Saturday, October 31, 2015

‘Probably the largest’ al-Qaeda training camp ever destroyed in Afghanistan - Washingtonpost

KABUL, Afghanistan — A multi-day operation in southern Afghanistan this month that involved 200 Special Operations forces and scores of American airstrikes targeted what was “probably the largest” al-Qaeda training camp found in the 14-year Afghan war, the senior U.S. commander in Afghanistan said on Friday.

Army Gen. John F. Campbell, the four-star officer in charge of the U.S. war effort, said the camp was used by AQIS, an acronym for al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. The group’s formation was announced last year by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, and is believed to be based in Pakistan and focused on India, Pakistan and other nations in southern Asia.
[How this elite Air Force rescue squadron’s mission has evolved in Afghanistan]
The operation, announced by the U.S. military on Oct. 11, hit one training area that sprawled over 30 square miles and another small one that was about one square mile, U.S. military officials said. U.S. and Afghan troops were involved in the ground assault, with 63 airstrikes launched to cover them. Some 160 al-Qaeda fighters were reported killed.

The training camps were found in Kandahar province’s Shorabak district, a sparsely populated area along Afghanistan’s southern border with Pakistan, and the facilities are believed to have been in existence for up to a year.

That in itself has raised questions about the effectiveness of the U.S. military to find and strike the militants 14 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks prompted the United States to topple the Taliban and begin hunting al-Qaeda. U.S. officials have long said that only the bare remnants of al-Qaeda remained in Afghanistan, and that they were concentrated in a few valleys in the eastern part of the country.

“It’s a place where you would probably think you wouldn’t have AQ. I would agree with that,” Campbell said of the Kandahar operation, using an acronym for al-Qaeda. “This was really AQIS, and probably the largest training camp-type facility that we have seen in 14 years of war.” - Read More

U.S.-Funded Afghan Local Police Riddled With Corruption, Audit Finds

Renee Montagne talks to John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction, about fraud and mismanagement of U.S. funding meant for the Afghan local police. - Read More at NPR

U.S.-Funded Afghan Local Police Riddled With Corruption, Audit Finds


Cashing In on the Decision to Keep U.S. Troops in Afghanistan - Foreign Policy, KATE BRANNEN

Why Obama dropping his promise to end America's longest war is going to give contractors billions of dollars.
 In August, the nation’s top military officer came to President Barack Obama and bluntly asked him to break a promise to bring the last American troops home from Afghanistan by the time the president left office.

Obama had been repeating the vow for years, but Gen. Martin Dempsey, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States needed to keep at least 5,000 troops in Afghanistan beyond 2016 to ensure that the Islamic State didn’t take root there and to prevent al Qaeda from moving back into the country. In July, the Pentagon discovered that the terrorist group responsible for the 9/11 attacks had been running a pair of large training camps in southern Afghanistan, including one that covered nearly 30 square miles.

The president, anxious to prevent Afghanistan from turning into another Iraq, told Dempsey that he was willing to consider the troop request. First, though, he wanted the general to tell him the “no kidding” cost of keeping U.S. forces there — including what the Pentagon would pay the thousands of contractors needed to house, feed, and support U.S. military personnel. Wisened after years of overseeing two wars, Obama didn’t want to let the additional cost of contractors escape him, particularly since the military rarely includes it in its proposals. The exchange was first reported by the Washington Post. The White House declined to comment on the president’s decision-making.

That Obama even factored “in contracting costs marks an evolution in the way leaders think,” said Sean McFate, a professor at the National Defense University and the author of The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order. “Just 10 to 15 years ago, contracting costs came as an afterthought,” he said. “Now they are part of strategic planning. This makes sense, since the majority of ground personnel are contracted.”

This is certainly true in Afghanistan, where there are 30,000 contractors working for the Defense Department, according to the latest Pentagon tally. Of these, roughly 10,000 are U.S. citizens. The rest are local or third-country nationals from states like Nepal. The Pentagon figures don’t include the thousands of other contractors working for the State Department, USAID, and the Central Intelligence Agency.

That means Obama’s decision to extend America’s longest war won’t just keep thousands of troops in Afghanistan longer than had been expected; it will also keep thousands of contractors there, ensuring that the gold rush sparked by the 2001 invasion continues for the next several years.

