Afghanistan News January 11, 2006

January 11, 2006

AFGHANISTAN: Year in Review 2005 - Fragile progress, insecurity remains
KABUL, 11 January (IRIN) - There was some significant political progress in Afghanistan in 2005, the highlight being parliamentary elections on 18 September that resulted in the formation of the country's first democratically elected legislature in more than three decades.

The historic poll passed off largely peacefully and marked an important milestone in the country's transition from decades of brutal war and internal conflict, to a stable, democratic country where human rights are respected.

Despite constant threats from remnants of the ousted Taliban militia, of the country's 12.5 million registered voters, some 6.8 million Afghans took part in the polls to elect a national legislature and 34 provincial councils for a five-year term.

Insecurity remained a key feature in Afghanistan in 2005. Although the country continued to receive strong donor support, humanitarian aid and reconstruction work remained hampered by poor security, particularly in the south and east. Despite the deployment of some 20,000 US troops in the country, along with the presence of an international protection force, largely confined to the capital, 2005 was the bloodiest since the end of the Taliban in late 2001.

At least 1,600 people died in conflict-related violence last year. Ninety-one US troops died in combat and through accidents in 2005, more than double the total for the previous year.

Violence blamed on Taliban militia and other insurgent groups has left many southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan off-limits to aid workers, government officials and police.

In 2005, 31 aid workers were killed in different parts of the country, while during 2004 only 24 aid workers were killed, according to the Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO).

The plight of returned refugees remained a concern in 2005. A high proportion of the more than 3.5 million Afghans who have returned home from Pakistan and Iran since the collapse of the Taliban regime in late 2001 are suffering from lack of shelter, unemployment and poor medical facilities.

"For the sustainability of return to be possible, our work with refugees still staying in Pakistan and Iran has shown us very clearly that the major concern, paradoxically, is not security, but livelihoods," Antonio Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees told reporters in November at a press conference, in the capital, Kabul.

During 2005, a total of 520,100 Afghans returned home with office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assistance, the majority, 453,000, came from Pakistan, according to the refugee agency.

Despite large numbers returning, many Afghans remain in neighbouring countries. An official census of Afghans living in Pakistan, conducted in 2005, showed that some 3 million remain in the country – or triple the number remaining in Iran, which is estimated to be around 900,000, according to UNHCR.

The country's economy also continues to rely heavily on the trade in illicit drugs - a threat NATO's top operational commander, US Gen James Jones, has suggested is more serious than the ongoing Taliban insurgency. The UN and the government have estimated the total export value of Afghanistan's opium in 2005 at US $2.7 billion - equivalent to 52 percent of the country's official gross domestic product.

The government is well aware of the threat but has requested increased international support to deal with the menace. "Opium production prevents our economic growth and feeds only the enemies of our country," President Hamid Karzai told the first gathering of the national assembly in December.

The trade is inevitably leading to an increase in intravenous drug users. The first UN-government joint nationwide study of drugs users in Afghanistan, released in November, showed there were 920,000 drug users, or 3.8 percent of the population.

"While the situation regarding drug addiction is not yet a catastrophe, this data clearly shows that there is reason for concern," the UN Office on Drugs and Crime commented. "It also shows that a country which produces drugs, in the long run this also translates to drug addiction."

Strides were made in education last year. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), around 5 million children were studying in schools during 2005, an increase of over a million on 2004. The enrollment of girls also increased in the same period, the UN agency noted.

Despite collecting thousands of small arms from ex-combatants across the country, observers believe that a substantial number of warlords and illegal militias were still holding large stocks of weapons that remained a threat to Afghanistan's fragile development. Authorities estimate between 1,800 and 2,000 illegal armed groups are still active across the country.

By the end of the year, 60,646 former combatants had been disarmed and reintegrated by the UN-backed Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegrated (DDR) programme, which was launched on 24 October 2003. The programme also collected about 35,000 light and medium weapons and 11,000 heavy weapons.

