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CNN Live At Daybreak

Afghans Remembering Northern Alliance Leader Assassinated One Year Ago

Aired September 09, 2002 - 05:03   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Afghans are remembering a Northern Alliance leader assassinated one year ago by suspected al Qaeda terrorists.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour is covering the tribute in Kabul -- Christiane, good morning.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And the stadium here has only just emptied. For about four hours it was packed to capacity with thousands of people from Kabul coming to pay respects on the one year anniversary of the Ahmed Shah Massood. And really the symbolism of today was designed to counter everything that the dark years of the Taliban, as they call them here, represented. There were women who took part in this commemoration. There was a young girl who read a poem, a young girl who would not even have been allowed to go to school under the Taliban.

At one point, Ahmed Shah Massood's 13-year-old child addressed this packed stadium. His son that survived him said that the terrorists who killed him one year ago were trying to kill his vision. They said that they wanted to kill his hopes for a united, free and independent Afghanistan.

The son said that would never happen. And speaker after speaker spoke about Massood's legacy of national unity. They made a big point of that, that in this country that's been known for its warlordism and ethnic rivalries. They made a big point of saying that Ahmed Shah Massood stood for moderate Islam, not for the kind of fanaticism and extremism that this country witnessed under the Taliban.

Ahmed Shah Massood is a legend here in Afghanistan because of all the years he fought first the Soviet invasion during the 1980s and then a last pocket of resistance in the north against the Taliban during the 1990s. He was killed a year ago by two Arabs posing as television journalists. They had waited seven days to interview him and finally when they did, their camera equipment, packed with explosives, detonated and killed him.

He died immediately, but his people wouldn't say that. They didn't tell the world until a week later because they feared that the fragile Northern Alliance would collapse without their leader. His death is believed to have been inspired and instigated by Osama bin Laden to rid the Taliban, his hosts, of their last pocket of resistance and also to prevent any kind of Northern Alliance allies joining with the United States, who were sure to retaliate after September 11.

September 11 two days after the assassination of Massood. So today he is remembered for his role in fighting terrorism, for his role in a free and independent Afghanistan and for his role as one of the last remaining legendary heroes of this country -- back to you, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Christiane Amanpour reporting live from Kabul this morning.

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