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5 June 2006

Talking Points

Last week can only be described as a tragedy – for the family and friends of all those that lost of their lives or were injured, those who had their homes, shops and offices looted and for the damage that these events have caused to the reputation of Afghanistan.

At this difficult time our heartfelt thoughts are with the friends and family of all those people who lost their lives or were injured.

We are relieved that peace now seems to have prevailed in Kabul but it is important that we ALL learn the lessons from last weeks disturbances.

On our part, we have already advised all our drivers to exercise extra vigilance and caution whilst traveling to ensure the safety of local people and our staff alike.

While we understand the distress and emotion of people caused by this road traffic accident - there can be no excuse for the subsequent wanton attacks and destruction caused to people who had nothing what so ever to do with this unfortunate accident.

Those who looted shops, businesses and international agencies working for the progress of Afghanistan did not act on behalf of the vast majority of Afghans who are decent law abiding citizens.

They have caused immense damage to the reputation of Afghanistan as the international community works hard with the Government to improve the rule of law in Afghanistan.

The actions of these individuals was criminal and cannot in any shape or form be described as a legitimate response to the unfortunate road traffic accident.

Unfortunately the impact of last week’s disturbances was compounded by the disappointing response from the Afghan National Police who failed to contain the disturbances – this is matter we are raising with them.

We do not see last week’s disturbances as a rejection of the international presence in Afghanistan but as a consequence of decades of war.

If Afghanistan is to truly move forward mob violence must be replaced by the rule of law.

Stability and peace are pre-requisites for development - events like last week achieve nothing but to slow the pace and impact of our work in Afghanistan

While we await the findings of the official investigations into last week’s events, I want to make one thing clear – our resolve to assist Afghanistan’s reconstruction efforts remains firm.

We remain committed to working towards a prosperous, stable and peaceful Afghanistan.

Questions and Answers

Radio Liberty: According to some analysts, last week’s incident created a distance between the international community and the Afghan government. I am asking whether this really created a distance?

SRSG: We certainly cooperate with the government and we are certainly very demanding in the support we expect, for instance, for DIAG (Disarmament of Illegal Armed Groups), police reform, and the reform of the judiciary. We cooperate with the provincial governors and provincial authorities nevertheless who are pushing the rule of law. In that respect we have a very friendly and productive exchange of opinions with the government at the central level and on the local level. In what I have said so far you found already some of these elements. I have said, in my opinion, the response of the police was poor. We were happy that in the evening different contingents of the Afghan National Army took the checkpoints and enforced the curfew. On that day in the evening around 19:00hrs we felt safe again.

Radio Killid: If the Coalition forces claim it was a technical problem with their vehicle, how come they returned back to their base as soon as the demonstration took place? Instead of blaming the youths don’t you think we accuse the government for security and rule of law failure in the country?

SRSG: I cannot answer the first question. I have not been on the spot. I hope the investigation by the Coalition forces and the Coalition will answer this question. Nobody has so far doubted that this was an accident.

Second question. We have not blamed the youth. We have blamed the rioters and the looters. The rioters and the looters have not made much difference between UN agencies, UN homes, shops, offices, and restaurants including a TV station. They have not made any difference between private property, property of international NGOs, UN agencies and they have not made any difference between the characters of these institutions. For instance, the looting of the NGO CARE, who have been here through the most part of the wars, cannot be guided by any political resentment against the UN.

I do not doubt that UN and other agencies make mistakes and certainly any accident on the road is based on a mistake. But there are institutions for criticizing these mistakes. Nobody needs riots in Afghanistan to express his/her opinion on an organization. We have a free press and should defend this free press including the radio and TV stations.

AFP: Two quick questions. Do you find there were strong anti-foreigner streaks during the demonstrations, and secondly the other thing that came out talking to demonstrators is they were very unsatisfied with the economic situation, do you think that the UN puts too much emphasis on political change and political institutions and forgot a little bit about the economic development?

SRSG: First, yes there were anti-foreigner resentments. There were particularly anti-rich resentments and that’s why we see it very much as a criminal thing because it was accompanied by looting. And the choice of objects of aggression seemed more oriented towards objects to be robbed or stolen. That’s why I characterize these people as criminals.

The economic situation in Kabul is, at this moment, not at the lowest. Nevertheless there are people in need. And there are many people who are unsatisfied that the visible progress has not helped them yet. But I don’t see this spontaneous demonstration as a demonstration of the poor but as a demonstration of the violent.

As for the economic situation Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world. That’s why there are a government of Afghanistan and UN and all those present have asked for the generous support of the international community. Nevertheless we should be realistic and see that a quick economic recovery, which will give a certain level of wealth to everybody, takes years and years. And it will need a sustained effort of the international community and the Afghan government to achieve that. Riots and insecurity brings us exactly in the opposite direction. That’s why I stress it clearly that these riots are poison for the economic development of Kabul because it will frighten national and international investors and anti-foreigner resentments will make the donor nations ask whether they are really liked or not. You see a broad discussion on all these subjects in the press in the last week, our opinion is that it is not an expression of dissatisfaction with our presence here but if there is any political meaning it would be ‘we have to stay the course’. The problems which show these riots are very much in the political fields and the efficiency of the institutions to protect property and security of people.