The human rights picture in 2005 was very mixed. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) pointed to many more girls going to school and significant participation of women in the landmark parliamentary polls as two of the highlights. But the commission cautioned that very serious violations of human rights continued in the country. AIHRC received 2,698 human rights complaints and heard about 4,236 different human rights violations during 2005.

"The lack of security is undermining attempts to improve human rights and human security and is fuelling child trafficking, land grabbing, torture by police and extra-judicial killings." said AIHRC chairwoman Dr Sima Samar.

During 2005 at least 100 women set fire to themselves to escape family problems and forced marriages, according to AIHRC. Around 80 cases of forced marriages and 199 cases of physical torture and beating had also been registered during 2005, the Afghan rights watchdog noted.

The Year Ahead

Regional observers say that the humanitarian situation will likely remain broadly the same in 2006, with strong ongoing donor support but with aid and reconstruction hostage to poor security. "Without long-term military, economic and political support, the Afghan government cannot by itself get rid of insecurity, opium production and widespread corruption," Qasim Akhgar, a local analyst said.

International and local efforts to return internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their place of origin will continue, although lack of infrastructure in rural areas will remain a key challenge for the government and aid agencies.

All the signs indicate that efforts to reduce the massive growth in the cultivation and trade in opium will have little impact. Observers point to the length of time counter-narcotics measures took to have an impact in countries like Pakistan and Thailand and suggest Afghanistan, with a far worse problem, will continue to be a leading world heroin producer in 2006 and for some years beyond.

Although the national assembly election was a success, prospects for Kabul to extend its authority to the provinces and take on the powerful warlords, growing richer on the proceeds of the lucrative opium trade, do not look hopeful.

Russia to take part in Intl conference on Afghanistan
MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Russia will take part in the international conference on Afghanistan, to take place in London on January 31 - February 1, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Troyansky told Interfax on Wednesday. "Russia will take part in the work of this conference, and the composition of the delegation will be finalized in the near future," he said.

Czech Cabinet approves sending special force unit to Afghanistan
PRAGUE, 01/11 - The Czech government on Wednesday approved Defence Minister Karel Kuehnl`s proposal to send an anti-terrorist special force unit to Afghanistan.

Kuehnl`s spokesman Andrej Cirtek said soldiers from the special force unit stationed in Prostejov, south Moravia, are to leave for Afghanistan in the first half of this year.

The government`s decision has to be ratified by the parliament, but when finally approved the unit will be the second deployment of Czech special forces in Afghanistan.

"Their task will be similar to what they had in 2004," Cirtek said.

Two years ago, the Czech Republic sent to Afghanistan a 120-strong anti-terrorist unit, which was deployed alongside U.S. troops. The unit worked in Afghanistan for around six months, mainly doing special anti-terrorism reconnaissance missions.

Last October, while visiting the United States, Kuehnl aired his proposal to send Czech special forces to Afghanistan during a meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld. Kuehnl said then that the unit was ready for the mission.

At present, the Czech Republic has about 43 soldiers in Afghanistan as part of the German reconstruction team working in the north.

Balkenende rallies support for Afghanistan mission
Expatica, Netherlands UPDATED: 11 January 2006
AMSTERDAM — Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende called on parliament on Tuesday evening to end the political deadlock over the controversial military mission to Afghanistan.

Balkenende made clear to a party meeting in Groningen he was determined the Netherlands will send 1,200 soldiers to southern Afghanistan to assist in the US-led campaign against the Taliban.

The Prime Minister said MPs had to stop squabbling over procedure and have a proper debate about the important issues surrounding the mission.

A majority in parliament has refused in recent weeks to hold such a debate until the coalition government takes a definite decision on whether to send the troops. Due to the doubts of junior coalition party D66, ministers have only expression an "intention" rather than a firm decision.

This has led to mounting frustration among the country's allies, and the US in particular.

