Monday, Sep 20, 2004
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By Declan Walsh
URUZGAN (AFGHANISTAN), SEPT. 19. The photocopied notices appeared on the blue mosque door in Uruzgan, a small town below a line of jagged mountains, early on Friday morning. Pinned up by an unknown hand under cover of darkness, their local name — `night letters' — has a quaint, almost romantic ring. Their message does not. "A holy war has been declared against the infidel," announced the first letter, attached to the door with black tape. "Christians, led by the U.S., were invading," said the second. Any Afghan working with them would be "severely punished", warned the third. At the bottom of each was a common signature: "The Taliban".
Intensifying effort
Three weeks before Afghanistan's presidential election, the black-turbaned Taliban are intensifying efforts to scupper the vote. Hunted by 18,000 U.S.-led soldiers and scattered throughout the southern provinces, the militants have turned to a dual tactic of assassination and intimidation. More than 30 election workers have been killed across the country. Two weeks ago, a car bomb exploded in Kabul, killing three American security guards and at least nine other persons. Then this week, the U.S.-backed interim President, Hamid Karzai, the favourite to win the October 9 poll, became the target. Last Thursday, a rocket narrowly missed Mr. Karzai's helicopter as it landed at a school in the south-east town of Gardez. The tightly protected Mr. Karzai was forced to abandon the rally, his first of the campaign. A day later, police arrested three Taliban suspects, and found explosives and detonators. A Taliban spokesman later said it intended to attack each of the 18 candidates for the presidency. But in rural areas like Uruzgan — the rugged, southern province where its fugitive leader, Mullah Omar, once lived — the Taliban are determined to discourage voters from even venturing into the polling booths. In addition to attacking the U.S. forces — a remote explosion in the province wounded three soldiers on Friday — the Taliban are also employing "night letters" as a primary weapon in the campaign of intimidation.
Threatening notes
Election officials, teachers and ordinary voters are receiving the threatening notes every day, said Atiqulla, the provincial electoral co-ordinator. "They are told that if they co-operate with the elections, they will be killed. It's the Taliban's new way of preaching to them," he said, speaking at his office in the heavily fortified U.N. compound in the regional capital, Tarin Kowt. His election team in Uruzgan is virtually under siege. The Central Government has no control over the lawless province, where power sways between U.S. troops, local militia, and small bands of roaming Taliban fighters. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
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