Taliban and Afghan civil society members begin Oslo talks: Norway

[ghazi52]

Taliban and Afghan civil society members begin Oslo talks: Norway​

AFP
23 Jan, 2022

OSLO: The first Taliban delegation to visit Europe since returning to power in Afghanistan began talks Sunday with Afghan civil society members focused on human rights, Norway's foreign ministry said.

Headed by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, the delegation was to dedicate the first day of their three-day visit to talks with women activists and journalists, among others, before meeting Western diplomats on Monday and Tuesday.

The talks, facilitated by Norway, were taking place behind closed doors at the Soria Moria Hotel on the outskirts of Oslo.

The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated drastically since August, when international aid came to a sudden halt in the country which is already suffering the effects of several severe droughts.

No country has yet recognised the Taliban government since it stormed back to power in August.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt stressed last week that the talks would "not represent a legitimisation or recognition of the Taliban".

The international community is waiting to see how the Islamic fundamentalists intend to govern Afghanistan, after having largely trampled on human rights during their first stint in power between 1996 and 2001.

On Monday, the Taliban will meet representatives from the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and the European Union, while Tuesday will be dedicated to bilateral talks with Norwegian officials.

 

[ghazi52]

Humanitarian aid tops agenda as Afghan Taliban meet Western officials​

AFP
January 23, 2022

This Jan 22 photo shows Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi (L), Taliban spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign affairs, Abdul Qahar Balkhi (C) and delegates sitting on a plane before departing to Oslo, at the Kabul airport. — Reuters

Human rights and the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where hunger threatens millions, will be in focus at talks opening Sunday in Oslo between the Taliban, the West and members of Afghan civil society.

In their first visit to Europe since returning to power in August, the Taliban will meet Norwegian officials as well as representatives of the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy and the European Union.

The Taliban delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.

On the agenda will be “the formation of a representative political system, responses to the urgent humanitarian and economic crises, security and counter-terrorism concerns, and human rights, especially education for girls and women”, a US State Department official said.
The group was toppled in 2001 but swiftly stormed back to power in August as international troops began their final withdrawal.

The Taliban hope the talks will help “transform the atmosphere of war...into a peaceful situation”, government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP on Saturday.

No country has yet recognised the Taliban government, and Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt stressed that the talks would “not represent a legitimisation or recognition of the Taliban”.

“But we must talk to the de facto authorities in the country. We cannot allow the political situation to lead to an even worse humanitarian disaster,” Huitfeldt said.

'Have to involve the government'​

The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated drastically since August.
International aid, which financed around 80 per cent of the Afghan budget, came to a sudden halt and the United States has frozen $9.5 billion in assets in the Afghan central bank.
Unemployment has skyrocketed and civil servants' salaries have not been paid for months in the country, already ravaged by several severe droughts.
Hunger now threatens 23 million Afghans, or 55pc of the population, according to the United Nations, which says it needs $4.4bn from donor countries this year to address the humanitarian crisis.
“It would be a mistake to submit the people of Afghanistan to a collective punishment just because the de facto authorities are not behaving properly”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated Friday.

A former UN representative to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, told AFP: “We can't keep distributing aid circumventing the Taliban.”

“If you want to be efficient, you have to involve the government in one way or another.”
The international community is waiting to see how the group intends to govern Afghanistan, after having largely trampled on human rights during their first stint in power between 1996 and 2001.

While the Taliban claim to have modernised, women are still largely excluded from public sector employment and secondary schools for girls remain largely closed.

'Gender apartheid'​

On the first day of the Oslo talks held behind closed doors, the Taliban delegation is expected to meet Afghans from civil society, including women leaders and journalists.
A former Afghan minister for mines and petrol who now lives in Norway, Nargis Nehan, said she had declined an invitation to take part.

She told AFP she feared the talks would “normalise the Taliban and...strengthen them, while there is no way that they'll change”.

“What guarantee is there this time that they will keep their promises?” she asked, noting that women activists and journalists are still being arrested.

Joining the delegation from Kabul is Anas Haqqani, a leader of the most feared and violent faction of the Taliban movement — the Haqqani network, responsible for some of the most devastating attacks in Afghanistan.

A senior official with no formal government title, he was jailed for several years at the United States' Bagram detention centre outside of the capital, before being released in a prisoner swap in 2019.

Davood Moradian, the head of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies now based outside Afghanistan, criticised Norway's “celebrity-style” peace initiative.