That’s good news for companies like Fluor Corp. and DynCorp International, which have been providing U.S. troops with things like electricity and laundry services on their Afghan bases for years. They and the other contractors working for the military stand to earn billions of dollars per year.

It also means the U.S. government is going to have to continue to provide close scrutiny of their work, as major contractors have been accused of overbilling the government, failing to deliver what they promised, abusing their labor force, and, in some cases, committing outright fraud.  -  Read More at foreignpolicy
Cashing In on the Decision to Keep US Troops in Afghanistan

Friday, October 30, 2015

Russian, US, Saudi, Turkish Top Diplomats Hold Syria Reconciliation Talks

The top diplomats of the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are currently holding talks in Vienna, Austria to seek common ground on how to end the four-year Syrian civil war.

VIENNA (Sputnik) — The current round of talks comes ahead of a broader Friday meeting of main regional players, including Iran.

All key players, including UN Security Council permanent members and such countries as Iran, Egypt, and Iraq are expected to participate in the talks on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier in the day.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby confirmed Tuesday that Washington extended an invitation to Iran, a country considered to be a key backer of the current Syrian government. - Read More at sputniknews

Russian, US, Saudi, Turkish Top Diplomats Hold Syria Reconciliation Talks


EU to give more budget leeway to states facing extra refugee costs

The European Commission, which polices euro zone governments' finances, will give more budget leeway to states that can prove to have suffered extraordinary costs to face the refugee crisis, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Tuesday.

"We are facing a problem of exceptional gravity," Juncker said during a debate on the migration crisis in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Several euro zone governments have asked for more flexibility on EU fiscal rules - the Stability and Growth Pact -- to cope with the costs of sheltering and managing the biggest flow of migrants Europe has seen since World War II.

"If a country makes an extraordinary effort, it must have this recognized," Juncker said, adding that "countries that do not make an extraordinary effort or cannot prove it, will not have a more flexible interpretation of the Pact." - Read More at reuters

EU to give more budget leeway to states facing extra refugee costs

Russia says Central Asia at risk of spillover from Islamic State in Afghanistan

Militants in Afghanistan who have switched sides to Islamic State pose a growing risk to Central Asia, Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service, was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency on Wednesday.

Kremlin officials view the ex-Soviet republics of Central Asia as a last line of defense stopping Islamist militants reaching Russia itself, and say they worry the region's fragile security forces may not hold up without help.

"The escalation of tension in Afghanistan is a source of serious concern," the news agency quoted Bortnikov as saying. "Numerous militant groups that are part of the Taliban are concentrated on the northern borders of that country." - Read More at Reuters

Russia says Central Asia at risk of spillover from Islamic State in Afghanistan


Thursday, October 29, 2015

The Intense Images Of Afghanistan's Long And 'Distant War'

U.S. photojournalist Robert Nickelsberg has seen more of Afghanistan, and recent Afghan history, than many Afghans themselves. Since 1988, he's visited Afghanistan dozens of times, covering the country for Time and The New York Times. He returned most recently last month, for the launch of an exhibition of his photography at the Afghanistan Center at Kabul University.

The photos, covering several distinct phases in recent Afghan history, come from Nickelsberg's book Afghanistan: A Distant Warfor which he received a 2014 Overseas Press Club award. After so many years of covering the country, he says: "Storytelling and documentation remains a priority. Witnessing historical moments remains a priority. The intimacy I have with the region has not changed, it's just evolved."

Originally Nickelsberg had planned only to present a Dari-language version of the book to the university, but the Afghanistan Center's director, Waheed Wafa, a former New York Times reporter, "is aware of the impact of photojournalism," Nickelsberg says, "and felt this was the right time to put this exhibit together."

Of more than 100 photos in the book, 52 appear in the exhibit. "It brings something of the past to students, who were maybe traumatized by violence but had no visual record available of this recent history," Nickelsberg says. "My desire was to return these images to them, to show the effect [conflict] has had on Afghans and for them to reflect on the incidents, personalities and intrigues." 