IWPR: (translated from Dari) Security is very crucial for the people of Afghanistan and as we talked to some analysts they believe there has not been enough economic change in people’s lives and that’s why people took advantage and demonstrated. Is there any plan to bring significant change to the economic situation of these people?

SRSG: First of all I don’t share your analysis, looking at the TV footage of the demonstrators. They have not been the poor who come from the poor parts of the city to demonstrate for their wealth and welfare. Those who have seen development processes in poor countries know that the process of economic recovery is very slow. It needs stability and international support for a long time and it needs national effort to reach this development. I think the condition for Afghanistan is not as bad as a number of other countries. The commitment of the international community with Afghanistan in the Afghanistan Compact is considerable. Nevertheless I don’t believe it will lead to a quick recovery which will benefit everybody and bring everybody to a wealth they expect. Maybe the development is not fast enough, but to say the development has not touched a majority of the people is not true. And particularly the development in Kabul has been quite significant and those who have been here for the past five or six years know that. And that is not only some few who have grown rich, its also that there is a broad economic development being seen. We will continue to make sure that this path is followed and that the national and international efforts make sure that it is more felt among the ordinary people but the expectations sometimes expressed that the everybody will soon be wealthy are certainly erroneous. Integrating millions of refugees, particularly in Kabul, is a big issue. Finding occupations and jobs for an increasing number of youths is an additional problem and it is a problem also for much richer nations remains a problem for decades. I think the Afghan society and Afghan institutions, including the government and international community, should focus on building what has been reached as well as stability and peace. Even after these riots, which have astonished or frightened some people, I am optimistic but realistic.

IRIN News: Did UNAMA make any recommendations to the government in order to avoid such incidents?

SRSG: Not on this concrete case thus far but in a more general picture we pushed for police reform. We think a professional and well-trained police is key to public security. In addition the cooperation between the different parts of society must be improved and I think an early statement of the government and the force in such an incident are helpful. But the security situation can change very fast and in different parts of the country the security situation is very different.

Question: (Translated from Dari) During the incidents of the day the Coalition truck that smashed up to 13 cars showed this action to be intentional, do you confirm this was an intentional act?

SRSG: There are very few people who say so. Not even those who have been there as eyewitnesses say that this was intentional and I cannot believe it either. And I couldn’t understand why any driver would cause an accident like that. Nevertheless I see that from the terrain there it is not unlikely that the explanation given, that the brakes failed, is the real explanation. So I have no doubt in this part of the course of the accident.

Radio Liberty: What do you think sir, that after last week’s incident institutions in the last 40 years in Afghanistan are satisfied from the act of responding from the action of the Afghan government and United Nations and the international community are satisfied from the actions of the Afghan government in general?

SRSG: We are never satisfied with what we have. We always want to be better and faster. We are very happy that the road map of the buildup of the democratic institutions has been followed in a timely manner, the Bonn process. The Afghanistan Compact gives a great number of benchmarks to be achieved. We will do everything to meet these timelines and achieve these successes in due time. Any of these benchmarks reached before their time will be welcomed. So we are at the same time impatient and optimistic. The riots and the security situation in the south will make it more difficult than we thought at the beginning of this year and I think the combined efforts of the national and international military forces and police to re-establish security must be enhanced. Nobody can be satisfied, least of which the government itself, with the situation of poverty, insecurity and insurgency in the south.

The Independent: How serious do you think the risk of failure in the reconstruction process is? Is it growing, is it proceeding or is it staying relatively stable?

SRSG: First of all I see the optimism of the businessman, particularly in Kabul, has received a blow. I don’t think that we should fall into deep pessimism, nevertheless we have to adjust our policies in respect of security. We have to see that the police and the institutions have to be alerted and keep alert even in Kabul. The assessment of the risk of failure altogether is a difficult one. If you try to come to a rational analysis you see that there are several elements where spoilers could hamper or distract this process of reconstruction. The perception of the chances and possibilities of these spoilers are certainly reassessed after an incident like that. Nevertheless the commitment of the international community is a very solid one that we should never forget. And even after last Monday I have no reason to doubt the will to peace, the explicit and strong will of the vast majority of the Afghans to peace, that this will be a major driving force in the development. And the reaction I have seen is also that the people of Kabul are sick of riots, are sick of insecurity, are sick of incidents and they want peace. And if there was a critique to the international security presence and the government it was that it wasn’t possible to deal with it and to suppress in the course of a whole day.

AP: You mentioned twice that you think this would be a blow to international investments. I’m wondering if you had any concrete examples of this, whether an investor was thinking of investing here or if you had analysts put a money figure on how much damage the riot could have done to the investment and if I could sneak in a second question I’m wondering if you security protocol has changed at all here for your personnel in terms of curfew or armed guards or anywhere they are not allowed to drive?

