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Exiled King Makes Appeal to Afghans
Thursday, September 20, 2001

LONDON, United Kingdom -- Baltimore Sun
Afghanistan’s King Mohammed Zahir Shah arrived in Rome in the summer of 1973 to look after his health. He chose to remain in exile after a brother-in-law seized power that year in Kabul, the Afghan capital.

Zahir, now in his mid-80s, is still in Rome, his aides still thinking he can unite his people.

Afghanistan has been shattered by coups, invasion by the Soviet Union in 1979, civil war and the rise of the Taliban government that is accused of harboring Saudi-born exile Osama bin Laden, who is suspected of masterminding last week’s terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Yesterday, Zahir issued a message to the Afghan people, appealing “to their sense of honor and patriotism to rescue ourselves from this dangerous situation.”

“Historically, our nation has acted in accordance to the guidance and tenets of Islam, embraced moderation and tolerance, opposed terrorism,” he said in a statement.

His aides said the message was broadcast in Afghanistan.

Every few years, the king is mentioned as a potential unifier of his shattered country. And every few years, hopes are dashed as reality intrudes on the notion that a deposed monarch who lives in a villa by a golf course and riding stable can provide the answers to what ails Afghanistan.

With Afghanistan again threatened by invasion - this time by a United States embarking on a war against international terrorism - the king’s supporters are courting attention.

“He can play a role,” Zalmai Rassoul, a former top aide, said yesterday in a telephone interview from Rome. “He is the only man alive in Afghan society who people trust. The problem in Afghanistan is, no one trusts anyone.”

Rassoul said the king does not wish to restore the monarchy, For years he has advocated a Loya Jirga, or Grand Assembly, to bring together tribal, regional and political leaders to create a new country from the rubble of unceasing war.

“To sort [out] the Afghan problem, we need a government elected by the people, with the support of the people,” Rassoul said. “He is working on that.”
(More: Baltimore Sun News Source)

Dan