Orthodox Afghan Taliban hold out olive branch to detractors


taliban


Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil said Monday the Taliban was following the majority of international human rights standards











January 25, 2000
Web posted at: 11:31 a.m. HKT (0331 GMT)

CNN

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia said Monday it was committed to improving its record on terrorism, human rights and narcotics production, but admitted that it doesn't always agree with the international community on those issues.

Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil said the militia "agrees on the majority of international human rights (standards) and we are following those." In the West the Taliban's human rights record has been sharply criticized.

Muttawakil said his government and the international community are on occasion, however, at odds over interpretation.



MESSAGE BOARD

Afghanistan: Taliban










GALLERY

A look at the rule of the Taliban














BACKGROUND


Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN






In 1996, the ruling government of Afghanistan was displaced by the Taliban movement -- an Islamic fundamentalist group which claims control over about 90 percent of the country. The Taliban is recognized by only a handful of countries as the sovereign government. It has implemented a strict Islamic code of justice which can involve public executions and floggings. One of the poorest countries in the world, Afghanistan has been mired in conflict for generations. In 1979, the then Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, but after enduring years of a debilitating war against the Afghan resistance, Moscow withdrew the last of its troops in 1989. Millions of Afghans fled to Pakistan and Iran during the war with the Soviets and many remain outside the country while fighting against the Taliban continues. The Taliban are Sunni Muslims and mostly Pashtun -- the majority ethnic group of Afghanistan, while the opposition alliance comprises religious and ethnic minorities, including Shiites, Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks. The Taliban are fighting the opposition on several fronts to extend their rule over the entire country. The Taliban follow a harsh version of Islam that bars women from work and education, forces men to wear beards and outlaws all light entertainment, including music and television.











For example, the amputation of limbs for theft is condemned in the West, but in Afghanistan the Taliban support the practice because it follows the dictates of Islam, explained Muttawakil.

The Taliban also have been widely condemned for refusing to allow women to work and girls to attend school. But it's wrong to say the Taliban do not support education of girls he said.

The Taliban do agree that girls should receive an education, but they don't have the money to educate both boys and girls, thus the girls will have to wait.

But he also said that the education of girls will be in keeping with the Taliban's interpretation of Afghan culture and Islam. He did not elaborate, but so far in Afghanistan girls receive education only until they turn eight years old. Then they are sent home.

Muttawakil said the Taliban also condemns terrorism and drug production, both of which are major concerns for the international community. Afghanistan is the largest producer of opium worldwide. Opium is the raw material used to manufacture heroin.

For the United States, Afghanistan has become a pariah state for its harboring of suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden.

But Muttawakil said "it is the Americans who have made Osama a hero."

The Taliban will not hand over bin Laden to the United States or a third country for trial, he said. But Muttawakil repeated the Taliban's assertion that bin Laden's communications have been taken away from him.

Muttawakil also condemned hijacking, a reference to the Dec. 24 to Dec. 31 hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane, which resulted in the release by India of three pro-Kashmiri militants.

Of the hijacking, Muttawakil said "such acts are intolerable."

But he also said that there has to be a distinction between jihad or holy war and terrorism. He refused to be drawn into the Taliban's definition.

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