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CNN Live At Daybreak

Mixed Feelings About Afghan King's Eventual Return

Aired March 26, 2002 - 06:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Finally on DAYBREAK, in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul, workers are fixing up the former king's mansion in anticipation of his return. The king was ousted in 1973, but there are mixed feelings about his return.

CNN's Walter Rodgers has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The people of Afghanistan are going to have to wait even longer for the return of a king most of them cannot even remember. Most Afghans alive today were more influenced by the 10 years of Soviet occupation during the 1980's than by a monarch who was driven into exile in Italy in 1973. Now, anxious government officials are trying to squelch speculation that after several postponements, King Zahir Shah may not be coming at all.

SAYED RAHEEN, AFGHAN INFORMATION MINISTER: I'm sure he is coming back very soon, but probably certain arrangements here or in Rome requires that.

RODGERS: The 87-year-old king was supposed to return this week, but a western diplomatic source said the government here simply is not ready for his entourage. Now, the royal homecoming has been delayed twice, and there are confusing statements about the king's return. His Italian hosts are saying it's the end of April. An Afghan official says mid April, and the interim Afghan Prime Minister, Hamid Karzai, muddied the waters even further.

HAMID KARZAI, AFGHAN INTERIM GOVERNMENT CHAIRMAN: One month? That's not true. That's just not true, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you any idea how the long delay is?

KARZAI: No, that's not true. I thought it was going to be two or three days. That's not true, no, no, no. That's not true.

RODGERS: Workmen on the roof of the king's mansion suggest his palace may not yet be ready. The private security analyst observed the mansion is still very vulnerable to attack in a country awash with guns. International peacekeepers in Kabul, along with the United Nations, the United States and the Italians, all share responsibility for the king's welfare. There is also disagreement about the king's role. Many welcome the king's return as a stabilizing force, but oppose any restoration of the monarchy. Some worry about the king's age.

RAHEEN: Of course it will not be easy for him in his age and probably his health to stay in Kabul. We're going to expect him to come and work as a prime minister or as a president of somebody in charge of the cabinet.

RODGERS: Perhaps it's a mark of Afghanistan's desperation that so much hope is being invested in the return of an 87-year-old king. "Perhaps the king can help us get a job, then we won't have to beg," this destitute woman said. Nostalgia, after decades of war, eclipses reasons why King Zahir Shah was overthrown, but not everyone has forgotten or forgiven.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There was too much dissipation and lechery when he was king.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): During his 40 years, he did nothing for the Afghan people, and we don't want him to come back.

RODGERS: Yet if all Afghans do not yearn for this king, most do remember the stability and tranquillity of his reign.

DR. ZALMAY RASUL, AFGHAN GOVERNMENT MINISTER: Afghanistan needs a father of the nation. He will symbolize this unity of the nation, father of the nation. And that Afghans need, you know.

RODGERS: The prevailing opinion here is the king will eventually return, probably in a few weeks. He is needed here in June to chair a council of tribal chiefs and warlords as they meet to craft a new government for this old country.

Walter Rodgers, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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