Balkenende told the meeting in Groningen that a substantive debate had to be held as soon as possible as "the Afghan people expect this of us, and the international community expects it of us".

He voiced unhappiness, however, about some of the strong language used in the US about the delay. He said it showed "too little respect for what the Netherlands has done over the years for the international community." The Netherlands already has 600 soldiers in Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister held private talks with his deputies, Liberal leader Gerrit Zalm and D66 Minister Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, earlier on Tuesday to map out a strategy for the debate.

Daniel Fried, Washington's Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, said on Tuesday the US government was perplexed by the Dutch hesitation.

Fried said the debate about the mission had become "overheated". Whatever the Dutch decided, he said, Nato would make good on its commitment to send 6,000 more troops to southern Afghanistan.

Dutchman and Nato boss, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, also called on The Hague to back the deployment. General Dick Berlijn, commander of the Dutch military, said this week the Netherlands must provide the troops.

Balkenende's cabinet put off the decision late last year due to concerns within his coalition government and in parliament about the mission.

Ministers tried to leave the issue up to parliament, but MPs announced they would not vote on the deployment until the Cabinet made a decision first.

Balkenende's Christian Democrats (CDA) are worried about safety issues, while Zalm's Liberals are the only government party behind the mission 100 percent.

D66 is against the mission. Its representatives in government, Brinkhorst and Reform Minister Alexander Pechtold had hoped to avoid a confrontation by leaving it to parliament to back or kill the mission.

On Monday, former American diplomat Paul Bremer III warned a decision not to send more troops in Afghanistan would be damaging for Dutch interests in the US.

President George W. Bush appointed Bremer the Director of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for post-war Iraq on 6 May 2003. He served as the effective civil ruler of the country until Iraqi sovereignty was restored on 28 June 2004.

Bremer was US ambassador to the Netherlands from 1983 until 1986 when he became Ambassador-at-Large for Counterterrorism for the US.

Australian troops for Afghanistan
Tuesday, 10 January 2006 BBC News
Australia has announced that it will deploy an extra 110 troops to Afghanistan to fight "terrorism".

Two Chinook transport helicopters will also join the country's 190 special services soldiers who are already deployed in Afghanistan.

The move comes amid speculations that the US is seeking to reduce its troops in the country and encourage Nato take more responsibility.

Nato has been trying to finalise a plan to move its troops to the south.

Australia's Defence Minister Robert Hill said the added contribution would "combat threats of terrorism".

"Afghanistan has made significant progress since its liberation from the Taleban and it is important that the international community continues to work together with the Afghan government to ensure progress continues," he said.

The extra troops are expected to be deployed by the end of February and remain in the country until September 2006.

Mr Hill said his government had agreed in-principle to deploy an Australian provincial reconstruction team (PRT) but had not yet decided on its exact role and composition.

US 'perplexed'

Separately, the United States has said it is concerned about the hesitation of the Dutch government to send troops to southern Afghanistan as part of the beefed up Nato deployment.

"I am perplexed by the debate in the Netherlands," the US Assistant Secretary of State for European affairs Daniel Fried told the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant.

"Frankly, I do not understand how the Dutch could pull out," he added.

On Monday, Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer urged the Netherlands to finalise its decision of sending troops to southern Afghanistan.

Afghanistan welcomes extra Australian troops
ABC Online, Australia - Wednesday, 11 January , 2006 Reporter: Peta Donald
TONY EASTLEY: Afghanistan's Ambassador to Canberra has welcomed Australia's plan to send more than 100 extra troops, and two heavy-lift aircraft to Afghanistan.

But how long they'll stay there is a vexed question.

The Defence Minister Robert Hill has made it quite clear that the entire Australian deployment, expected to number 500 if a reconstruction team is sent later this year, will be withdrawn by November at the latest.

At least one analyst believes the deployment isn't long enough and he says Senator Hill is pandering to a domestic audience by setting an end date to the operation.

From Canberra Peta Donald reports.

