Cablegate: Prt Panjshir: Parliamentary Speaker Qanooni Opens
VZCZCXRO3225
PP RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #5249/01 3021132
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291132Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3794
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 005249
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TAGS: PHUM PGOV PRELAF AF
SUBJECT: PRT PANJSHIR: PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER QANOONI OPENS
SCHOOL AND BLASTS PAKISTAN
REF: PARIS 6542
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Summary
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1. (SBU) The grand opening of the Teachers, Training
College (TTC) October 10 in Panjshir combined several unusual
features for a public ceremony: a large Kabul delegation; a
strong Afghan lead; some participation of women; and, for the
first time, broad political themes dealing with regional
issues. Wolesei Jirga Speaker Qanooni, a Panjshiri,
denounced Pakistan for representing the home of, and
providing the base for, the Taliban. He said any attempt to
appease the Taliban, or cut secret deals with them, would
backfire. One of the attending parliamentarians told the PRT
later that Qanooni,s speech was not so much a call to arms
as a wake-up call for the Panjshiris -- and likely an attempt
to burnish his credentials as an international player and
presidential material. End Summary
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Setting
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2. (U) Over five hundred Panjshiris, including one hundred
women and representatives from the PRT, gathered October 10
for the grand opening of the Teachers, Training College
(TTC). Under a blazing sun during Ramazan, the congregation
sat through a two-and-a-half-hour ceremony that featured
prayers from mullahs, speeches from politicians and chants
from both male and female students.
3. (U) The Ministry of Defense had constructed the 40-room
building amid old military barracks. It represents one of
the largest and finest structures in the whole province.
Army Chief of Staff Bismullah Khan, a Panjshiri, reportedly
after strong lobbying from provincial officials, had
transferred it to the Ministry of Education. Governor Bahlul
spearheaded the effort, a reflection of his view of education
as a top priority of development.
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Seating
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4. (U) The program included a handful of Afghan officials
and parliamentarians from Kabul. In attendance from the
capital were Yanus Qanooni, the Speaker of the Wolesei Jirga;
Meshrano Jirga members Aref and Azatyar; Wolesei Jirga member
Regestani; and the First Deputy Minister of Education
Ghaznawi. Provincial officials included Governor Bahlul,
Education Director Rizai and other line directors.
Organizers invited representatives from the PRT to be seated
on the speakers, platform, but agreed to allow them to take
places in the second row to emphasize the Afghan lead in the
proceedings.
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Domestic Policy
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5. (U) The speakers ) Governor Bahlul, Speaker Qanooni,
Deputy Minister Ghaznawi, and Director Rizai ) all
identified education as a central force for Afghan
development. They spoke of the social and economic
devastation in recent years, of the importance of schools for
the future and of the need to train teachers. The Governor
called education his top priority, urged parents to get
involved to promote their children,s learning, underscored
the role of science in the modern curriculum, and requested
assistance from the Ministry of Education. Speaker Qanooni
echoed many of these themes, noting his standing as a
Panjshiri and drawing on his previous tenure as Minister of
Education. Deputy Minister Ghaznawi pledged to help the TTC
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and noted his proposal, now pending at the Finance Ministry,
to raise teachers, salaries by ten-fold, from $80 to $800.
Director Rizai outlined the function of the TTC, saying 48
trainers would help professionalize 200 students aspiring to
become teachers.
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Foreign Policy
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6. (U) Qanooni, alone among the quartet of speakers,
addressed themes beyond education. He said the Taliban had
demonstrated its hostility to education, especially for
girls. Afghans therefore needed to resist the Taliban, who
represented a foreign force in the country. Indeed, Qanooni
said, the Taliban were not true Afghans; otherwise they would
not play such a destructive role. &There are no Afghan
Taliban; they all come from Pakistan.8 The neighboring
country was not just their base but also their home.
7. (U) Continuing, but without mentioning any leaders by
name, Qanooni argued it was a strategic blunder to negotiate
with the Taliban. Any attempt to appease them, or cut secret
deals, would ultimately backfire. He noted that, as speaker
of the Wolesei Jirga, parliamentarians from northern
Afghanistan were approaching him with concerns that the
Taliban insurgency was splitting the country once again into
two, a north and a south. Qanooni vowed to oppose this
division. &If we give them three provinces, they will
insist on all thirty-four.8
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PRT Policy
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8. (U) PRT representatives sought a low profile to
accentuate the Afghan lead. The PRT had worked earlier to
promote the transfer of the building from the Ministry of
Defense to the Ministry of Education. PRT engineers had done
a survey of the site. We will pursue the options of using
CERP funds for various complementary projects, including
digging a well and providing a generator.
9. (U) After the ceremony, Qanooni and Bahlul called us over
to confer. Qanooni thanked the PRT for its commitment to
Panjshir development. He cited various projects, including
the road, district centers and micro-hydros, as milestones of
progress in the valley. He also encouraged us to continue
reaching out to the local community. Our efforts in the
past, he said, had garnered the respect of Panjshiris from
all walks of life. We responded that our partnership with
Panjshiris was at the heart of our work.
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Comment
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10. (SBU) The ceremony was unusual in several respects. It
featured a large Kabul delegation, a rarity for Panjshir.
While the PRT had assisted earlier behind the scenes, the
project was essentially Afghan. It also included the
participation of local women, both in the audience and as
part of the program. All of these aspects made the event
noteworthy ) indeed, successful with a unique twist.
11. (SBU) Qanooni added a new element: public utterance of
political themes we are more frequently hearing in private
but which are rarely uttered in a large public gathering.
Panjshiris heard them from him in a public setting for the
first time. Senator Aref told us later that Qanooni,s
speech was a significant moment for the province ) not so
much a call to arms, but a wake-up call.Qanooni sounded many
of these notes in his recent visit to Paris (ref), and it may
well be part of a longer-term campaign to establishing
himself as presidential material.
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NEUMANN