The photos, starting in 1988, span Afghanistan's immediate post-Soviet era, the agonizing civil war of the 1990s, the period of Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, the U.S. invasion after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the present day. But in a country where almost two-thirds of the population is under 25, the images convey a history many Afghans today didn't actually live through — either because they weren't yet born or because their families had fled to other countries for safety during the years of conflict. - Read More at NPR

The Intense Images Of Afghanistan's Long And 'Distant War'


Paul Ryan elected House speaker - Washingtonpost

Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) is ready to begin a “new day in the House of Representatives” after being elected speaker.

Ryan won the support of 236 House members in a vote Thursday morning, securing his election. The Wisconsin Republican on Wednesday won the nomination of the House Republican majority, who united around one of their party’s brightest stars after weeks of uncertainty about their next top leader.
[Boehner’s exit breaks up the long-running ‘Big Four’ of Congress]

Ryan began his remarks to the House following the vote with a call for unity — not only among the divided Republican conference. “Let’s pray for each other,” he said. “Republicans for Democrats, and Democrats for Republicans. … And I don’t mean pray for a conversion. Pray for a deeper understanding.”  “We are not settling scores,” he added. “We are wiping the slate clean.”

He nodded to demands of back-bench conservatives who felt marginalized by his predecessor, John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), calling for committees to take the lead in writing major legislation: “We need to return to regular order,” he said, embracing a watchword of Boehner discontents.

On Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) received 184 votes for speaker and Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.), the only Republican to challenge Ryan, received 9 votes.

Ryan officially became speaker after taking the oath of office, which was administered by Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), dean of the House.

“Tomorrow, we are turning the page,” he said. “We are not going to have a House that looks like it’s looked the last few years. … Our party lost its vision, and we are going to replace it with a vision.”

Ryan, who at 45 is the youngest speaker elected since 1869, struck a similar note in his first floor address as speaker Thursday, calling for greater unity between GOP wings divided over tactics and ideology.

Looking on as he spoke were his family, including his wife, Janna, and children Liza, 13, Charlie, 12, and Sam, 10. Also seated in the speaker box were former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who tapped Ryan as his running mate for his ill-fated 2012 presidential run.

Bidding farewell Thursday, Boehner, who cast the final vote for Ryan, said he leaves the House as “the same regular guy that came here.” He recited a list of his accomplishments, including major spending cuts, ending earmarks and preserving the D.C. school voucher program.  “I leave with no regrets, no burdens,” he said. - Read More 
Paul Ryan elected House speaker


Musharraf equates Bal Thackeray with Hafiz Saeed

He said Afghan and Kashmiri mujahideen were their heroes in the 1990s, but the situation has now changed while referring to Saeed "I do not want to discuss this (Saeed) issue,'' Musharraf shot back at his interviewer on a popular Pakistani TV channel on Saturday night. "Since India is going after this, we are also following them."

He cited Pakistan's support for the US-backed Afghan war and said the atmosphere changed after 1979 when Islamabad introduced religious militancy in its favour to throw the Soviets out. "We brought mujahideen from around the world. We trained the Taliban... and sent them in. They were our heroes. (Afghan warlord Jalaluddin) Haqqani is our hero of 1980s. Osama (bin Laden) was our hero. Yes, CIA's as well. (al-Qaida chief Ayman) al-Zawahiri was our hero," he acknowledged.

But he added that the atmosphere has changed now. "The hero has become a villain."

He said a similar thing was replicated in Kashmir in the 1990s. "A freedom struggle started there in the 1990s. They (Kashmiris) were killed badly. Indian Army killed them, they came to Pakistan. We gave them heroes' reception."

Musharraf acknowledged Pakistan trained and supported Kashmiri rebels. "They were mujahideen who would fight the Indian Army for their rights. LeT was formed along with 10-12 such groups," he said. He called these groups their heroes who were putting their lives at stake. "Now this has converted into terrorism." - Read More at the timesofindia
Musharraf equates Bal Thackeray with Hafiz Saeed

Pakistan supported, trained terror groups: Musharraf - The ...


