesses and a lengthy catalogue of charges against Sarwari, a communist-era intelligence chief who is accused of ordering executions in the late 1970s. But no one who testified at the hearing saw him commit a crime.

Lack of evidence is one of many problems that have arisen as Afghanistan attempts to confront its violent past, conducting the first such trial after a quarter-century of conflict that claimed at least a million lives.

Until recently, the country had seemed more intent on burying its history than reliving it through potentially explosive investigations and trials. That is beginning to change. But as the process gets underway, it is revealing unpleasant truths about the present as well as the past.

In many ways, the Sarwari case has degenerated into a farce. The defendant, who has been imprisoned for 14 years, has had difficulty keeping an attorney because lawyers are pressured not to represent him. The prosecutors have presented scant evidence. Witnesses have spoken at length about what they heard from relatives or friends, but none has produced evidence.

Afghan human rights activists and international observers said the problems are symptomatic of a justice system that is undeveloped, corrupt, highly politicized and poorly equipped after decades of neglect and manipulation.

"This trial is so fundamentally flawed in so many ways, we're recommending it not continue," said Patricia Gossman, director of the Afghanistan Justice Project, an international group that has pushed for accountability. "Totally left out is any concern for the truth. It's not fair to the defendant or to the victims."

Yet the stakes are enormous. The Sarwari trial could set precedents for future war crimes cases in Afghanistan, a country in which years of civil war and turmoil have produced countless atrocities. Hundreds of former militia commanders could be brought to trial.

Afghan officials and their Western backers, especially the United States, have felt it is too soon to aggravate such raw wounds. Although surveys have shown that most Afghans want abusers brought to justice, officials have said peace must come before justice in a fledgling democracy with a weak government, well-armed private militias and deep ethnic and ideological divisions.

But now, with rural insurgents, drug traffickers and regional strongmen gaining power, some wonder whether postponing Afghanistan's reckoning with the past may be ruining its chance for a different kind of future.

"The people clearly link security with justice," said Nader Nadery, a member of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission. "They say that if there is no justice for crimes of the past, there will be impunity and therefore no peace."

In December, the cabinet endorsed the initiation of a truth-seeking process and a strategy for bringing war criminals to trial. But the plan is short on specifics, and it remains to be seen whether it will be implemented.

Countries such as South Africa and Chile have gone through similar processes, but the challenge here may be more complex. The country endured three conflicts between 1978 and 2001: the communist era and Soviet occupation, the civil war among Islamic militias known as mujaheddin, and Islamic Taliban rule. In each case, the line between oppressor and oppressed was blurred.

Afghanistan's problems are not behind it. Many of the figures accused of bombing cities, torturing adversaries and ravaging the populace have managed to stay in positions of authority. The new parliament, elected in September, includes leaders from nearly every group accused of past abuses.

"They were the same as me, and now they are back in power," Sarwari, a burly man in his fifties with a long, pale face, said glumly during an interview in the Kabul prison run by the national intelligence service. "If I hadn't been arrested, I would be in the parliament now."

In 1979, Sarwari was the government's intelligence chief during an especially brutal period of communist rule, when tens of thousands of people were taken into custody and never heard from again. In one week, more than 70 members of Mogaddedi's family disappeared.

Sarwari has been imprisoned since his arrest in 1992. But in many ways his trial is an accident. Late last year, prosecutors realized he had never been tried and hastily put a case together, despite widespread agreement that the judicial system was nowhere near ready to handle such trials.

"Sarwari is really the symbol of the beginning of violence against humanity in this country," said Rangin Dadfar Spanta, a top adviser to President Hamid Karzai. "War crimes did not begin with the mujaheddin or the Taliban. The beginning was Mr. Sarwari and his party and the coup of 1978."

After the bloody overthrow, the communist regime launched a merciless campaign to eliminate rivals. The Mogaddedi family, prominent members of a strain of Islamic mysticism known as Sufism, was among the thousands of victims. One night in 1979, dozens of armed men showed up at the family's Kabul compound and Sufi sanctuary.

According to witnesses, Sarwari supervised as first the men, then the women and children were taken.

Mary Aman, then a girl in the extended clan, recounted getting a hysterical call from her cousin, cut off in midsentence as the power failed. Soon, armed men were at the door. They took her brother Yahya, 17, who had dreamed of becoming a physician. She never saw him again.

"They put their guns to my chest and said, 'Don't scream or we'll kill you,' " said Aman, now 38. "I wish they had killed me that night. They took everyone else."

