Xinhua
10/12/2003
By

KABUL - Afghanistan is to kick off an ambitious process within two weeks to disarm some 100,000 existing militia troops across the country in a bid to consolidate post-conflict peace and stability after over two decades of war.

President Hamid Karzai has approved the launch of the so-called Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program, whichis supported by the United Nations and donor nations, on Oct. 24, a governmental press release said on Saturday.

An inaugural ceremony in north Afghanistan's Kunduz city will mark the beginning of the extended pilot program, which also covers Kabul, the capital city, and two other major regional centers of Gardiz and Mazar-i-Sharif.

The long-awaited disarmament program aims to demobilize 100,000Afghan officer and soldiers currently under the Defense Ministry, thus paving the way for the creation of a new Afghan National Army,according to the press release.

With the signing of the DDR Operational Directive by the Defense Ministry and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the ground work has now been prepared to begin the process,which is financially supported by Japan, Britain, Canada and the United States, it added.

The three-year program will be carried out by the Afghanistan'sNew Beginnings Program (ANBP), a joint entity between the Afghan government and the United Nations, with support from two governmental commissions, Afghan officials said.

A disarmament commission, led by the Defense Ministry, will help reorganize the existing Afghan military force units and prepare them for weapons collection and decommissioning, while another commission for demobilization and reintegration will produce a reintegration strategy to provide jobs for those demobilized soldiers.

Reintegration opportunities have been identified for the officers and soldiers demobilized in the pilot phase, the press release said, adding that opportunities will include vocational training, wage labor work, demining, agricultural jobs and other options.

The US-backed President Karzai in the press release called upon the nation to support the essential disarmament process, which it described as instrumental in achieving peace and national security.

Disarming the 100,000 existing militia troops across the country is seen as an essential step for the Afghan government to secure post-war peace and stability while it is building a new national army with assistance of the United States and its allies.

However, how to convince regional warlords, many of whom also provincial governors, to agree to surrender their troops would be a daunting task for Karzai and his transitional government, analysts here said.