Pakistan supported, trained terror groups to carry out militancy in Kashmir: Pervez Musharraf

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

10 Foods That Can Lower Your Blood Sugar Naturally

It's no exaggeration—balancing your blood sugar could be a matter of life or death. Chronic high blood sugar levels are toxic to your body, destroying organs and blood vessels and paving the way to a heart attack, type 2 diabetes, stroke, dialysis, nerve damage, erectile dysfunction, or even blindness. The good news? Out-of-control sugar levels can be reigned in and regulated with the right foods. - Read More at msn

10 Foods That Can Lower Your Blood Sugar Naturally

Germany to send Afghan refugees back - New Europe

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday:  “This is unacceptable. We agree with the Afghan government that we don’t want this, and there are also increasing numbers of members of the middle class — including many from Kabul.”

De Maiziere also pointed out that German soldiers and police officers have been contributing to making Afghanistan safer.

“Large amounts of development aid have gone to Afghanistan — so we can expect that Afghans stay in their country. So I am saying very clearly today that people who come to us as refugees from Afghanistan cannot all expect to be able to stay in Germany.”

Genuine refugees fleeing Taliban persecution or Afghans who have worked for the German military will be granted asylum.

Presently, only around 50% of Afghans get asylum in Germany. But the rejected asylum-seekers are not deported and are allowed to stay in Germany in a legal limbo, a situation which is about to change soon. Germany wants the EU to negotiate a repatriation agreement with Afghanistan so refugees can be safely returned. If the negotiations don’t succeed, Germany will try to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the Kabul government.


The idea to send Afghan refugees back is also supported by the President of the EU Parliament Martin Schulz. He confirmed the intention to open negotiations during an interview on German television and quoted the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, saying that “those who have no right to stay must be sent back.”

However, many human-rights activists don’t agree with the plan to send the Afghans back because their home country is still too dangerous to live.
According to UNHCR, 124,000 Afghans requested asylum in Europe this year, more than twice as many as in the same period last year. - Read More at neurope

Germany to send Afghan refugees back - New Europe

Germany to send Afghan refugees back - DW

German Interior Minister de Maiziere has announced a stricter refugee policy that would return most Afghan migrants. He also called for a swifter deportation of asylum seekers from the Balkans.
On Wednesday, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere announced that most asylum seekers from Afghanistan and "tens of thousands" from the Balkans will be sent back, in a toughening of Germany's refugee policy.

"The number of repatriations, voluntary returns and deportations will rise significantly," de Maiziere expects.

More migrants are now coming to Europe from Afghanistan than any country other than Syria, a situation that de Maiziere deemed "unacceptable." Among them, he noted, are many members of the middle class and residents of the Afghan capital Kabul who "should remain and help build the country up."

De Maiziere added said that the Afghan government shared this view.  Germany has recently announced an extension of its troop commitment in Afghanistan in the NATO attempt to maintain a stable state there.

Germany plans to send Afghan refugees back | News | DW ...


Germany decides to keep troops in Afghanistan until further  - Read More

Russia and Iran helping Assad gain upper hand in Syria, head of Joint Chiefs says - latimes

Russian bombing and Iranian-backed forces have helped give Syrian President Bashar Assad's embattled forces an advantage in the country's bitter civil war, the top U.S. military officer said Tuesday, suggesting a sharp setback for the Obama administration.

Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared to contradict upbeat assessments by the White House last month that indicated Assad's government had suffered a series of military losses and was losing control.

Although the long-term effect is far from clear, Pentagon intelligence has concluded for now that Russian air attacks, which began Sept. 30, and growing involvement by Iranian-backed forces have helped Assad's military advance on several critical fronts and extend his grip on power.

"The balance of forces right now are in Assad's advantage," Dunford, who visited the region last week, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. - Read More latimes

Russia and Iran helping Assad gain upper hand in Syria, head of Joint Chiefs says

After Earthquake In Afghanistan, A Complicated Rescue Mission

More than 300 people are dead the day after an earthquake hit Afghanistan and shook surrounding countries. At least 2,000 people are injured, NPR's Philip Reeves reports on Morning Edition.

"This is a very remote landscape," Reeves notes, "and it can take a long time before you find out exactly who's been impacted by a disaster of this kind."  The magnitude 7.5 quake struck the Hindu Kush mountains on Monday. It started about 130 miles underground, the U.S. Geological Survey says, lessening its potential blow.

