Radio Sahar: Taleban fighter killed, another injured as they plant mine in Farah

Text of report by Afghan female-orientated community Radio Sahar on 15 October

[Presenter] Two Taleban members were killed and injured as they were attempting to plant a mine in [western] Farah Province. According to local security officials, the two were planting a mine on a highway heading to Bala Boluk District.

[Correspondent] Col Joma Khan, the operations chief of Farah Security Command, said that the two were planting a mine on the road Afghan and NATO troops were about to pass. He said, however, that the mine exploded as they were planting it, killing one of them and injuring another. He added that Taleban members have managed to take their injured fellow to an unknown location. [Passage omitted: Joma repeats above information] Afghan and NATO troops have sustained casualties and damage as a result of roadside bombs and mines this year.

[Description of Source: Herat Radio Sahar in Dari -- local independent radio station in Herat run mainly by women. OSCIAP20071015950055 1230 GMT 15 Oct 07]

Radio Sahar: Police seize over 130 kg of opium in Herat

Text of report by Afghan female-orientated community Radio Sahar on 15 October

[Presenter] The security forces in [western] Herat Province are reporting the seizure of some drugs. According to the spokesman of the Herat Security Commander, the drugs had been placed in a vehicle. Here is Hami Azad with further details:

[Correspondent] Col Abdorrauf Ahmadi, the deputy security commander of Herat Province, said that security forces have managed to seize over 130 kg of drugs in environs of the city. He added that the drug had been hidden in a vehicle, whose driver was caught red-handed.

[Ahmadi] Thanks to the efforts of the personnel of Herat highway police, 132 kg of opium drug was seized from a car. One person has been arrested in connection with the drugs.

[Correspondent] The smugglers are said to have intended to carry the drugs to Farah Province.

Security forces managed to seize 12 kg of crystal in the centre of the city a few days ago.

Security forces have seized more than 1,500 kg of various types of drugs this month.

[Description of Source: Herat Radio Sahar in Dari -- local independent radio station in Herat run mainly by women. OSC IAP20071015950058 1230 GMT 15 Oct 07]

Radio Sahar: Afghan troops deployed to guard economic summit in HERAT

Text of report by Afghan female-orientated community Radio Sahar on 15 October

[Presenter] Over 1,500 national army troops started their first mission to ensure security in Herat Province. According to Jalandar Shah Behnam, the commander of Zafar Military Corps No 207, three military contingents have been sent on mission. He expressed optimism over tight security during the ECO [Asian Economic Cooperation Organization] summit in Herat and said troops will be deployed in various regions to control and search. It is said that in the run-up to the ECO summit, officials are trying to thwart any security incident.

One of the concerns and challenges for the local authorities is establishment of security these days.

[Description of Source: Herat Radio Sahar in Dari -- local independent radio station in Herat run mainly by women. OSC IAP20071015950049 1230 GMT 15 Oct 07]

AFP: Herat’s silk weavers struggle to keep an ancient trade alive

October 15, 2007

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) — An important stop on the ancient Silk Route, the beautiful city of Herat has for centuries lured travellers and businessmen.

But today it is fighting to keep alive one of the symbols of this splendid past — silk spun from the delicate cocoons of silk worms.

About 120 kilometres (74 miles) east of the Iranian border, the key city in the 14th century Timurid empire of conqueror Tamerlane still prides itself on the skill of producing the precious material.

But the small industry is being crushed by competition from China, which has 70 percent of the world silk market, and its neighbours Pakistan and Iran.

Of the 156 enterprises in the province, few are dedicated to the production of silk and only 100 families make their living from the craft. This is a marked drop from a few years ago.

“In 2002 there were more than 300 manufacturers with 800 employees in the province,” says the head of Herat province’s trade unions, Abdul Qadir Akbari.

“We prefer to invest in products that are easy to export, like biscuits sold in the neighbouring former Soviet republics,” explains the secretary of the province’s separate industrial union, Mir Mohammad Mashouf.

In Afghanistan the delicate work of producing silk is still done by hand because there is no money to bring in modern machines, says Akbari, himself involved in sericulture.

“It takes between 45 and 50 days for an average family of five people to raise 40 kilogrammes (88 pounds) of cocoons,” he says.

“We give them boxes imported from China that contain the leaves of the white mulberry tree to feed the eggs, which will develop into the cocoons,” he says.

The next stage is unravelling the cocoon, when one has to avoid breaking the fine thread that can reach between 300 and 1,500 metres (yards).

In Herat, just four to five manufacturers are in the industry and they “barely survive,” says Akbari.

Ghalem Haidar Azimi runs his business from an old suburb of mudbrick houses.

His dozen employees work eight hours a day, six days a week, to produce 40 kilogrammes a month of rough silk which he says he can sell for 40 dollars a kilogramme. This thread then has to be treated and refined.

It is too expensive to hope to export on a world market where one can bargain for silk half the price.

“Here we find silk from China and more often a Pakistani imitation (polyester) much cheaper,” says Azimi.

Mohammad Amine, who runs a fabric shop near the city’s landmark Friday Mosque, says: “Today, artificial silk from Pakistan costs 20 dollars for a quarter kilogramme, already dyed. Here, four kilogrammes of silk costs 160 dollars and it still has to be dyed.”

The Pakistani thread is also easier to use, says this former warrior who lost a leg fighting the Taliban in the 1990s. “In one day, we can make three shawls with this material, compared to one with the real silk from here.”

Silk shawls are prized in the region. Men traditionally keep them for their turbans, even though it’s a sign of wealth forbidden by Islamic teaching.

“It is hard work that benefits few people,” says Jamshedi Ghulam Mohammad, an expert in their manufacture.

There are also silk carpets, he says, although those from Iran are more valued.

“Thirty years ago, Afghan silk carpets sold well: 75 percent of them were exported compared to hardly two percent today,” Mohammad said.

Afghan MFA press release on ECO conference in Herat

17th ECO Council of Ministers Meeting in Herat

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will host the Seventeenth Meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) Council of Ministers (COM) between 16 and 20 October 2007 in the ancient city of Herat. The city is the capital of Herat province and is situated in western Afghanistan. The meeting will be chaired by the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, H.E. Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta.

The Council of Ministers is the highest policy and decision making body of ECO, comprising the Foreign Ministers of the Member States. It meets at least once a year, preferably prior to the beginning of the ECO fiscal year by rotation, in one of the Member States. The Council may propose convening meetings of other Ministers for the formulation and recommendation of Plans and projects in their respective fields.

The Council of Ministers has important responsibilities including: approving policies, strategies, and work programmes of the ECO; reviewing and adopting the reports of the Regional Planning Council, Council of Permanent Representatives and Specialized Agencies/Regional Institutions; approving ECO’ annual budget and audit reports.

The 17th COM meeting in Herat will review the progress made in different sectors since its previous meeting held in Baku in May 2006. The review would cover implementation of the Transit Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA), operationalization of the Container and Passenger Trains from Istanbul to Almaty, and the ECO Trade Agreement, the ECO Trade and Development Bank, inter-connection of power systems of member states, and progress towards establishment of ECO Science Foundation and ECO Regional Institutes.

Among other issues to be considered at Herat will be the Statute of ECO Regional Institute for Standardization, Conformity Assessment, Accreditation and Metrology (RISCAM) and Road Map for its implementation, the Statute/ MoU of ECO-Veterinary Commission, the MOU on Establishment of Regional Centre for Risk Management of Natural Disasters. The Council will evaluate progress towards implementation of the Agreement on Simplification of Visa Procedures for ECO Businessmen and the Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investment (APPI).