Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: April 2018

Afghanistan’s popular peace movement gains momentum

Thomas Ruttig •

Radio France International, 24 April 2018 Listen to an interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig with RFI about the Helmand Peace March initiative and its countrywide spreading at Soundcloud (in English).

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Helmand Peace March Initiative protestors pray for peace in their tent at the Ghazi Ayub Khan Stadium. Photo: c/o Helmand Peace March Initiative, 2018.

Going Nationwide: The Helmand peace march initiative

Ali Mohammad Sabawoon •

Protests in Helmand calling for a ceasefire and talks between insurgents and government are about to enter their second month. The pro-peace demonstrations which began in what are often described as the Taleban’s ‘southern heartlands’, have been spreading: they can now be found in half of Afghanistan’s provinces and for now, at least, they are […]

War and Peace Read more

Abschiebungen nach Afghanistan: „Kabul ist zu gefährlich“

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung, 23 April 2018 Op-ed by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in the Berlin-based daily about the two latest developments proving that even Kabul is unsafe for deportations of rejected asylum seekers from Europe: an new UNHCR assessment and a ruling of France’s highest asylum court (in German),

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AAN on panel: discussing state building in Afghanistan in a global context

Sudhansu Verma •

With its strategic location Afghanistan has been a focus of global politics for many centuries. Despite its fragile nation-state and conflicting ethnic parties, Afghanistan has managed not to formally cede its sovereignty to a colonial power or break up along ethnic lines. How can we explain this historical development? How does the Afghan state function? […]

Events Read more

Afghanistans überfällige Parlamentswahl: Eine Abfuhr von den Taliban

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung, 17 April 2018 Op-ed by Thomas Ruttig about the Taleban’s rejection of President Ghani’s offer to participate in the much delayed parliamentary elections planned for October (in German).

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Entrance to the main polling centre for men in Gardez city during the 2009 presidential elections. Photo: Thomas Ruttig 2009.

The Afghanistan Election Conundrum (7): A deficient polling centre assessment

Ali Yawar Adili •

A fundamental question ahead of any Afghan election is where polling centres are located. In the past, they have been located in ways that deliberately disenfranchised some voters. New regulations designed to prevent this are aimed at making sure locations are ‘balanced’, ie there are now strict criteria which should ensure centres are near voters, […]

Political Landscape Read more

Afghans register to vote in long-delayed elections amid violence

AAN •

AFP/The National, 15 April 2018 In this article about the start of voter registration for the October 2018 parliamentary polls, AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili is quoted from his latest research: Holding the vote within months of the presidential poll risked “electoral congestion and political chaos”, Afghanistan Analysts Network’s Ali Yawar Adili warned in a report […]

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On the streets with the desperate refugees who dream of being detained

AAN •

Guardian, 15 April 2018 This article describes how Afghan and other homeless asylum seekers and refugees are camping out on the street in makeshift tents trying to get into an Indonesian detention centre – an interesting update to the 3 April 2018 AAN dispatch about Afghan refugees protesting the abysmal conditions inside the centres (here).

Recommended Reads Read more

Afghans register to vote in long-delayed elections amid violence

AAN •

AFP/Straits Times, 15 April 2018 Reporting the start of voter registration for Afghanistan’s long overdue legislative elections in October, the agency briefly quotes AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili  from his dispatch, warning that holding the vote at that point would risk “electoral congestion and political chaos.”

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IEC along with some ECC members announce a delay in parliamentary and district council elections, setting 20 October 2018 as the new date.

Afghanistan Election Conundrum (6): Another new date for elections

Ali Yawar Adili •

The Independent Election Commission has set 20 October 2018 as the new date for Afghanistan’s parliamentary and district council elections. This comes after two earlier dates were missed. The Commission has also announced that it will start to register voters on Saturday, 14 April 2018. As AAN’s Ali Yawar Adili reports, though, the later date […]

Political Landscape Read more

Regional leaders are defying Afghanistan’s president. The latest is a police chief who was once a close U.S. ally

AAN •

Los Angeles Times, 11 April 2018 AAN’s Ali Mohammad Sabawoon is quoted twice in this article about rumours that Kandahar police chief Raezq might also be on his way out: Ali Mohammad Sabawoon, a researcher at the Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network, said there are unconfirmed reports that Ghani has already signed Raziq’s resignation letter. (…) “The security […]

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