After the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan, the Islamist Taliban took power in the country – and are redesigning it according to their ideas. The most important developments in the news blog.
A German sustained a gunshot wound on the way to Kabul airport in Afghanistan. This was confirmed by the deputy government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer. Further details are currently not known. The man is a civilian, said Demmer. “He is receiving medical care, but there is no danger to his life. And he will soon be flown out.”
The situation at the airport in Kabul has been chaotic since the Taliban came to power. The situation is extremely dangerous. Hundreds of people continue to try to gain access to the airfield in order to be evacuated out of the country on one of the western governments’ evacuation machines. According to an eyewitness from the German Press Agency, many of them are at a roundabout where the entrance to the civilian part of the airport is located. Taliban fighters fire into the air there and beat with whips to drive the people away. (08/20/2021)
Maas: “Afghanistan must not repeat itself”
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas says he is not thinking of resigning because of the Afghanistan debacle. When asked whether he had thought about it, the SPD politician said that mirrors: “In the past few days I have only thought of one thing, namely to draw conclusions from the mistakes we have all made and to ensure that as many people as possible are removed from Afghanistan.” That is “the damned duty of everyone who has been involved in the development of the last few days and weeks”.
In the past few days there have been calls for the Foreign Minister to resign from various quarters. CSU chief Markus Söder spoke out in favor of Maas no longer belonging to the cabinet after the federal election in September. The SPD politician said in the interview published on Friday: “I would first wait and see which party the next federal government actually belongs to. That is more open than many thought. And what my professional future looks like is really the last thing I think about Waste a thought. “
At the same time, Maas called for a debate about the meaning of Bundeswehr missions. “The failure in Afghanistan must not lead us to completely deny ourselves responsibility in the world in terms of foreign and security policy,” he said. “But Afghanistan cannot repeat itself again either.” The NATO partners would have to discuss whether the defense alliance was even suitable for conducting missions outside of its actual mandate – including whether it was NATO’s task to ensure peace and human rights.
Maas also pleaded for the European NATO members to gain greater independence from the United States. “We have to discuss much more politically before we send our soldiers anywhere. Otherwise there is a risk that we will only understand Washington’s decisions – regardless of who is president there.” (08/20/2021)
Merkel made a government statement on Afghanistan on Wednesday
Chancellor Angela Merkel will deliver a government statement at the special session of the Bundestag next Wednesday. This is announced by a government spokeswoman. Among other things, the temporary new Afghanistan mandate is to be decided in the special session. (08/20/2021)
Erdoğan: Turkey is not “Europe’s refugee camp”
In view of the seizure of power by the militant Islamist Taliban in Afghanistan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned Europe against a policy of isolating refugees. Europe cannot escape the “problem” by firmly closing its borders, said Erdoğan. “If it does that, Europe not only violates international law, but also turns its back on humanitarian values.” Regarding the role of his own country, he said: “Turkey does not have the task, responsibility or obligation to be Europe’s refugee camp.”
Turkey has taken in more refugees than any other country in the world. In addition to around 3.6 million people from Syria, hundreds of thousands of other migrants are already living there, including people from Afghanistan. (08/20/2021)
Facebook protects Afghan user accounts from being viewed
After the Taliban came to power, there is no longer any possibility of looking at or searching through friend lists on Facebook accounts in Afghanistan. This function has been temporarily removed to protect users from attacks, said the company’s head of security policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, on Twitter. In addition, a new tool has made it easier for people in Afghanistan to block their own account with a single click of the mouse. The company said: “When their profile is blocked, people who are not friends with you cannot download or share their profile photo or see posts on their timeline.”
The group also wants to protect Afghan Instagram accounts, wrote Gleicher. “On Instagram, we will be introducing pop-up warnings in Afghanistan with specific steps to protect your account.” At the same time, he appealed to users in other countries with “friends” in Afghanistan to protect them with stricter visibility settings for their own accounts. (08/20/2021)
Report: US diplomats warned of a possible takeover in July
More than 20 US diplomats in Afghanistan are said to have sent an internal message to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in July warning of a possible fall in Kabul. As the Wall Street Journal reported, the confidential message was sent via a so-called dissident channel. According to the newspaper, the message was signed on July 13th and is said to have included recommendations to defuse the crisis and speed up the evacuation. According to State Department spokesman Ned Price, the diplomatic views exchanged over the channel with Blinken would feed into policy and planning.
Laschet advocates talks with the Taliban to help people
Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet advocates diplomatic talks with the Taliban to help vulnerable people in Afghanistan. “The art of good foreign policy consists precisely in finding solutions with those states whose goals and human image our society rightly rejects,” said Laschet New Osnabrück Newspaper. “Refusing to enter into dialogue with the Taliban would not help people who want to get out of Afghanistan,” said Laschet, who is also the CDU leader.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) has sent Afghanistan expert Markus Potzel to Doha in the Gulf emirate of Qatar to talk to negotiators of the militant-Islamist Taliban about the departure of Afghan local forces. The diplomat, who was originally to be sent as the new ambassador to Afghanistan in August, has been holding talks with representatives of the Taliban since Wednesday. “He will continue his talks with international partners,” said the Foreign Office on Thursday evening on Twitter.
Laschet said: “We have to make our expectation very clear that the people who have worked for us will be able to leave in the foreseeable future.” A federal government led by him would see it as its duty to take in all those who have helped Germany in the past few years. “We have a responsibility to protect here. Even beyond today.”
Laschet said that there is certainly a great willingness in Germany to take in the people who have helped Germans in Afghanistan – and also people who are particularly threatened. “I think everyone can understand the fear of the Taliban, their oppression and violence,” he said.
“At the same time, there is also a desire for an orderly migration.” What should not be repeated are “uncontrolled conditions like in the Syria conflict”. According to Laschet, most people will flee to Afghanistan’s neighboring countries. “Therefore, the priority is to provide aid in the region. We have to support the neighboring countries while at the same time reminding them of the responsibility they have for the region.”
Finance Minister Olaf Scholz announced on Thursday evening that the German government wanted to initiate financial aid worth millions for Afghan refugees. “The federal government now intends to provide emergency aid in the amount of 100 million euros,” said Scholz of the German press agency.
“With this money we support international aid organizations in the neighboring countries of Afghanistan, which will take care of the refugees,” said the SPD candidate for chancellor. “This is a first step that shows that we feel responsible and that we care. Further steps will follow.” (08/20/2021)