PETA DONALD: Afghanistan's Ambassador to Canberra, Anwar Anwarzai, says his country highly appreciates Australia's contribution of extra troops and helicopters to help in the fight against a resurgent Taliban.

ANWAR ANWARZAI: They are most welcome to be as our guests over there, and be exactly like welcome people who are fighting on the common front with us.

PETA DONALD: It's help, he says, that's badly needed.

ANWAR ANWARZAI: We do not like to see that Afghanistan and the people would be slipping back into that chaos and that kind of situation, where our country would be a haven for the drug dealers, for the extremists, for the al-Qaedas and so on and so forth.

PETA DONALD: So how long do you think it will take Afghanistan to get back on its feet and to no longer need the presence of these foreign troops?

ANWAR ANWARZAI: We are trying to do our best. Since last year more than 30,000 Afghans have been trained in the national army, and more than 50,000 have been trained in the police.

But still the fight against the remnant of Taliban and al-Qaeda - that's not an easy job. It needs a real international cooperation.

PETA DONALD: And how long do you think that cooperation will be needed for?

ANWAR ANWARZAI: It's very difficult to foresee such a thing. So that would be decided on the merit of that, and then see how that will work out. But with the speed at which it is going now, it is really difficult to have a timetable.

PETA DONALD: While it might be difficult to say exactly how long Afghanistan will need the help of thousands of foreign troops, one analyst is quite sure it will be for years to come, and the job won't be done by November, when Australia plans to withdraw.

Professor William Maley, from the Australian National University, who was in Afghanistan last month.

WILLIAM MALEY: I think it's likely to take longer than that and I don't think it's a particularly good idea to put terminal points on deployments of this sort, because the difficulty is that if the intention of the forces is to deal with particular wretched spoilers on the ground, but they hear that the force will be leaving the country by September, all they will do is sit tight and then resume their activities once it becomes clear that Australian forces are about to leave a particular district.

It's much more important, I think, to send the signal that there is a long term and durable international commitment that is not going to evaporate in the short term.

Pakistan: New arrangements for returning Afghans considered
ISLAMABAD, 10 January (IRIN) - Together with the authorities in Islamabad and Kabul, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is considering revising the assistance programme for Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan.

"UNHCR has been considering revisiting the exit programme [for Afghan refugees], with a shift from the current travel assistance for returnees to reintegration assistance in the area of return, to facilitate sustainable return and also to ensure a more efficient use of resources," UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Tuesday.

Since 2002, UNHCR has been running a voluntary repatriation programme for Afghan refugees living in Pakistan under a tripartite agreement between the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan and the UN refugee agency.

According to UNHCR, the revised return arrangements are expected to come into effect in 2007 under a new tripartite framework for return and reintegration, following the expiry of the existing programme in December 2006.

Under the current programme, Afghan returnees are eligible for transport assistance ranging from US $4 to $37 per person, depending on the distance to their destination. Additionally, they also receive a small monetary grant to help them with additional costs.

Nearly 450,000 Afghan refugees have voluntarily repatriated from Pakistan in 2005, the highest number of returns since 2002 when nearly 1.6 million Afghans went home with UNHCR assistance.

In addition, a significant number also cross into Afghanistan without approaching the UN refugee agency, however, there is no record of the numbers involved in such spontaneous repatriations.

According to UNHCR, while returnees in the initial years of repatriation were largely newcomers to Pakistan, many of the returnees in 2005 had repatriated after spending almost 20 or more years in exile. They made up 65 percent of the total returns in 2005 from a mere 30 percent of the total returned in 2004.

Currently, the UNHCR repatriation operation from Pakistan is suspended for a winter break till the end of February 2006.

In addition, preparations for an Afghan registration exercise are also under way which will be carried out later this year.

"Under the registration exercise, all the Afghans living in Pakistan aged five and above who were counted in the March 2005 census would be issued with a Proof of Registration (PoR) by Pakistan's National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)," Baloch said.