Brussels, 26/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - In his speech to the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, the Afghan foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah said that the process of restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan would take a long time because it was necessary to create a culture of peace. He stressed the enormous hurdles facing the interim government and repeated its pledge to continue to make progress, mentioning the hopeful sign of re-opening schools again. Alongside the other problems caused by 23 years of war, he quoted the return of 20,000 refugees a week from neighbouring countries and the 4,000 people killed and numerous injured following the earthquakes that hit the north-east of the country (see article on p.13 on the reaction by the EU's aid office).
Stressing that the fight against terrorism had to continue, Mr Abdullah warned the international community that it should not lose interest in Afghanistan because the terrorist threat there had been stamped out. He said that the aid Afghanistan had received in its fight against the Soviet invasion had ended with the end of the Cold War, and that his poor, war-torn country had become a fertile breeding ground for extremism, religious fundamentalism, violations of human rights and discrimination against women. He called on the international community to not make the same mistake twice, but to continue providing support to the rebuilding and stability process that Afghanistan had begun. Answering a question on the safety of the former king Zaher Shah (due to return to the country in the next few days) and the possible restoration of the monarchy, Mr Abdullah said the former king shared the Afghans' dream of peace and was an element that could contribute to national unity, peace and stability, but the issue of power-sharing still had to be settled in Afghanistan. He is welcomed, said Mr Abdullah, but said questions about his safety were "unfair". He added that the head of the interim government travelled everywhere in the country, and commented that the former king's blood was no more valuable than other people. Asked about the application of sharia law, he said that what was important was the implementation of the Bonn Agreement. The EU Special Representative in Afghanistan, Mr Klaiber, said that the current reform of the judicial system respected the measures set out in the Bonn Agreement, whereby the legal system has to be based on international standards, the rule of law, the principles of Islam and the traditions of the country.
Klaus-Peter Klaiber reported on progress made over past months, mentioning the European Union's important aid effort (the EU is the biggest donor to the reconstruction fund). He said that ECHO is seen as an NGO in Afghanistan, but that he tried to explain that it's an EU body. He said he understood his mandate as being the beginning of a process of defining the EU's policy in the region. He also mentioned the huge minesweeping operation that has to be carried out in Afghanistan, saying it would taken a good ten years or more to remove all mines from the country.