Six months later, the women and children were released. For years, rumors circulated that the Mogaddedi men had been sent to Siberia, pushed out of planes or killed and buried in mass graves. Family members want Sarwari to tell them what happened. Then they want him executed.

Despite the wealth of accusations against him, the chances of a conviction are in question, largely because so little evidence has been presented.

One trial witness said his uncle told him Sarwari had beaten 60 people to death with his bare hands. But that uncle is dead. Another witness named Abdul Samad, 33, began yelling at Sarwari, accusing him of killing his father and three uncles. When the judge asked whether he had any evidence, Samad replied, "No, I was too young."

Sarwari, given a chance to defend himself, said others in the government had committed the crimes. But he said his most recent attorney had quit, so the judge granted him more time to prepare his case. The trial was scheduled to resume Saturday.

In many respects, Sarwari's case is easier than those that could follow. He is in jail, and the communists have long since been discredited. But the mujaheddin leaders, who defeated the communist forces and then turned their guns on one another, are still in power -- revered by followers and despised by their victims.

The mujaheddin's capture of Kabul in 1992 ushered in some of the worst years of war, as rival factions rocketed the capital, fighting block to block for control. In southwest Kabul, it is nearly impossible to find anyone who did not lose a home, a limb or a relative.

Mohammed Raza was 7 when his father was struck dead by a rocket as he walked home from his job selling kebabs. Now 18, Raza has been weaving carpets for 11 years to support his family. He thinks he knows who killed his father: Abdurrab Rasul Sayyaf, a militia commander who controlled a nearby hill.

But Sayyaf, a white-bearded Islamic scholar, was elected to the parliament in September. Later, he also came within a few votes of its leadership, losing to a former fellow commander.

"Maybe Sayyaf will be brought to justice," Raza said, "but I don't know how."

Afghanistan more dangerous than Iraq
Pak Tribuine-Pakistan Saturday February 25, 2006
WASHINGTON, February 25 (Online): Despite purported military success in Afghanistan, the U.S. Institute of Peace says the country in 2005 was more dangerous for American troops per capita than Iraq.

The group also said in a new report that NATO’s imminent takeover of operations in southern Afghanistan could derail counter-insurgency operations.

"Although NATO has approved more ’robust’ rules of engagement for its troops in its expanded mission, the organization still lacks the capacity and the will to aggressively root out insurgent forces," USIP stated. "Moreover, NATO foreign ministers have resisted any major role in counter-insurgency activities, insisting instead on a peacekeeping posture focused on ’stabilization and security’ assistance for the Afghan government."

According to USIP, in the spring of 2005 U.S. troop casualties -- both injured and killed -- reached 1.6 per 1,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, compared with a casualty rate of 0.9 per 1,000 in Iraq.

Afghan insurgents, likely including Taliban and al-Qaida fighters, are adopting methods proven effective in Iraq.

"Prior to 2004, suicide attacks in Afghanistan were rare: Only five such bombings took place between 2001 and 2003. In 2005, however, a wave of more than 20 suicide attacks occurred -- more than twice the number of suicide attacks of the year before," USIP stated.

There are roughly 20,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan compared to about 140,000 in Iraq.

The year 2005 proved to be the deadliest for U.S. troops since the 2001 invasion. There were 1,500 casualties, 100 of them killed in action.

USIP said Afghanistan is more dangerous for humanitarian and non-governmental organization staff than almost any other conflict or post-conflict situation, surpassing Angola, Somalia and Liberia.

Official says Afghanistan bomb attack on coalition convoy failed

A convoy of U-S-led coalition forces in southern Afghanistan has reportedly escaped what might have been a devastating attack.

An Afghan official says a suicide attacker drove a car loaded with explosives into the convoy, but the bomb failed to go off.

A district leader in Kandahar province says coalition troops killed the attacker when he got out of his car and threw a grenade toward a heavy jeep. He says the grenade burst the tire of the jeep, but a second grenade exploded in the attacker’s hand as he was shot.

In a phone call to The Associated Press, a purported spokesman for the Taliban claimed responsibility and said eight U-S soldiers were killed. Claims made in the name of the hard-line militia sometimes prove to be incorrect or exaggerated.

61 Afghan children treated in Germany return home
KABUL, Feb 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): As many as 61 Afghan children returned home after being treated for different ailments in Germany, officials said on Sunday.

The children had been flown to Germany by the Afghan Red Crescent Society, which opened hospitals in the European country in 1988 to treat children under 11 with burn injuries and joint pains.

Afghan Red Crescent Society official Sibghatullah told Pajhwok Afghan News the children had stayed in Germany from three days to two and a half years in connection with medical treatment.

