Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: September 2013

The Afghanistan Debate (full video)

AAN Team •

Youtube, 20 September 2013 Full video of the Afghanistan Debate, organised by the Frontline Club and BBC in London, with Dominique Medley, Emal Pasarly, Quhramaana Kakar, Micheal Semple and AAN’s Martine van Bijlert.

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When Duke Ellington played Kabul

AAN •

BBC, 20 September 2013 Fifty years ago this week, writes Monica Whitlock, Duke Ellington and his band played in a concert in Kabul he later called one of the most memorable of his life. The organiser, Faiz Khairzada, remembers how 5,000 came to the Olympic Stadium; tickets were free, and how King Zahir and the royal family […]

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First Reactions Negative: The new Electoral Complaints Commission

Gran Hewad •

The presidential palace has announced the names of the five members of the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission (IECC), the body which will deal with any complaints about the April 2014 presidential election. It will also, along with the Independent Election Commission (IEC), rule whether the ballot was free and fair. The commissioners are Abdul Sattar Sadat, Rida […]

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Afghanistan’s dancing boys

AAN Team •

IRIN, 18 September 2013 In this article about a particular form of sexual exploitation of boys, the practice of “bacha bazi” (literally boy play) in which boys are “owned” for dancing and sex, remains one of the least talked about abuses in Afghanistan. AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is also quoted here, saying that “Mingling of men [and boys] […]

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On Your Marks! Alliances and actors before the 2014 presidential election

Thomas Ruttig •

Yesterday, 16 September 2013, the three-week period for registering candidates for the April 2014 presidential election started. The field of contenders will only have become clear, though, by the last day, 6 October 2013. Alliance building and political manoeuvring is continuing, as the two major camps – the supporters of President Karzai and a new opposition alliance – […]

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U.N. Official Presses Karzai on Rights Panel Appointees

AAN •

New York Times, 17 September 2013 "The top United Nations human rights official emerged from a meeting Tuesday with the Afghan president without hoped-for assurances that he would reverse his decision to pack the country’s human rights commission with political appointees. The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, was also generally critical that […]

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Afghan Farmers Ask Military to Pay Up for Land

AAN •

IWPR, 16 September 2013 Residents of Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan complain that large swathes of their farmland have been appropriated to build military bases, and the owners have received little or no compensation. Around ten international military bases have existed there since 2001. Initially used by NATO troops, the bases have now either been abandoned […]

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Afghan election race kicks off as nominations open

AAN Team •

AFP/al-Ahram online, 16 September 2013 In an article on the opening of candidates’ registration for the April 2014 election and the newly appointed (and slightly reanmed) Independent Election Complaints Commission, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted: “Most of the members of the commission are allies of the president or his associates.”

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A wide-open Afghan presidential race kicks off as candidates permitted to submit their names

AAN Team •

AP/Washington Post, 16 September 2013 In a report before the opening of the registration for Afghanistan’s presidential candidates, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quotes as saying that there are “many more voter cards in circulation than voters in Afghanistan”. At this stage, “one has to be doubtful about how reliable these elections will be,” he said. Read more here: […]

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Afghanistan: ouverture des candidatures à la succession de Karzaï

AAN Team •

La Presse (Canada), 16 September 2013 The Canadian newspaper quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in an article about the new Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission: «La majorité des nouveaux membres de la commission sont soit des alliés du président soit de ses proches», a souligné Thomas Ruttig, un expert du Réseau des analystes afghans. «La composition de […]

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Pakistan Says It Will Release Mullah Baradar

AAN Team •

Daily Kos (US blog), 15 September 2013 The blog pulls together information about Mulla Beradar from a large number of sources, including from an earlier AAN blog written by Thomas Ruttig.

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Calcio, all’Afghanistan la coppa d’Asia meridionale: il Paese unito per un giorno

AAN Team •

Il Fatto Quotidiano (Italy), 14 Sepember 2013 AAN’s football reporting on Afghanistan’s South Asia cup winner is picked up by the Italian sports gazette: “Almeno per un giorno il Paese “si è trasformato in un luogo felice”, scrive l’Afghanistan Analysts Network, che ricorda come non si sia trattato di un fenomeno circoscritto alla sola Kabul, […]

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