Afghanistan: Taliban envoys arrive in Oslo for aid talks

A Taliban delegation landed in Oslo, Norway, late Saturday for three days of meetings with Western officials. 

The talks, scheduled to run until Tuesday, will mark the Taliban’s first meeting with Western diplomats in Europe since the group seized power in Afghanistan in August last year.

An all-male 15-member delegation arrived on a plane organized by the Norwegian government, according to a Taliban spokesman.

The vastly disparate parties are due to discuss human rights and humanitarian aid for Afghans during their talks starting Sunday.

The hardline militants will meet representatives from the Norwegian government and European Union officials, as well as representatives from a number of allied countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy and the US.

The Taliban are also expected to meet Afghans from civil society, including female leaders and journalists.

What is on the agenda?

A US State Department official said that the agenda of the talks would be about the “formation of a representative political system, repsonses to the urgent humanitarian and economic crises, security and counter-terrorism concerns, and human rights, especially education for girls and women.”

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for Taliban, told the AFP news agency that the Taliban had “taken steps for meeting the demands of the Western world and we hope to strengthen our relations through diplomacy with all the countries, including European countries and the West in general.”

They want to “transform the atmosphere of war… into a peaceful situation,” Mujahid added.

No country has recognized the Taliban yet, though some have taken measures to normalize relations with the group.

Afghan opposition slams Western officials 

Ali Maisam Nazary, the head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front (NRF), the only opposition group in Afghanistan, criticized Norway for hosting the talks.

“We all must raise our voices and prevent any country from normalizing a terrorist group as the representative of Afghanistan,” Nazary, who is based in Paris, tweeted Friday.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in the official statement on Afghan talks that the meetings “do not represent a legtimization of 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 added.

What is the situation in Afghanistan?

The Taliban are faced with economic hardship since countries around the world stopped foreign aid, which financed around 80% of the Afghan budget. 

The US also froze the Taliban’s assets, worth $9.5 billion (€8.4 billion), after the group took control of the country.

Millions of Afghans have been out of work since the Taliban takeover. A harsh winter, severe drought and the coronavirus pandemic have exacerbated conditions for Afghans, prompting the United Nations to make its largest-ever appeal, $4.4 billion (€3.9 billion), for humanitarian aid for a single country in early January.

Hunger threatens nearly 23 million Afghans, or 55% of the population, according to the United Nations.

Notorious for human rights abuses, the Taliban have also imposed many constraints on women, from restricting their travel without being accompanied by a male relative to effectively prohibiting girls from higher education. 

• An Afghan family’s daily struggle for survival

  Nothing left

  “In the winter, we normally borrow what we need from shops or the baker and we repay the loan after two or three months when the work starts getting better,” says market porter Sayed Yassin Mosawi, 31 (on the left, with his family). “But there have been big changes,” he said. “Since the Taliban took over, there is no work, prices have gone up, people have left the country. We have nothing left.”

• An Afghan family’s daily struggle for survival

  Taliban checks in

  “We intend to ease these problems,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters. But the crisis facing Afghanistan this winter is on a scale not seen in 20 years: the United Nations estimates that nearly 23 million Afghans are suffering from extreme hunger, and almost 9 million are at risk of famine.

• An Afghan family’s daily struggle for survival

  Desperate situation

  Kubra’s family could soon be among the 55% of Afghan society suffering from extreme hunger: “We got two sacks of flour last spring which we’re still using. After that, we have to have faith that God will help us,” she told Reuters, adding: “My son used to collect pieces of scrap metal, but right now he has no work.”

• An Afghan family’s daily struggle for survival

  Bitterly cold

  In addition to dwindling food supplies, there is another problem: the winter cold. Temperatures in Bamiyan can quickly drop below freezing in winter, and most families do not have more than a few tarpaulins to protect their huts from the bone-chilling wind. So for many, acquiring firewood is almost as important as getting food.

• An Afghan family’s daily struggle for survival

  Taliban flag instead of Buddha statues

  Bamiyan is best known outside Afghanistan for the imposing Buddhist sites that dominate the small market town. The most famous rock statues, which the Taliban regard as idols, was blown up in 2001. Aside from the need currently experienced by the people here, Bamiyan is considered relatively safe — a marathon was held there in 2016.

  Author: Philipp Böll (with Reuters)

rm/fb (AFP, AP)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/afghanistan-taliban-envoys-arrive-in-oslo-for-aid-talks/a-60527485?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf