- Reaction score
- 22
- Points
- 430
B.C. man accepts post as Kandahar governor, CTV.ca News
A B.C. man has been named the next governor of Kandahar, the province
where most of Canada's troops are posted in Afghanistan.
Tooryalai Wesa, 58, of Coquitlam, B.C., met with Afghan President Hamid
Karzai for lunch on Thursday to discuss the job. Wesa told the Globe and
Mail's Graeme Smith after the meeting that he has accepted the job. Smith,
who reported the news on CTV Newsnet on Thursday morning, said Wesa
will face a number of challenges in his new position. One of the biggest
worries is security.
"The reality is that his offices (in some areas of the province) are besieged
by Taliban and only very narrowly holding against the insurgency. The first
problem will be maintaining order."
Smith also said that the previous governor of the province, Rahmatullah Rauf,
said the fact that Wesa is an Afghan-Canadian will help him in his dealings
"with the foreigners." Smith says Wesa's family is also close to Karzai's.
"They come from a very small group of educated families here. They're part
of the old elite of Kandahar," he said.
The Canadian Press reported that Wesa has:
* extensive background in education, development and aid work
* work with Canadian soldiers by helping train officers from Canada's provincial reconstruction team
* rural development experience
* the founding of Kandahar University
* fluency in Pashto, Dari, Farsi, and English and he also speaks German and Arabic
Kandahar province has had two governors in the span of the past eight months.
Rauf, who last held the post, says he was pushed out because of a local power
play. Rauf's predecessor was alleged to have participated in the torture of an
insurgent prisoner.
The post is important for Canadians because most of Canada's 2,700 troops are
posted in the region.
Globe & Mail's articles :
Afghan Canadian new Kandahar governor
Afghan-Canadian the top choice for governor of Kandahar
A B.C. man has been named the next governor of Kandahar, the province
where most of Canada's troops are posted in Afghanistan.
Tooryalai Wesa, 58, of Coquitlam, B.C., met with Afghan President Hamid
Karzai for lunch on Thursday to discuss the job. Wesa told the Globe and
Mail's Graeme Smith after the meeting that he has accepted the job. Smith,
who reported the news on CTV Newsnet on Thursday morning, said Wesa
will face a number of challenges in his new position. One of the biggest
worries is security.
"The reality is that his offices (in some areas of the province) are besieged
by Taliban and only very narrowly holding against the insurgency. The first
problem will be maintaining order."
Smith also said that the previous governor of the province, Rahmatullah Rauf,
said the fact that Wesa is an Afghan-Canadian will help him in his dealings
"with the foreigners." Smith says Wesa's family is also close to Karzai's.
"They come from a very small group of educated families here. They're part
of the old elite of Kandahar," he said.
The Canadian Press reported that Wesa has:
* extensive background in education, development and aid work
* work with Canadian soldiers by helping train officers from Canada's provincial reconstruction team
* rural development experience
* the founding of Kandahar University
* fluency in Pashto, Dari, Farsi, and English and he also speaks German and Arabic
Kandahar province has had two governors in the span of the past eight months.
Rauf, who last held the post, says he was pushed out because of a local power
play. Rauf's predecessor was alleged to have participated in the torture of an
insurgent prisoner.
The post is important for Canadians because most of Canada's 2,700 troops are
posted in the region.
Globe & Mail's articles :
Afghan Canadian new Kandahar governor
Afghan-Canadian the top choice for governor of Kandahar
