ISLAMABAD, 23 February (IRIN) - In
an interview with IRIN after the recent tightening of sanctions against
the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan, Alan J Kreczko said the United States
advocated a broad-based, political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.
The US was the largest single donor
to the Afghans and the sanctions against the Taliban Islamic Movement,
recently adopted by the UN Security Council, did not reduce the level of
humanitarian assistance, nor limit its delivery, Kreczko said. The sanctions
did not restrict the ability of the Afghan people to conduct trade and
commerce, and the flight ban specifically exempted religious travel, he
added. "The sanctions are specific, limited and aimed at the Taliban
leadership's support of terrorism," Kreczko said. Washington expected
neither the drought nor the decrease in opium poppy cultivation to result
in reduced drug flows from Afghanistan, because of large stockpiles of
opiates thought to be in the country, he added.
QUESTION: What is your prognosis for Afghanistan in 2001? Are you optimistic that the warring sides may be encouraged to stop fighting?
ANSWER: The prognosis very much depends on the choices that the Taliban [Islamic Movement] and its supporters make.
The United Nations, through the 'six-plus-two process' [involving Afghanistan's six neighbours: Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China, plus the US and Russia] and many concerned countries, believes that a military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan will be impossible to achieve. We all have long advocated that the Afghans' decade-long civil war be settled by a negotiated, broad-based political solution that takes into account the traditions and culture of the Afghan people.
Many dedicated and talented people, like UN Special Envoy Francesc Vendrell, are pursuing this goal. The Taliban's main antagonist in Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance, has stated its willingness to seek a negotiated settlement. The Taliban, too, has agreed from time to time but, unfortunately, its continued military offensives have belied its stated intentions.
We are convinced that further military action will only prolong the agony of the people of Afghanistan. We would sincerely hope that, in 2001, the Taliban will take seriously the responsibility it has toward the people it claims to govern, and that it will accept a broad-based political settlement to allow for the eventual reconstruction of the country and a normal life for the people.
Further, the Taliban must specifically work with the international community to bring indicted terrorist Usama bin Laden to a place where he can be brought to justice, and it must close the terrorist camps in the territory it controls. The international community has made its views clearly known on this in UN Security Council Resolutions 1267 and 1333. [for full details, go to: http://www.un.org/Docs/scres/2000/sc2000.htm]
As long as the Taliban insists on isolating itself and the Afghan people from the world community, the prognosis for Afghanistan cannot, unfortunately, be very hopeful.
Q: What are the guiding principles for US humanitarian assistance this year?
A: The United States is committed to providing assistance based on need. This assistance will go to refugees in Pakistan, Iran, and Tajikistan; to refugees who return to Afghanistan; and to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and victims of the continuing military conflict and natural disasters afflicting Afghanistan.
We support the UN strategy of 'principled common programming' [http://www.pcpafg.org/Programme/] which provides women and girls equity in access to benefits; requires non-discrimination against minorities; advances drug control; and enhances the ability of local citizen groups in Afghanistan to address humanitarian needs.
Q: What does the US plan to do to mitigate the effects of the crisis for civilians this year?
A: The US is the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. Our aid, which last year was valued at about $113 million, includes food, cash grants to international relief organisations, financial support for NGO programmes in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and donations for demining in Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, our assistance goes to all areas of the country where there is need, regardless of which faction is in control.
The US will continue to take the lead in providing international assistance to the Afghan people. Already this year, we have contributed millions of dollars to UNHCR, ICRC and several NGOs. Food from the US continues to feed Afghans, and we have just pledged another 75,000 mt of wheat worth $39 million to continue this effort throughout the year.
In February, we airlifted desperately-needed items, such as tents and blankets, for an estimated 80,000 displaced persons around Herat [western Afghanistan] who are beset by the double cruelty of cold and hunger. At the same time, we airlifted emergency supplies to Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, where there are about 155,000 new [Afghan] refugees.
We are renewing some programmes and expanding others in northern and southern Afghanistan where NGOs such as Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Mercy Corps International are providing education, health services and other kinds of assistance to the Afghan people.
Q: Both warring sides appear to depend almost entirely on international aid to provide basic services for civilians. Does this influence the US position on aid?
A: The US delivers aid based on need, not on political or military affiliation. We are concerned that the continuing civil war distracts the factions from taking full responsibility for improving the lives of the citizens of Afghanistan. We are convinced that a military victory cannot be achieved. We believe that only a broad-based negotiated political settlement that takes into account the culture and traditions of all Afghans can bring lasting peace.
Q: How do you respond to those who say sanctions could have a greater impact on the Afghan people than on the Taliban movement?
A: The UN Security Council carefully crafted the sanctions to avoid an adverse impact on the Afghan people. The sanctions do not restrict the ability of Afghans to conduct business with their neighbours: buying, selling and trading goods across the land borders with Pakistan, Iran, China and the countries of Central Asia. The sanctions do not reduce the level of humanitarian assistance, or limit its delivery.
The flight ban specifically exempts humanitarian relief and religious travel. For example, 200 flights carrying 13,000 pilgrims for the Hajj [Islamic religious pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia] have already been approved by the Sanctions Committee this year.
The sanctions are specific, limited and aimed at the Taliban leadership's support of terrorism. They target arms sales, narcotics trafficking, travel by the Taliban leadership, the Taliban's offices and missions overseas, and a freeze on the assets of Usama Bin Laden and his organisations.
The members of the Sanctions Committee are committed to continuing their assistance to help the people of Afghanistan, despite the conduct of the Taliban in contravention of the Security Council resolutions.
Q. What is your view on mediation efforts to end the conflict? Should the international community consider alternative strategies, such as offering a reconstruction fund similar to the one the European Union offered to the successors of the [Slobodan] Milosevic regime in Serbia?
A. Every international settlement has its own particular details and incentives. What worked in Serbia might not necessarily work in Afghanistan, but we would welcome new ideas to resolve the long-running crisis in Afghanistan.
Successful mediation of conflict requires a desire by all parties in the conflict to end their hostilities. This includes the protagonists as well as their supporters. While we firmly believe that only a negotiated settlement can end the conflict and suffering in Afghanistan, so far we do not see the political will among all the players to achieve this goal.
The international community has clearly laid out steps that the Taliban must take to forswear its support for terrorism. That is the first step, the required step. Eventually, reconstruction of the country must certainly become an international priority.
Q. The second round of Security Council sanctions became effective on 19 January 2001. How do you expect this resolution - and in particular the arms embargo - to be enforced when Afghanistan's borders are so porous?
A. The Security Council is aware that Afghanistan has thousands of kilometres of remote borders that are difficult to monitor at the best of times. UN Security Council Resolution 1333 makes it incumbent on the international community - and this includes Afghanistan's neighbours - to enforce the measures in the resolution, including the arms embargo.
For specific details that the UN will take, we need to wait until the Security Council finishes its work of establishing a monitoring mechanism, which will include impartial international experts.
Q. The Taliban leader officially banned poppy cultivation in July last year. Preliminary reports suggest that the ban is being implemented. Do you expect a dramatic fall in opium poppy cultivation and heroin trafficking?
A. The US expects that there will be a decrease in opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. Our analysts are monitoring reports of a widespread poppy ban that the Taliban has imposed, and we will conduct a survey of the Afghan crop this spring.
We do not expect, however, that the drought or poppy ban will result in decreased drug flows from Afghanistan. After two successive record opium gum harvests, there are thought to be large stockpiles of opiates in the country.
[ENDS]
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