Parents and relatives affectionately received the children at the ARCS office near Pul-i-Artal. Shah Gul, awaiting her grandson Zabihullah who had been to Germany two years back, said: "May Allah bless foreign doctors for treating our children."

Nine-year-old Abdul Qayyum remarked: "When officials put me on the list of returnees, I felt delighted, thinking I would be able to meet my parents whom I missed during my stay abroad."

The returning children lauded the care with which doctors treated them. Rahima, 10, from Ghorband district of the central Parwan province, said: "I will never forget the enjoyable time I spent with my friends in Germany."

On February 23, about 72 children with burn injuries and bone problems were transferred to the hospital in Germany.

Frozan Danish Rahmani

On the night patrol with Bravo Two Zero
The Telegraph -UK By Thomas Harding 25/02/2006
The short burst of machinegun fire in the cold desert night took us all by surprise. "Go firm! Go firm!" shouted the troop commander as bodies dived to the ground. "Hit the dirt. On your bellies. Get your belt buckles in the dirt!"

Machineguns and rifles came into the aim position and each Marine used his night vision goggles to scan the area.

It seemed unlikely that the Taliban had infiltrated the newly-built perimeter of Camp Bastion base, despite the emptiness around us.

"Have you enough cover at the back?" asked 2nd Lt Gordon Sweny, 25, leader of patrol Bravo Two Zero, as The Daily Telegraph and a sergeant hugged the earth.

When it was confirmed the gunfire had come from camp guards a few hundred yards away, the patrol dusted itself down and continued home.

The anxiety of the guards, many of them local Afghans, is understandable. Camp Bastion, where the main British force of 2,000 troops will deploy in late spring, is 20 miles from the nearest town and in the middle of the desert of lawless Helmand province.

At night, drug runners, Taliban and so-called anti-coalition militia travel the nearby Sangin corridor. The area has seen three major firefights in the last month, with up to 200 gunmen ambushing Afghan security forces.

With such a huge base and just 150 Royal Marines to guard a similar number of Royal Engineers building it, the troops know an attack is inevitable.

There is no siege mentality. But American containers covered with "Remember the Alamo" are a reminder of their potential vulnerability.

More than £50 million is being spent constructing three British bases in Helmand, where it is hoped the military will help reconstruct the poverty-stricken region and defeat the opium barons.

Camp Bastion will have a runway for C130 Hercules transport planes, a heliport for Apache attack helicopters and house 2,000 British troops, including paratroopers, alongside an Afghan army base with similar numbers.

But the Royal Marines of Juliet company, 42 Commando, are convinced they have the firepower and technology, including radar that can detect human movement up to 20 miles away, to deal with any attack.

"There are masses of dickers (enemy spies) around the place who are smart," said Major Steve Lee, the company commander. "Well, if they are watching us, the enemy will go, 'Why bother getting into a fight', because they can see how professional we are."

As he spoke, his troops prepared to leave on a night patrol to reconnoiter an area outside the base that had not been visited in the week since they arrived.

The main dangers, Lt Sweny said, were booby-trap bombs, "narc warlords" and Taliban operating in groups up to a dozen strong.

"This is an overt patrol to show everyone out there that we are here," he said. "We are not looking for a fight with the enemy but the enemy are looking for a fight with us."

But the first danger on the midnight patrol was from the local camp guards who were not aware of our approach.

"There are three of them pointing guns at us," one Marine whispered as we waited for 45 minutes pressed into the dirt. "What we don't want is for friendly forces to take a pop shot at us."

Eventually, the guard was informed of our presence. But a short while later the patrol halted when a rogue light was spotted in the darkness.

As it approached the final inner guard post, an Afghan national army soldier, part of a US-trained battalion at the base, screamed "Naarh!" and raised his AK47 at a Marine.

The commando cocked his weapon and dived into cover ready to open fire. His corporal shouted at two colleagues on duty next to the Afghan guards, "We are f****** Brits, you p****".

Disaster was avoided - but not without the use of a torrent of expletives.

Afghan, Pakistani border guards swap prisoners
TORKHAM, Feb 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Afghan and Pakistani officials swapped prisoners at the Torkham border last night, security officials said on Sunday.

Commander Shah Mahmud, in charge of Afghan border guards, told Pajhwok Afghan News that in all 10 prisoners were exchanged by the two sides. Among those swapped, three were Pakistanis and seven Afghans, he added.

Mahmud said the three Pakistani nationals from Peshawar, Swabi and Bajaur had been arrested by Nangarhar police for entering Afghanistan without valid travel documents.

The seven Afghans apprehended by Pakistan were ANA soldiers, said the commander, who did not know as to why and when they were detained.

