US warns Afghans against forming ‘parallel govt’

Reuters/KabulThe United States warned yesterday it would withdraw financial and security support from Afghanistan if anyone tried to take power illegally, as supporters of a presidential candidate rallied in Kabul for a parallel government. Preliminary results announced on Monday showed that Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank official, won the June 14 second round, but his rival Abdullah Abdullah immediately rejected the outcome, saying the vote was marred by widespread fraud. Underscoring the magnitude of the crisis, Abdullah said US Secretary of State John Kerry would visit Kabul on Friday. Kerry arrived in Beijing yesterday for the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue. The US-China talks finish tomorrow. Thousands of Abdullah supporters gathered in the capital Kabul yesterday, demanding their leader form a parallel cabinet and unilaterally assert his own rule - a dangerous move that would further fracture the fragile country. In a sharp warning, Kerry said there was no justification for violence or “extra-constitutional measures”. “I have noted reports of protests in Afghanistan and of suggestions of a ‘parallel government’ with the gravest concern,” he said in a statement issued by the US embassy in Kabul. “Any action to take power by extra-legal means will cost Afghanistan the financial and security support of the United States and the international community.” Afghanistan is heavily reliant on foreign donors to fund everything from building roads and paying school teachers to security. The United States pays the lion’s share of all international aid. Observers fear that a standoff between Abdullah and Ghani could plunge Afghanistan into disorder, with no clear leader in a country already beset by deep-rooted ethnic divisions. Abdullah has accused President Hamid Karzai, who is stepping down after 12 years in power, of helping rig the vote in favour of Ghani, describing it as a “coup” against the people. The standoff over the vote has quashed hopes for a smooth transition of power in Afghanistan, a concern for the West as most US-led forces withdraw from the country this year. Thousands of his supporters vented their anger in Kabul yesterday, chanting “Death to Karzai”, tearing down a large portrait of the outgoing leader and replacing it with an image of Abdullah. At the rally, Abdullah, visibly flustered by the size of the gathering, faced a roar of slogans demanding he immediately announce his own cabinet, telling supporters to be patient. “We are the winner of this round of elections without any doubt,” he told the flag-waving and whistling crowd. “The people of Afghanistan call on me to announce my government today. This was and is a demand from the people of Afghanistan... We cannot ignore this call. ... Once again I ask you to give me a few days to consult and speak.” The apparent softening of his tone comes after speaking with by telephone with Kerry and US President Barack Obama. The White House said yesterday that  Obama spoke with Afghan presidential contender Abdullah Abdullah on Monday night to call for calm and dialogue and urge review of fraud charges in that country’s election. “The president made clear ... that we expect a thorough review of all reasonable allegations of fraud, that there is no justification for resorting to violent or extra-constitutional measures,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a briefing. “Any such move would cost Afghanistan the financial and security assistance of the United States.” Away from the city’s centre, Abdullah supporters also tore down another Karzai portrait at Kabul’s international airport. Ghani, who is backed mainly by Pashtun tribes in the south and east of the country, sought to appear conciliatory yesterday, talking at length about Afghanistan’s unity and of his respect for Abdullah. “His Excellency Dr Abdullah is a national figure, a respected figure so he wouldn’t lead to a parallel government,” he told reporters. “We have backed all Abdullah’s demands to recount and audit suspicious votes for the sake of transparency... They have asked for the inspection of votes so they should rejoin the process.”Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague told Afghanistan’s leaders yesterday they should learn from crisis-hit Iraq’s failures and ensure an orderly transfer of power. “It’s important that Afghanistan’s leaders work together,” Hague told reporters during a trip to New Delhi. “We look to them to ensure there is an orderly, legitimate and constitutional transfer of power to a new president in Afghanistan,” he said.  “Iraq has suffered from the failure to have a sufficiently inclusive government in recent years,” Hague said, referring to the political polarisation over a new government aimed at countering the militant onslaught in Iraq.