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Karzai inaugurated–but where were the crowds?
There were no overt celebrations and the general public were excluded from the ceremony. As Hamid Karzai was inaugurated for his second term as Afghan President–three months after a fraud-riddled election–the capital was in a state of siege. Helicopter gunships clattered overhead and rings of armed checkpoints choked Kabul, the only sign of life on empty streets.
It was a far cry from his first inauguration five years ago. Much of the city was decorated in 2004, with streams of colored lights, the red, green and black of the Afghan flag, and portraits of Karzai hanging from buildings and street lamps. Banners proclaimed in English: "This Is the Birth of Our Freedom". When Karzai entered the Great Hall of the Presidential Palace accompanied by the former king, Mohammed Zahir Shah, he received a standing ovation. The newly-elected president spoke with great confidence, without notes, about the brave new dawn for his country, the thirst for progress and peace. He was repeatedly interrupted by spontaneous applause from both Afghans and foreigners in a momentous day.
Yesterday, he was back in the Presidential Palace to be sworn in for another five-year term but there the similarities ended. This time he had won, with less than half of the popular vote, an election mired in vote-rigging and ballot-stuffing that drew scathing international condemnation. And he spoke carefully, seemingly unsure of himself at times.