A Pakistani paramilitary commander at Torkham, Tajamul Afridi, also confirmed the prisoner exchange. He revealed five of the seven Afghans had been detained in Karachi on terrorism charges, which could not be substantiated.

Deputy Commander of Nangarhar's Border Police Col. Ibrarullah said the prisoner swap, the second in three months, was negotiated by intelligence officials of the two countries.

Reported by Janullah Hashimzada & translated by Mudassir

Two cops among four injured in Paktia, Khost
GARDEZ, KHOST CITY, Feb 26 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Four people, including two policemen, were injured in two separate incidents in the southeastern Khost and Paktia provinces last night.

Crime branch chief of the Khost police headquarters Colonel Yaqoob told Pajhwok Afghan News a policeman and a civilian was injured in the Ismailkhel district of the province when a landmine, they were trying to defuse, exploded at them.

He said the two injured were shifted to hospital, where their condition is stated to be out of danger. Several people had been arrested in connection with planting the mine, he added.

Separately, unidentified armed men attacked a police post in the Dand Patan district of Paktia province last night. Security chief of the province Ghulam Nabi Salem told this news agency a policeman and an official of the semi-military force had been injured in the clash.

He said 12 rockets had been fired by miscreants at the post. The attackers fled after the policemen retaliated, he added.

In the Shah Joy district of Zabul province, armed men attacked a post of highway policemen. Police officer Abdul Raziq told Pajhwok the clash continued for half an hour, after which the assailants run away. No one was killed or injured in exchange of fire, he added.

Reported by Ilyas Wahdat/Majid Arif & translated by Daud

Tripartite commission meets in Afghanistan
KABUL, Feb. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Security was discussed Saturday in Afghanistan during the Tripartite Commission of senior officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, U.S. military said.

"The Tripartite Commission, composed of senior military and diplomatic representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan, held its fifteenth meeting in Bagram," U.S. military said in a press release.

The Afghanistan delegation and the Coalition delegation co-presented a briefing focused on security, reconstruction, and development in the eastern Khowst province. Discussions focused onthe challenges and accomplishments of governance and reconstruction in this important region adjacent to the Afghanistan and Pakistan border.

The Pakistan delegation then presented a strategy for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. This strategy consists of political dialogue, development aid and security operations. All delegations agreed that the sides should explore opportunities to increase security and improve conditions in the border region.

In addition, the delegates discussed border security and agreedto further enhance communication and coordination in this regard.

The NATO-ISAF representative concluded the presentations with abriefing on the ongoing expansion of NATO's role in Afghanistan.

Delegates included Lieutenant General Sher M. Karimi, Chief of Operations of the Afghan National Army, Major General Muhammad Yousaf, Director General of Military Operations of the Pakistan Army and Lieutenant General Karl W. Eikenberry, Commander, Combined Forces Command in Afghanistan.

NATO/ISAF again participated in an observer status. Local Khowst officials also participated in the Tripartite Commission meeting by video teleconference.

This plenary session highlighted the increasing results of communications and information sharing between Afghanistan, Pakistan, Combined Forces Command, and NATO-ISAF which has helped improve security cooperation in the region.

The Tripartite Commission will meet again in April 2006 in Pakistan. This will be the third meeting in which the Afghanistan and Pakistan delegations will be represented at the four-star general level.

Commanders' clash leaves one dead in Kapisa
MAHMUD RAQI, Feb 24 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Clash between two former jihadi commanders left one man dead and two others wounded in the Kohistanat district of the central Kapisa province, officials said on Friday.

Crime branch chief of the district Ahmad Zia told Pajhwok Afghan News the clash erupted between former commander of Jamiat-i-Islami Abdul Malook and another loyalist of the Hezb-i-Islami Agha Shireen.

Zia said one man from commander Malook's side was killed and another injured in the fight. He said both commanders had grudges against each other and they clashed in the past as well.

The officer said police rushed to the area to control the situation. He said four people had been taken into custody and investigations had been launched to arrest the other people involved in the clash.

He said the two commanders had earlier surrendered their weapons under the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programme last year. Locals say many people have been killed in clashes between the two commander in the past. Nadim Kohistani

Advance teams on the ground in Afghanistan planning Harper visit with troops
ALEXANDER PANETTA Canadian Press Fri Feb 24, 2:50 PM ET
OTTAWA (CP) - Security teams are in Afghanistan and Pakistan laying the groundwork for a visit by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to one of the world's most dangerous spots.

The prime minister is considering a visit to Canadian soldiers posted in Afghanistan's unstable Kandahar province to demonstrate his support for the military, sources said.

