Brussels, 07/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Union's Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Ambassador Klaiber, made a plea in Brussels on Thursday for the prolongation and reinforcement in number of the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) whose mandate expires end-May. According to him, there are two resounding reasons for this: obvious reasons of security, but political reasons too.
At a press conference, the Union's Envoy painted a very dark picture of the security conditions in the country, and considered that the "environment in Afghanistan is and will remain extremely difficult". Speaking of the explosion, Wednesday, of ground-to-air missiles that killed two German and three Danish soldiers in a mine-clearance operation in Kabul, Klaus-Peter Klaiber declared: "we may consider ourselves fortunate that it was an accident and not a tragedy orchestrated by people who still do not understand that the international community and the new interim government are working for the country's reconstruction.".
Klaiber's political assessment of the political situation is mitigated. He welcomed the fact that the Bonn Process towards democracy should be "on track" and that work aimed at establishing a timetable for the political programme should have advanced, but also highlighted several shadows in the picture. "The interim government has settled in, but it is having difficulties in working like we would like to see it work. Hamid Korzai is talented, but he would be wise to focus his work in Afghanistan rather than travelling the world to keep ties with countries which are, in anyway, committed to helping in the country's reconstruction". As for the ministers of the interim authority, Mr. Klaiber considered that they should employ officials representative of all groups of the population "rather than their friends".
Stressing the importance of international assistance for the interim authority in this difficult context, Klaiber welcomed the fact that the funds mobilised to that effect were now sufficient and that the Union should have been first in line, with initial aid of 2.5 million euro, complemented by 20 million euro to help the work move on. He also placed emphasis on the importance of a co-ordinated EU action "between the players in Brussels and Kabul", adding that on his initiative co-ordination meetings had begun with EU ambassadors on the ground, with Echo (the Community's humanitarian office) and with the European Commission's representative who had just arrived in Kabul, Karl Harbo.
"The most difficult question to settle is defining the type of assistance the Union is prepared to provide to the country's stability and security (…). Without Isaf continuing, the reconstruction process is doomed to failure", said Mr. Klaiber, stressing the urgency of settling this issue.
Talks on the possible prolongation and extension of Isaf's mandate are underway. Mr. Klaiber confirmed that he was discussing it with the Member states of the Union taking part in this international force, but, he regretted, "the European Union has no opinion on the subject". Yet, according to him, "a nominal but visible and constant military presence, and keeping up a certain amount of pressure on regional actors are essential" to succeed in ending the ambient disorder: without mentioning that the assistance to the reconstruction effort, promised by the international community, is conditional on efforts made by Afghanistan for the country's security and stability. "It is in the Union's interest to convince all neighbouring countries, especially Iran and Pakistan, to co-operate in this international effort to help Afghanistan put itself back on its feet. In a country with totally different traditions, moving in the right direction demands patience as well as military and political efforts", declared the Union's Envoy, aware of difficulty of his task.