Still, at least 237 people have died in Pakistan and 74 in Afghanistan, The Associated Press reports, citing country officials. Landslides and rough terrain are making it difficult to reach people in need. - Read More at NPR

After Earthquake In Afghanistan, A Complicated Rescue Mission


Tuesday, October 27, 2015

همه مهاجران پناهنده سیاسی هستند؟ - نادر وهابی - جامعه شناس

از ماه ژوئیه ۲۰۱۵، مرزهای شرقی اروپا شاهد موجی از مهاجران است که با عبور از کشورهای گوناگون تلاش کرده اند خود را به آلمان یا سایر کشورهای مهاجرپذیر برسانند. بنا به آمار کمیساریای عالی پناهندگان، در سال ۲۰۱۴ قریب به ۶۲۵۰۰۰ نفر در اتحادیه اروپا تقاضای پناهندگی کردند. پیش بینی می شود که این رقم درسال ۲۰۱۵ به رقم حدود یک میلیون و پانصد هزار نفر در قاره اروپا برسد، امری که پس از کنوانسیون ژنو ۱۹۵۱، سابقه نداشته است. آسیب های انسانی این موج جدید در ۱۵ سال گذشته درخور توجه است؛ از سال ۲۰۰۰ به این طرف، حدود ۲۹۰۰۰ نفر در دریای مدیترانه جان خود را از دست داده اند. در ۶ ماهه نخست ۲۰۱۵ حدود ۲۵۰۰ نفر طعمه دریا شده اند.

این موج عظیم، یک بار دیگر پرسش های دیرینه ای را طرح کرد که ناظر به یک رویکرد جدید و یا بازنگری تعاریف پیشین در مورد پناهنده سیاسی است. بدون هیچ تردیدی، اشغال نظامی آمریکا در افغانستان در سال ۲۰۰۱، در عراق در سال ۲۰۰۳، حمله انگلستان و فرانسه به لیبی در سال ۲۰۰۳ و پیدایش دولت داعش در بخش هایی از خاک عراق و سوریه، علل زنجیروار بی ثباتی در منطقه و موج پی در پی مهاجرت جدید است که در کوتاه مدت، راه حلی برای مهار آن متصور نیست. در این میان پرسش این است که: آیا همه این انسان ها پناهنده سیاسی هستند؟

بدون هیچ تردیدی بخش اعظم این افراد خانه و کاشانه خود در مناطق را رها کرده و جابجا شده اند، اما این شرایط ویژه موجب شده که لایه هایی از جامعه جنگ زده نیز که دارای امکانات مالی بهتر هستند هزینه جابجایی سنگین را بپذیرند و خود را با موج جدید هماهنگ سازند. پرسش این است که چگونه می توان تفکیک درستی بین پناهنده واقعی و دیگران انجام داد؟ در علوم اجتماعی چگونه پناهنده سیاسی تعریف می شود؟ این مقاله تلاش دارد به این پرسش ها پاسخ دهد.

با یک مطالعه اجمالی از کانون های اصلی بحران و عدم ثبات سیاسی در قرن بیستم به نقش مهم پناهندگان سیاسی در مهار و یا راه اندازی این تنش ها پی می بریم. تعداد افرادی که به دلایل سیاسی پس از جنگ های اول و دوم جهانی و معاهده های سیاسی به طور سیستماتیک از خانه و کاشانه خود رانده شدند، کم نیستند. در خلال جنگ جهانی دوم نزدیک به ۴۰ میلیون نفر غیرنظامی از یک مکان به مکان دیگر جا به جا شدند. از سال ۱۹۴۵ تا دهه های ۱۹۶۰ و ۱۹۷۰، حدود ۷۰ میلیون نفر ناگزیر شدند به مهاجرت اجباری تن دهند.

بنابر آخرین تحقیقات در سال ۲۰۱۴، نزدیک به ۲۳۰ میلیون نفر از مردم جهان (حدود ۳ درصد جمعیت جهان) در خارج از کشورهای زادگاه خویش زندگی می کنند، به طوریکه مقوله مهاجرت، اکنون یکی از مشخصه های عمده زندگی بین المللی شده است. در برخی موارد مبلغی که مهاجران به کشورهایشان می فرستند، تشکیل دهنده بخش بزرگی از درآمد ملی کشورهای مبدأ است.

