Plaid Cymru the Party of Wales European Leader Jill Evans MEP has warned that putting the Northern Alliance into power will be as big a disaster for the women of Afghanistan as the Taliban have been.

At an anti-war rally in Cardiff on Saturday, attended by about 500 Muslim women, men and children Ms Evans said:

"This week in Brussels I met Afghan women who have been risking their lives for the last ten years to provide healthcare and education for women. They told me the bombing has caused a rise in suicides by women.

"The only way of offering a future to the women, men and children of Afghanistan is by stopping the bombing and providing massive aid. The greatest enemy we face in Afghanistan is the starvation of millions of people. The United States and its partners themselves must stop violating basic human rights.

"The opposition to the bombing is growing all over the world as the weapons get more fierce, the weather gets colder and more innocent people in Afghanistan die either through the attacks or through starvation. These are not terrorists -they are terrorism's worst victims."

As well as Jill Evans MEP, other Plaid Cymru elected representatives who took part in the rally included Adam Price MP, Phil Williams AM and Councillor Syd Morgan. The rally was jointly organised by the Muslim Council for Wales and the South Wales Coalition Against the war.

Diwedd/Ends.