Civil society wants genuine reps attend Tokyo Summit

JALALABAD (PAN to participate in the July Tokyo summit were not their representatives.

Countries attending the summit in Japan are expected to announce their assistance to Afghanistan and economic development from 2015 to 2025.

Representatives of 73 civil society organisations operating in the east on Sunday held a joint press conference in Jalalabad city, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province.

They asked the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to ensure genuine civil society representatives attended the summit.

Those recommended to attend the event from Nangahar, Kunar, Laghman and Nuristan were not their real representatives, Badam Zarifi, speaking on behalf of civil society organistions, told reporters. However, he did not name anyone.

He said they had complained to the human rights commission and the governor’s house in written that civil society representatives be chosen through a ballot process.

He warned if real representatives were not given the chance to attend the summit, they would launch a protest campaign against the government.

Another civil society activist, Dr. Najibullah Sahibzada, claimed President Hamid Karzai’s brother, Mehmood Karzai, and members of the former northern alliance had secretly picked individuals of their choice from eastern provinces to take part in the Tokyo gathering.

He said the Afghan government had reached an agreement with Japan that four Afghan civil society representatives from each province should be recommended to the summit after being selected through a voting process.

The governor’s spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said the governor’s house was unaware that how and when civil society representatives had been introduced to the government for taking part in the summit.

He said they had received an application from civil society activists, urging the selection of representatives through a transparent ballot.

Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Janan Musazai said it was not yet clear who would attend the summit from Afghanistan.

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