از بعد کمی، این افراد جا به جا شده انبوه انسان هایی هستند که توان تحمل بار طاقت فرسای این جا بجایی های اجباری را ندارند اما هزینه اصلی آسیب های انسانی را بر دوش می کشند. این قشر عظیم را می توان انسان مهاجر، آواره جنگی، مهاجر اقتصادی، جویندگان زندگی بهتر برای دستیابی به فرصت ها و در مواردی سوءاستفاده کنندگان از موقعیت جدید نامید که در جستجوی شغل و کار مناسب، کشور آینده خود را به عنوان شهروند جدید در آن برمی گزیند و خواهان یک زندگی راحت هستند. - Read More at BBC

همه مهاجران پناهنده سیاسی هستند؟ -


105-Year-Old Refugee Travels Across Europe, Still Dreaming Of A Better Life

Bibihal Uzbeki traveled across Europe with her 67-year-old son and her 19-year-old grandson often carrying her on their backs.

OPATOVAC, Croatia (AP) — She is 105 years old but still dreams of a better life without wars and bombs.  Bibihal Uzbeki, from Kunduz, Afghanistan, is among tens of thousands of migrants who have traveled for thousands of miles fleeing war and poverty to search for a happier, safer future in Europe.

Wrapped in a green scarf and a brown blanket, she was brought on a stretcher to Croatia's main Opatovac refugee camp Tuesday after crossing in from Serbia with a large group of refugees, including her son, grandson and several other relatives.

The trek across mountains, deserts, seas and forests into Europe is dangerous and exhausting, even for people one-fifth her age.

"My legs hurt, but I'm fine," Uzbeki said in Farsi, speaking through a translator while sitting on the floor inside a Red Cross tent.  Her hands shook as she spoke.  She said her 17-member family had traveled for 20 days to reach Europe, with her 67-year-old son and her 19-year-old grandson often carrying her on their backs."We had problems many times.  I suffered a lot," she said. "I fell and injured my head. I have scars on my head."

As they carried her into a train that took them further west toward Slovenia, her grandson Muhamet said the family hopes its final destination is Sweden. - Read More at huffingtonpost

سازمان "پرو ازول": اخراج پناهجویان افغان قابل قبول نیست

تلاش آلمان و اتحادیه اروپا برای اخراج شمار بیشتری از آوارگان به شمول پناهجویان قبول نشده افغانستان با انتقاد شدید روبرو شده است. یک سازمان حامی پناهجویان از آلمان خواسته که آوارگان افغان را به کشورشان عودت ندهد.
گونتر بورکهارت از سازمان "پرو ازول" روز یک شنبه (25 اکتوبر/3 آبان) به خبرگزاری فرانس پرس گفت: «از دیدگاه ما افغانستان در حال نزدیک شدن به لبه پرتگاه است. پس فرستادن انسان ها به افغانستان در چنین وضعیتی غیرقابل قبول است».
او در ادامه گفت: «این کشور در حال فروپاشی است» و این که درخواست های پناهندگی تعداد زیادی از آوارگان افغان در آلمان پذیرفته می شود، بی دلیل نیست.

دلیل هشدار بورکهارت، گزارشی بود که براساس آن حکومت آلمان فدرال می خواهد شمار موارد اخراج پناهجویان افغان را افزایش دهد. روزنامه آلمانی «فرانکفورتر اگماینه زونتاگس سایتونگ» گزارش داده بود که برلین خواهان تصویب یک توافق میان کمیسیون اتحادیه اروپا و افغانستان درباره پذیرش آوارگانی است که قرار است به این کشور پس فرستاده شوند.

بورکهارت، مدیرکل سازمان (پرو آزول) از حکومت آلمان فدرال خواست که با افغان ها بزرگوارانه تر برخورد کند و به خصوص درخواست های پناهندگی آن هایی را که در وطن شان برای اردوی آلمان فدرال و یا سازمان های امدادگر آلمانی کار کرده اند، قبول کند.
بورکهارت در ادامه گفت که گفته های انگلا مرکل با اعمالش متناقض است. به گفته او، صدراعظم آلمان در مورد آوارگان دوستانه سخن می گوید. اما همزمان همه تلاش اش را برای رد کردن آن ها انجام می دهد.

