TOKYO (voa) – In Tokyo, delegates from almost 60 nations and many international organizations are meeting at a two-day donors’ conference for Afghanistan aimed at raising billions of dollars in reconstruction aid.
During his opening statement, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pledged 500-million dollars over two years. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell later announced the United States will contribute almost $300-million in the coming year. The European Union pledged $500-million for 2002.
Before the conference officially started Monday, Britain and Germany both reportedly pledged more than $280-million each to help finance the rebuilding.
On Sunday, Afghanistan’s interim leader, Hamid Karzai, said he hopes to leave Tokyo with his “hands full” of aid pledges. The United Nations says Afghanistan will need $1.7-billion this year and $15-billion over the next 10 years.
The United States, Japan, the European Union, and Saudi Arabia are expected to donate the bulk of the funds.
Meanwhile, in eastern Afghanistan, two U.S. Marines were killed and five other injured in a helicopter crash Sunday. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says there is no evidence that enemy fire downed the helicopter. He says mechanical failure is the most likely cause of the crash, which occurred after the helicopter left the Bagram air base on a re-supply mission.
And in Cuba, 34 more Taleban and al-Qaida detainees arrived at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, bringing the total number of prisoners there to 144.
Mr. Rumsfeld also said Sunday John Walker Lindh — who was captured with Taleban fighters in Afghanistan — will be brought back to the United States as soon as this week. The young American is facing charges he actively supported the al-Qaida terrorist network and conspired to kill U.S. soldiers overseas. He will be put on trial before a U.S. civilian court.
