Protest disrupts Afghan council

Crispin Thorold
BBC correspondent in Kabul

A female delegate's complaint brought chaos to the proceedings

There have been dramatic scenes at the loya jirga, the grand council meeting in Kabul which will ratify a new constitution for Afghanistan.

Proceedings were disrupted after a female representative told the council that mujahideen fighters at the loya jirga had brought war to the country.

She called for them to be tried in international courts.

Order was only restored when a highly respected Islamic leader spoke to the gathering to appeal for calm.

The constitutional loya jirga is a microcosm of Afghanistan.

One time mujahideen fighters rub shoulders with former communists; liberals debate with conservatives.

On Wednesday an open session that was discussing procedure was disrupted by scores of delegates after a female representative passionately decried the influence the mujahideen have at the loya jirga - and in the country as a whole.

Return to order

Malali Joya said the men, who fought against the communists in the 1980s and amongst themselves in the 1990s, had brought war to Afghanistan.

Why have you again selected as committee chairmen those criminals who have brought disasters for the Afghan people? In my opinion they should be taken to the world court Malali Joya Press unease over loya jirga

They should, she said, be tried in the international courts.

Many clapped, but a few minutes later scores of delegates gathered at the front of the hall.

They shouted "Death to the communists" and ignored the chairman's pleas for them to return to their seats.

Some members of the Afghan National Army got onto the podium and order was only restored when Abdul Rab Saayaf, one of Afghanistan's most powerful and conservative mujahideen leaders, called for calm.

The session was closed shortly afterwards, with delegates splitting into smaller groups for yet more procedural discussion.

Four days into the convention, there has still been no substantive debate on the 160-article draft constitution.