Ln their first visit to Europe since their return to power, the Taliban met around the table with Western diplomats on Monday in Oslo to discuss the serious humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the international community conditioning the resumption of its aid on respect human rights. The Afghan delegation led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met shortly after 10:30 a.m. with representatives from the United States, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, European Union and Norway.
Held behind closed doors at the Soria Moria hotel on a snow-capped hill near Oslo, the talks are set to focus on the humanitarian emergency in Afghanistan, as millions of Afghans face hunger in the deprived country. international aid and affected by several droughts. “While seeking to resolve the humanitarian crisis (…), we will pursue lucid diplomacy with the Taliban (dictated by) our abiding interest in a stable, rights-respecting and inclusive Afghanistan,” US Special Representative Thomas West tweeted on Sunday. . No state has so far recognized the government of the Taliban, Islamist fundamentalists ousted from power in 2001 but regained control of the country last August after a lightning offensive.
Discussions, “not legitimization or recognition”
Norway stressed that these discussions, criticized by experts and part of the diaspora, “do not constitute legitimization or recognition”, but that it was necessary to “speak to the authorities who de facto run the country”. For his part, the spokesperson for the Islamist government, Zabihullah Mujahid, told Agence France-Presse on Saturday that he hoped that the discussions would contribute to “changing the warlike atmosphere (…) into a peaceful situation”.
READ ALSOBHL – It is dark in Afghanistan
Since August, international aid, which financed about 80% of the Afghan budget, has stopped and the United States has frozen $9.5 billion in assets of the Afghan Central Bank. Unemployment has skyrocketed and civil servants’ salaries have not been paid for months. Hunger now threatens 23 million Afghans, or 55% of the population, according to the UN, which has requested 4.4 billion dollars from donor countries this year. The international community is waiting to see how the Islamist fundamentalists govern, having trampled on human rights during their first stint in power between 1996 and 2001. Despite promises, women are largely excluded from public sector jobs and secondary schools for girls mostly remain closed. Two feminist activists disappeared this week in Kabul.
A member of the delegation accused of war crimes
Before their talks with the Taliban, Western diplomats met early in the morning with members of Afghan civil society, feminist activists and journalists in particular, who themselves had discussions on human rights with Islamist fundamentalists on Sunday. One of the feminist activists, Jamila Afghani, then spoke of “a positive meeting to break the ice”. “The Taliban have shown good will,” she told Agence France-Presse. “Let’s see if their deeds follow their words. The participants stressed “that all Afghans must work together for political, economic and security improvement in the country” and that “understanding and cooperation are the only solutions to all the problems of Afghanistan”, had for its Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted in what he described as a “joint statement”.
READ ALSOThe Shadow President of Afghanistan
Among the 15 members of the delegation – exclusively male – arriving Saturday evening on board a plane chartered by Norway is Anas Haqqani, one of the leaders of the Haqqani network. His presence in Oslo is particularly criticized. Responsible for several deadly attacks in Afghanistan, his clan, which has become a major component of the new Taliban regime, is considered by the United States to be a “terrorist” group. According to Norwegian media, a complaint against Anas Haqqani has been filed in Oslo for war crimes. ” It hurts. It’s as if Anders Behring Breivik (the Norwegian neo-Nazi who killed 77 people in 2011, editor’s note) came to a country “as a delegate,” the author of the complaint, Zahir Athari, told NRK radio and television.