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Afghan Peace Assembly Backs Talks With Taliban Extremists

   VOA News 04 June 2010

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   Afghan  delegates  to  a  peace  conference  in Kabul say they support
   President  Hamid Karzai's plans for peace talks with the Taliban in an
   attempt to end nearly nine years of war.
   The roughly 1,600 delegates endorsed President Karzai's reconciliation
   plan Friday, while wrapping up the three-day peace assembly, or jirga,
   in the Afghan capital.
   Afghan  elders  and  other  delegates reconvened Friday after breaking
   into  smaller  working  groups.   Among  the  recommendations was the
   formation  of  a  commission  to  lead  efforts to open talks with the
   Taliban.
   During  the  jirga,  delegates debated whether preconditions should be
   set  before the government enters into negotiations with the insurgent
   group.   Some  representatives  want  the  U.S.  to  release  Taliban
   prisoners  being  held in military detention centers, if they have not
   been  charged.   Other  delegates  have called for the U.N. to remove
   Taliban leaders' names from a blacklist.

   Afghan  security  forces  on  Wednesday  killed  two attempted suicide
   bombers  during  a  Taliban  attack  on  conference.  No one else was
   hurt.The  Taliban  was  not invited to the jirga, and has said it will
   not  engage in peace talks until all foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
   The  Afghan  government has demanded the Taliban lay down its weapons,
   renounce violence and accept the constitution.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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