EIn search of international recognition and money, the Taliban qualified, on Monday January 24, 2022, as “success in itself” their first visit to Europe since their return to power, devoted in particular to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. A Taliban delegation led by their Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, has been in Norway since Saturday evening, where it meets for three days with members of Afghan civil society and diplomats from Western countries, who link a resumption of their financial support for respect for human rights.
“The fact of having come to Norway […] is a success in itself, because we shared the international scene,” Amir Khan Muttaqi told reporters on Monday, on the sidelines of talks with representatives from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, from Italy, the European Union and Norway. “From these meetings, we are sure to get support in the humanitarian, health and education sectors in Afghanistan,” he said in Pashto.
These discussions, which are not unanimous, are taking place behind closed doors until Tuesday in the Soria Moria hotel, on a snowy hill near Oslo. At a time when more than half of the population is threatened by hunger in a country deprived of international aid and affected by several droughts, the Taliban hope for the release of financial means and a form of recognition. No state has so far recognized the regime of the Islamists who were ousted from power in 2001, but who regained control of Afghanistan last August after a lightning offensive.
“lucid diplomacy”
Norway stressed that the Oslo discussions were “not a legitimization or recognition”, but that, in the face of the humanitarian emergency, it was necessary to “talk to the authorities who de facto run the country”. “While seeking to resolve the humanitarian crisis […], we will pursue lucid diplomacy with the Taliban [dictée par] our abiding interest in a stable, rights-respecting and inclusive Afghanistan,” tweeted US envoy to Afghanistan Thomas West 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.
— US Special Representative Thomas West (@US4AfghanPeace) January 23, 2022
Many experts and members of the Afghan diaspora criticized the invitation to fundamentalists who arrived on a private jet chartered by Norway and protests took place outside the Foreign Ministry in Oslo. In Kabul, Wahida Amiri, an activist who has demonstrated regularly since the return of the Taliban, told Agence France-Presse that she was “sorry that a country like Norway is organizing this summit, sitting down with terrorists and making agreements “.
International aid, which made it possible to finance approximately 80% of the Afghan budget, stopped in August and the United States froze $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.
Missing activists
The international community, however, is waiting to see how the Islamists govern Afghanistan, having trampled on human rights in their first stint in power between 1996 and 2001. Despite promises, women are largely excluded from public sector jobs and schools secondary schools for girls mostly remain closed. Two feminist activists went missing last week in Kabul after taking part in a protest. The Taliban have denied any responsibility in this case.
Before their talks with the Taliban, Western diplomats met on Monday with members of Afghan civil society, feminist activists and journalists in particular, who themselves had discussions on human rights with the fundamentalists on Sunday. On Monday, one of these activists, Mahbouba Seraj, said the Taliban had “recognized” and “listened” to them. “I have hope. I hope for some form of mutual understanding,” she told reporters. In what he billed as a “joint statement”, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted on Sunday that “understanding and cooperation” were “the only solutions to all of Afghanistan’s problems”.
Among the 15 members of the all-male delegation is Anas Haqqani, one of the leaders of the Haqqani network. His presence in Oslo is particularly criticized. He is responsible for several deadly attacks in Afghanistan and his clan is considered by the United States as 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 [le néonazi norvégien qui a tué 77 personnes en 2011, NDLR] was going to a country” as a delegate, the author of the complaint, Zahir Athari, told NRK radio and television.