That visit may happen within weeks and could become Harper's first international trip as prime minister.

Officials from Harper's office have been seen in the two Canadian military camps in Kandahar, although no one will confirm the reason for their visit.

Security forces have already visited neighbouring Pakistan to plan Harper's pick-up and aerial transportation into Kandahar under heavy military escort, sources said.

Canadian troops in Afghanistan would love to see Harper, according to the new commander of front-line soldiers in Kandahar.

Lt.-Col. Ian Hope said a prime ministerial visit would give soldiers a big boost.

"It would be an extremely powerful positive moral effect, not that they are in any way suffering, but someone of that kind of stature would be great," Hope said.

"They probably would like to see a few hockey players too."

For reasons of security, flights into Afghanistan are funneled through its eastern neighbour and sources close to the operation said Harper would likely board a Hercules military transport aircraft in Islamabad.

Government officials are usually tight-lipped about upcoming travel - and especially so in this case.

The Prime Minister's Office said Friday that no official plans or dates have been set yet for a visit to Afghanistan.

There were also suggestions it may not be Harper who visits, but Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor.

But several high-ranking sources in a pair of government departments, along with Tory political staff and officials involved in security operations, all confirmed a trip is in the works.

"The (visit by Harper) has been raised," was all one senior official would say Thursday.

By making the trip so early in his prime ministership, Harper would be sending a signal to the military and to the international community about his commitment to Canada playing a role in the world.

He wants the troops to know his Conservative government also intends to honour its promise to increase resources for the Canadian Forces.

The Tories have promised $5.3 billion in additional military spending over five years, and have said they will expand the Forces by 13,000 full-time and 10,000 reserve troops.

Harper also wants to send the message that Canada takes its international commitments - including the fight against terrorism - seriously.

The United States recognizes Canada's contribution to the war on terror, the U.S. ambassador to Canada said Friday.

"Canada is playing a major role protecting freedom in that area of the world," David Wilkins told reporters.

Kandahar was the heartland of Afghanistan's fundamentalist Taliban movement. Of all the country's regions, it retains the most sympathy for the fundamentalist government that was ousted by international forces soon after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Last month, a Canadian diplomat was killed and three Edmonton-based soldiers were seriously injured when a suicide bomber attacked their convoy in the region.

One lingering question is whether Harper will already have completed the trip before his first face-to-face meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush next month.

He will attend a Canada-U.S.-Mexico trilateral summit next month, which is expected to be held in Cancun.

Officials in Harper's office were dismissive when the possibility of a Kandahar trip was raised last week.

Their official line has since become, "No comment."

Harper did not deny a trip to Afghanistan was in the works when asked about it this week.

"I can't make any comment on that," the prime minister told a news conference. "We'll make that announcement (about upcoming trips) as soon as we're in a position to do so."

In a post-election briefing with top military brass, Harper was urged to visit Canadian troops stationed in the southern Afghan city.

The chief of defence staff, Gen. Rick Hillier, told Harper that such a visit would be much appreciated by the military.

Officials in at least two federal departments said Harper had expressed support for the idea - without committing to it.

One said he found it significant that the one foreign country Harper mentioned in his Jan. 23 victory speech was Afghanistan, not the U.S. or any European ally.

He followed up that election-night address with a speech days later to a group of Canadian election monitors preparing to leave for Haiti.

"Canada may not be a superpower - but we stand for higher values to which all peoples aspire," Harper told the audience.

"And it is important that our actions as Canadians promote these values in all corners of the Earth."

Pakistan to close three more refugee camps
KABUL, Feb 24 (Pajhwok Afghan News): Pakistan is going to close three more refugee camps in its Balochistan and North West Frontier Province (NWFP) at the end of April this year.

An official statement released in Pakistan's central capital of Islamabad the other day said, the camps to be closed included the Kacha Garhi refugee camp in Peshawar and Jungle Pir Alizai and Gard-i-Zangal camps in Balochistan province.

The three camps are housing 129,000 refugees. Of these, 51,000 are living in Kacha Garhi, 35,000 Jungle Pir Alizai and 43,000 in the Gard-i-Zangal refugee camp.

The Pakistan government said refugees living in those camps should either repatriate to their country or relocate to other camps in Pakistan.

The statement said that the camps were being closed due to security, land development and camp consolidation reason and no one would be allowed to stay in the camps after the due date.

Two days back, the UN agency for refugees, in a statement issued in Islamabad, said that they were going to restart the voluntary repatriation programme of Afghan DPs to their country from March 2006. The programme was halted at the advent of cold weather last year, which would be resumed next week.