AFP, November 3, 2009

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: The Taliban on Tuesday rejected an olive branch extended by Hamid Karzai, ridiculing the Afghan president as a "puppet" of the West, after he was handed another five years in power.

In his first public appearance since being declared president for a second term, Karzai reached out to the Islamist militia, which has waged an increasingly virulent insurgency since being toppled from power in 2001.

"We call on our Taliban brothers to come home and embrace their land," Karzai told a news conference a day after organizers declared him the winner of the country’s second presidential election.

But his offer was slapped down by the Taliban. They accused Karzai of being in debt to Western powers who helped sweep him into office eight years ago and are still struggling to defeat the movement on the battlefield.

The president has repeatedly appealed to the Taliban, offering an amnesty to its fugitive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, but has made little headway in dividing the shadowy movement’s ranks.

"This is not the first time Karzai has made such statements," said Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi.

"We do not attach any value to these offers of peace by Karzai as we know they are empty words.

"He is a puppet and his government is a puppet government. He is in no position to make such decisions or stand by them."

In a statement issued in their spiritual capital Kandahar in southern Afghanistan, the Taliban said the 10-week election saga, which ended with organizers scrapping a scheduled run-off, showed the West dictated policy.

"The cancellation of the second round of the [poll] showed that decisions on Afghanistan are made in Washington and London, while the announcements are made in Kabul," the Taliban statement said.

"What is astonishing is two weeks ago they were arguing that the puppet president Hamid Karzai was involved in electoral fraud … but now he is elected as president based on those same fraudulent votes, Washington and London immediately send their congratulations," the statement added.

The Taliban had called for a boycott of the electoral process and carried out scores of attacks in the build-up to the first round and on election day.

It had also threatened to intensify attacks ahead of the run-off, carrying out a deadly attack on a guesthouse for UN workers in Kabul last week.

Faced with stern warnings from US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other Western leaders, Karzai vowed to form an inclusive government.

"My government will be for all Afghans, and all those who want to work with me are most welcome," Karzai said in his victory speech, broadcast on national television.

"There will be crucial changes in our future government. Now we are determined to use all our forces, by any means, to remove this stain [of corruption] from our soil," he said.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who congratulated Karzai, said the mission would not be forced out of Afghanistan by violence, after Taliban gunmen stormed into a UN-approved guest house killing at least five expatriate UN staff.

"We will not be deterred, cannot be deterred and must not be deterred and the work of the United Nations will continue," he said on a visit to Kabul.

But the Taliban said Karzai could not be considered legitimate as president without winning over 50 percent of votes in the first round.

"How and based on what principles will the United Nations consider this a legal administration, now that the so-called "war on terror" and "democracy" have been shown to be empty slogans?" the militia demanded.