در مسوده بیانیه نهایی نشستی که در بروکسل به خاطر بحران آوارگان برگزار شد، آمده است که موارد اخراج به کشورهای مبدا و همچنین به افغانستان باید تشدید گردد.

در همین حال، روزنامه آلمانی «فرانکفورتر روند شاو» درباره برنامه اخراج شمار بیشتری از آوارگان افغان می نویسد: «از زمانی که جامعه جهانی از افغانستان بیرون شده است، اخبار هشداردهنده از این کشور افزایش پیدا کرده است. موج عظیم مهاجرت در جریان است: ده ها هزار افغان می خواهند به خاطر ناامنی فرار کنند. این که در آلمان شمار آوارگان از افغانستان در حال افزایش است، پیامد طبیعی این روند فاجعه بار است.»

سازمان ″پرو ازول″: اخراج پناهجویان افغان قابل قبول نیست  - DW

Berlin seeks to deport more failed Afghan refugees

The German government wants to deport more rejected Afghan refugees as part of a European readmission agreement. European Parliament President Martin Schulz supports the idea. EurActiv Germany reports.

According to a newspaper report, Berlin wants to deport more Afghan refugees back to their homeland. The Sunday (25 October) edition of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that at the mini-summit on refugees, held in Brussels that day, Germany would seek to lay the groundwork to negotiate a readmission agreement with Afghanistan for rejected asylum seekers. Berlin wants the European Commission to handle the negotiations.

The newspaper also reported that the move is based on the fact that Afghans are currently the second largest group of asylum seekers after Syrians. For years, Germany has had a moratorium in place on deporting Afghans, even though only roughly a half of them were actually judged to be in need of asylum. Since 2012, no more than 10 Afghans a year have been deported by Germany.


Schulz: those who don't need protection must go back 
The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, confirmed the intention to open negotiations during an interview on German television. He quoted the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, saying that "those who have no right to stay must be sent back". It was also a message directed at the refugees themselves, in that "those who are not persecuted and have no chance of being granted asylum, should not surrender themselves to the whims of traffickers and criminals".

Bavaria's Interior Minister, Joachim Herrmann (CSU), called for a harder line in the same newspaper. "The process of deporting rejected Afghan asylum seekers must be urgently strengthened," he said. "We must send a clear signal on this matter," he added.
The plan has been met with strong criticism by human-rights activists. Afghanistan is on the brink of collapse, and it is still too dangerous to deport people there, warned Günter Burkhardt, the head of the refugee aid organisation Pro Asyl, on Sunday. He added that Chancellor Angela Merkel is currently in the midst of a U-turn, making refugee-friendly speeches, but at the same time rejecting people who seek protection.  - Read More at the EurActiv

Berlin seeks to deport more failed Afghan refugees | EurActiv


Bundesregierung forciert Abschiebungen nach Afghanistan ... 

Pro Asyl warnt

Monday, October 26, 2015

Opinion: A desperate attempt to find safe areas in Afghanistan - deutsche-welle

The good times are over for Afghan asylum seekers. The ongoing refugee influx is leading German policymakers to reassess the situation in Afghanistan. But such a plan is nonsense, says DW's Florian Weigand.

It may make some Afghan asylum seekers gasp for air when they read news reports about Germany's growing determination to send back Afghans whose asylum applications have been rejected.

Until now, this hasn't been the case, as some 7,200 Afghan citizens have been allowed to remain in Germany even without an official residence permit. But this might soon change, meaning thatthe hardships endured by these migrants, most of who left behind their families, would have been in vain.

There are surely migrants, who - without any reasonable threat to their lives - apply for asylum in a bid to improve their economic situation. But let's be honest: Who would seriously doubt that there is no real danger to people's lives in Afghanistan?

One does not need to be a political activist to be at risk. Employees working for foreign or internationally-financed NGOs, women attending university or even being at the wrong place at the wrong time, are all potential targets.

Suicide bombers launch attacks almost daily across the country. These assaults also claim the lives of ordinary civilians such as green-grocers who are hit when, for instance, a passing military convoy is attacked by insurgents.  - Read More at deutsche-welle

Opinion: A desperate attempt to find safe areas in Afghanistan - More