SRSG: There are certainly no analyses yet whether and how much this damage has done but I have a number of voices of investors and people who make business, Afghans and internationals, who say that the problem in Afghanistan is the insecurity. And it’s not only the big investments that we think – the big oil or electricity companies – but it’s much more the small investments that are sensitive to these sorts of riots because there are a great number of businessmen who lost their shops during these riots. Afghans who have become rich in the United States and also for patriotic reasons want to invest here, have told me that because of the security situation is key for their investment because patriotic or not, nobody wants to lose his or her investment. And we certainly inspire everybody to invest here, particularly the Afghans and particularly those who have to invest because foreign and national investment is the main drive for economic recovery.

Referring to the UN security protocol we have certainly on the day taken our precautions but they have been all lifted now.

Other Talking Points

DIAG launches successful collection of weapons in Takhar Province
Last Thursday, June 1st, the Joint Secretariat of the Disarmament and Reintegration Commission (D&RC) officially launched the Main Phase of the Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG) process in the province of Takhar.

During the ceremony 36 notification letters were handed over to ex-Commanders and Government officials linked with Illegal Armed Groups. The ex-Commanders and officials linked with armed groups have been given 30 days to surrender their weapons and disband or sever links with the groups. Failure to comply will mean immediate dismissal and possible prosecution by state institutions.

Out of the 22,738 weapons handed over to the DIAG collection teams in Afghanistan, as of June 1st, almost a tenth have been collected in Takhar.

Along with Takhar, Kapisa, Herat and Farah have been targeted for weapons collection.

Due to last week’s unfortunate events in Kabul, the event in Laghman had to be postponed. It has been rescheduled for Wednesday 7 June.

DIAG is a process intended to eradicate the influence of illegal armed groups thus allowing the consolidation of peace, rule of law and prosperity in Afghanistan. By voluntarily surrendering their weapons, disbanding or severing links with armed groups, ex-Commanders and Government officials linked with groups will demonstrate their support to the Government to build a safe and prosperous Afghanistan.

So far 22,738 weapons, including 14,239 operational weapons as well as 21,362 rounds of boxed and 190,176 rounds of unboxed ammunition have been handed over to and verified by Afghanistan’s New Beginnings Programme collection teams.

June 5 - World Environment Day
Today is World Environment Day and this year’s theme is “Don’t Desert Drylands” – a reminder to all about the importance of caring for the world’s vast areas of arid and semi-arid land.

According to UN Environment Programme (UNEP), desertification means loss of the land’s biological productivity through human-induced factors and climate change. This affects one third of the earth’s surface and over 1 billion people, with potentially devastating consequences in terms of social and economic costs.

Recently, Afghanistan’s Environment Law was enacted. The Law is a critically important step in the direction of an effective environmental management regime. In addition, the environment features prominently within the UN Development Assistance Framework. With the assistance of international partners, significant other steps are also currently being taken to conserve and rehabilitate Afghanistan’s vulnerable and degraded environment.

The National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) and partner organizations have organized events in several regional centers around Afghanistan to demonstrate the growing cooperation for the management and protection of Afghanistan’s environment. Click here for a full schedule of events.

In his message, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that “For most dryland dwellers, life is hard and the future often precarious. They live on the ecological, economic and social margins. It is essential that we do not neglect them or the fragile habitats on which they depend.”

Click here to read the Secretary-General’s message.

FAO continuing work against bird flu in Afghanistan
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Afghanistan is continuing its efforts to support control activities in the country and in other countries of the region.

The very last occurrence of bird flu in Afghanistan was detected on 4 April 2006 in Kapisa province. Since that date hundreds of samples have been submitted to the Central Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory with negative results. Those results have received further confirmation from the FAO Reference Laboratory in Padova, Italy.

Click here to read the press release with full details.

Kofi Annan: World Cup provides a unique opportunity to unite as a nation
With the World Cup just days away you may have thought that this wouldn’t necessarily have much resonance in Afghanistan. However the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, is keen to draw parallels between the UN’s work and the world’s most popular sports event.

In an article titled “How We Envy The World Cup” the Secretary-General contemplates how this is an event everybody on earth loves talking about and how he would like to see citizens of countries do the same to progress on issues related to human development.

Although Afghanistan is not represented at the event in Germany, much of what the Secretary-General has written can be applied to the situation in Afghanistan.

Click here to read the Secretary-General’s World Cup text.

First UN Volunteers retreat set for this weekend in Kabul
A two-day UN Volunteers retreat will begin this Friday at the UNICEF Headquarters of UNOCA Compound on Jalalabad Road.

Bringing more than 70 UN Volunteers from different workstations throughout Afghanistan, it will have as an objective to promote the work of volunteers, chalk out new directions for more contributions to the development of the country, and share experiences.

Click here to read the press release.

UN-HABITAT project looks at improving lives of Afghans living in informal settlements
A project implemented by the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) to improve the living conditions of Afghans in informal settlements was recently held.

A team, led by Professor Adebayo Adedeji, a member of the Global Advisory Board on Human Security, attended urban upgrading project sites in Jalalabad, and learned of similar initiatives underway in Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif.

In these areas, access to water, health care, education, electricity and sanitation is often minimal or non-existent. Security of land tenure remains a difficult issue for many families who now reside in these areas.

Click here to read the press release.

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