Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: June 2018

Afghan President Ends Cease-fire with Taliban

Thomas Ruttig •

Voice of America, 30 June 2018 In a report about President Ghani ending the unilateral ceasefire with the Taleban, the US government-funded radio station writes, quoting AAN research: But observers have been and remain skeptical of Afghan government-led efforts to engage in a peace process with the Taliban, saying the group sees the U.S. as […]

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Taleban arriving in West Kabul on the first day of the Eid ceasefire. Not everyone was so delighted. Such scenes sparked a variety of emotions in onlookers,from hope to bewilderment and joy to fear. (Photo Andrew Quilty 16 June 2018)

The Eid Ceasefire: What did (some of the) people think?

AAN Team •

Coverage of the Eid ceasefire mainly focussed on the most spectacular consequence, the mass fraternisation between combatants. AAN researchers wanted to try to understand what civilians thought about the truce and what sort of Eid holiday they had enjoyed – or not. We interviewed ten Afghans, four women and six men, to try to find […]

Context and Culture Read more

AAN’s Francesc Vendrell and Thomas Ruttig on reaching out to Taliban in 2000 – June 2018. Episode: 2

AAN Guests •

AAN’s co-director Kate Clark in discussion with Chairman of AAN’s advisory board and also, the Former UN and EU Special Representative for Afghanistan Francesc Vendrell and AAN’s co-director Thomas Ruttig. Both Francesc and Thomas were part of the UN mission before 9/11 and they share their experience of reaching out to Taliban for peace talks.  

Podcasts Read more
Chai ne-khorda, solh ne-mesha. Photo: Thomas Ruttig

Understanding Hurdles to Afghan Peace Talks: Are the Taleban a political party?

Khalilullah Safi • Thomas Ruttig •

Following his February 2018 offer of peace talks to the Taleban, President Ashraf Ghani proposed that they run as a political party in the upcoming elections. In 2011, his predecessor, Hamed Karzai, had offered something different, that the government would support the Taleban’s recognition by the United Nations Security Council as a “party to the […]

War and Peace Read more

Statement by Ambassador Alice G. Wells, Senior Bureau Official for South and Central Asian Affairs, Before the House Foreign Affairs Committee

AAN •

US Government, 20 June 2018 Read an outline on the US Afghanistan strategy, on negotiations with the Taleban, pressure on Pakistan, elections and the region.

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Who`s the strictest? A mapping of the Afghanistan [migration] policies in Western European countries

AAN •

NOAS, April 2018 This report by the Norwegian NGO NOAS provides some new insight into Afghanistan-related migration policies in Western Europe. In the summary, the report says: As the only country in Western Europe, Italy has declared the whole of Afghanistan as unsafe. Norway, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland have defined insecure areas based on updated security […]

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Feasts, Hugs, And Selfies: A Tantalizing Glimpse Of Possible Afghan Peace

Thomas Ruttig •

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 24 June 2018 Reporting the positive popular outpour over the Eid ceasefires, author Frud Bezhan briefly quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig from a longer interview via social media: “The cease-fire showed that public pressure for peace is growing,” said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in […]

AAN in the Media Read more
Aşkale Removal Centre in Erzurum. Photo: Author, 2018

Mass Deportations of Afghans from Turkey: Thousands of migrants sent back in a deportation drive

Amy Pitonak •

In a recent television appearance, the Turkish Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu, said that 15,000 Afghans have been sent back home from Turkey. While it is likely that this number has been exaggerated, there is no doubt that in April and May of 2018, thousands of Afghan migrants were sent back on charter flights from Turkey […]

Migration Read more
Interior Minister Wais Barmak stops on the road into Kabul to meet Taleban who have come into the capital during the Eid truce (Photo: taken by someone in the crowd and posted on social media)

The Eid Ceasefire: Allowing Afghans to imagine their country at peace

Kate Clark •

Ceasefires by the government, the Taleban and the United States over the Muslim holiday of Eid ul-Fitr has partially ended with the Taleban ordering their fighters back to “normal operations.” However, the three-day truce resulted in an unprecedented peaceful movement of fighters and soldiers into territories controlled by the other. The media was full of […]

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Prospects for U.S.-Taliban talks rise after Afghan ceasefire

Thomas Ruttig •

Reuters, 19 June 2018 AAN’s Thomas ruttig is quoted here as saying: “Ghani has done his bit,” said Thomas Ruttig, co-director of Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank. “It is now for the U.S. to cut through this blockade,” he said, although that would be a departure from U.S. policy that talks to end […]

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Friedensprozess in Afghanistan: Taliban verlängern Feuerpause nicht

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung, 18 June 2018 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig summarises the events around the two Eid ceasefires in Afghanistan, saying that despite the fact that the Taleban did not extend it, it might open a new door toward peace talks, as the ceasefire showed that such measures can be implemented and that the Taleban are also capable […]

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Waffenruhe: Verbrüderung mit den Taliban

Thomas Ruttig •

Frankfurter Rundschau, 17 June 2018 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted in this article about the Eid ceasefire and the fraternisations it triggered, saying that the government ceasefire did not come out of the blue: „Das ganze ist sicher vorbereitet“, sagte Thomas Ruttig vom Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN),„es gibt seit Jahren Kontakte zwischen Kabul und Taliban. […]

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