(26 Feb 2012)
1. Afghan President Hamid Karzai walking to podium
2. Wide of news conference
3. Afghan government officials
4. SOUNDBITE: (Dari) Hamid Karzai, Afghan President:
"Our emotions were shown all over the country regarding this (burning of holy Quran). It is time now to return to calm and keep it and not to allow the enemies of the people of Afghanistan, the enemies of peace and stability of the people of Afghanistan, to use this from this time and bring danger the properties of our people and our country."
5. Wide of news conference
6. SOUNDBITE: (Dari) Hamid Karzai, Afghan President:
"Unfortunately, yesterday we found out that two American officers were killed in the Interior Ministry. Who has done this? Where he was from? If he was Afghan or foreigner or whether there was another motivation behind it. It is not clear yet and we cannot express our views on it, but we are saddened by it and express our condolences to their families."
7. Journalists listening
8. SOUNDBITE: (Dari) Hamid Karzai, Afghan President:
"It is a temporary measure at a time when the people of Afghanistan are angry over the burning of the holy Quran. If it is for that reason, it is the right thing. But if they have other security reasons it is up to them and we are not against it."
9. Wide of news conference
STORYLINE:
Afghan President Hamid Karzai renewed his calls for calm in a televised address to the nation on Sunday, after the burning of Qurans at a US base sparked five days of deadly protests.
About 30 people have been killed, including four US soldiers, since the incident came to light on Tuesday.
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and the British government recalled their international advisers from Afghan ministries late on Saturday after two US military advisers, a lieutenant colonel and a major, were found dead in their office with shots to the back of their heads.
"Now is the time to return to calm," Karzai said.
Asked about the unprecedented recall of NATO staff, Karzai said it was an understandable step.
"It is a temporary measure at a time when the people of Afghanistan are angry over the burning of the holy Quran," Karzai said.
It is still unclear who shot the men inside a heavily secured wing of the Interior Ministry, or if the attacker had been apprehended.
The Afghan media reported that it was a police intelligence officer, without citing a source.
Karzai said much was still unknown.
"Who has done this? Where he was from?, he said, adding "we are saddened by it and express our condolences to their families."
The Taliban claimed that the assailant was one of their sympathisers and that an accomplice had helped him get into the compound to kill the Americans in retaliation for the Quran burnings.
Members of the international military coalition described the removal of advisers as a temporary security measure, stressing that they did not expect it to affect partnerships with the Afghans which are key to preparing the country's security forces to take on more responsibility as international troops draw down.
Karzai's appeal came as the protests appeared to be dying down on their own.
There were no reports of violent demonstrations as of midday Sunday.
During protests on Thursday, an Afghan soldier turned his gun on foreign troops, killing two American soldiers, during a riot outside a US base in Nangarhar province.
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