Hosting the Taliban's foreign minister “casts doubt on Norway's global image as a country that cares for women's rights, when the Taliban has effectively instituted gender apartheid”, he said.

Norway has a track record of mediating conflicts, including in the Middle East, Sri Lanka and Colombia.

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

Doing something is better than doing nothing...

 

[SIPRA]

Is there any provision for the stones for "watwaani", in this aircraft?

 

[El Sidd]

“What guarantee is there this time that they will keep their promises?” she asked, noting that women activists and journalists are still being arrested.

Yes Nargis you should take Norway's oil as collateral for guarantee.

 

[ghazi52]

OSLO: On their first visit to Europe since returning to power, the Taliban held landmark talks with Western diplomats in Oslo on Monday over the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, a meeting the Taliban regime's delegation called an "achievement in itself".

The international community has however insisted the Taliban must respect human rights before aid can be resumed to Afghanistan, where hunger threatens more than half population.

Having accepted a controversial invitation from Norway, the Taliban were holding talks on Monday with representatives of the United States, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, the European Union and Norway.

The closed-door discussions were taking place at the Soria Moria Hotel, on a snowy hilltop outside Oslo, with the Taliban delegation led by Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who hailed the fact that the meeting took place as a success in its own right.

"Norway providing us this opportunity is an achievement in itself because we shared the stage with the world," Muttaqi told reporters Monday.

"From these meetings we are sure of getting support for Afghanistan's humanitarian, health and education sectors," he added.

Afghanistan's humanitarian situation has deteriorated drastically since last August when the fundamentalists stormed back to power 20 years after being toppled.

International aid came to a sudden halt, worsening the plight of millions of people already suffering from hunger after several severe droughts.

Thomas West, the US special representative for Afghanistan, tweeted on Sunday: "As we seek to address humanitarian crisis together with allies, partners, and relief orgs, we will continue clear-eyed diplomacy with the Taliban regarding our concerns and our abiding interest in a stable, rights-respecting and inclusive Afghanistan."

Criticism against Norway

No country has yet recognised the Taliban regime which hopes that meetings of this kind will help legitimise their government.

Norway's Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt has stressed the talks would "not represent a legitimisation or recognition of the Taliban", but because of the humanitarian emergency "we must talk to the de facto authorities in the country".

Experts and members of the Afghan diaspora have criticised the Norwegian invitation to the Taliban, and protests have been held outside the foreign ministry in the capital.

In Kabul, Wahida Amiri, an activist who has protested regularly in Kabul since the Taliban's return, told AFP she was "sorry for such a country as Norway for organising this summit, sitting with terrorists, and making deals".

Since August, international aid, which financed around 80 percent of the Afghan budget, has been suspended and the United States has frozen $9.5 billion in assets in the Afghan central bank.

Unemployment has skyrocketed and civil servants' salaries have not been paid for months in the country.

Hunger now threatens 23 million Afghans, or 55 percent of the population, according to the United Nations, which says it needs $4.4 billion from donor countries this year to address the crisis.

But the international community is waiting to see how the Taliban intend to govern after being accused of trampling on human rights during their first stint in power between 1996 and 2001.

'They heard us'

While Taliban claim to have modernised, women are still largely excluded from public-sector employment and most secondary schools for girls remain closed.

Two women activists disappeared last week in Kabul. The Taliban have denied responsibility.

Before meeting with the Taliban, the Western diplomats held talks early Monday with members of Afghanistan's civil society, including women activists and journalists, who had themselves held talks the day before with the Taliban on human rights.

One of those in attendance, women's rights activist Jamila Afghani, told AFP "it was a positive icebreaking meeting" where the Taliban "displayed goodwill", but it remained to be seen "what their actions will be".

On Monday, another woman activist who took part in Oslo, Mahbouba Seraj, said the Taliban "acknowledged us and they heard us".

"I'm hopeful. I'm hoping for some kind of an understanding of each other", she told reporters.

Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted after their talks that "the participants recognised that understanding and joint cooperation are the only solutions".

Among the 15 members of the all-male Taliban delegation was Anas Haqqani, a leader of the most feared and violent faction of the Taliban movement, the Haqqani network blamed for some of the most devastating attacks in Afghanistan.

His participation has been heavily criticised on social media and local media reported a Norwegian-Afghan has filed a police complaint in Oslo against Haqqani for war crimes.