Month: November 2019

Friedensprozess mit Taliban: Trump will [wieder] verhandeln

Thomas Ruttig •

Tageszeitung, 30 November 2019 OP-ed analysis in the Berlin-based daily by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about Trump’s visit to Afghanistan and announcement that talks with the Taleban have started (not officially yet, so). In German.

30 Nov 2019

Trumps Afghanistan-Kehrtwende: Optimismus – und Skepsis

Thomas Ruttig •

dpa/Frankfurter Rundschau, 29 November 2019 A short quote from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this article about Trump’s Afghanistan visit and announcement that US talks with the Taleban are on again, saying that the Afghan government will still not be part of them, for the time being (in German): “Insgesamt wird die afghanische Regierung nach wie […]

29 Nov 2019

Afghanistan’s road to peace still full of obstacles

Thomas Ruttig •

The Guardian, 29 November 2019 Some quotes by AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about Trump’s announcement of new US negotiations with the Taleban in Emma Graham-Harrison’s article: “I have the impression that the contacts were never fully cut off,” said Thomas Ruttig, the co-director of the Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network. “The message from the Americans was: the […]

29 Nov 2019

Donald Trump feiert Thanksgiving in Afghanistan

Thomas Ruttig •

SRF TV, 29 November 2019 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig with some quotes in Swiss public broadcasters main TV show about Trump’s Afghanistan visit and his hints that talks with the Taleban are on again (in German; starts at 7:52min in the video).

29 Nov 2019

Amid War Crimes Allegations, Afghan Government Lacks Proper Mechanisms to Investigate

AAN • Thomas Ruttig •

Just Security (blog), 27 November 2019 Former AAN colleague Qayoom Suroush writes, following up on Human Rights Watch’s recent  report “’They’ve Shot Many Like This’: Abusive Night Raids by CIA-Backed Afghan Strike Forces”: The government has pledged to investigate the allegations. (…) The Afghan government established the Civilian Casualties Prevention and Mitigation Board in May 2016 […]

27 Nov 2019

Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (25): contradictory figures and low turnout in Kandahar

Fazl Rahman Muzhary •

Kandahar’s turnout looks like it will be less than half the national average, pending finalisation of the numbers. There are many possible reasons for this, chief among them fraud, with limited reporting but plenty of anecdotal evidence of ballot stuffing and other irregularities. But Kandaharis also seem to have been deterred by the low level […]

27 Nov 2019

Deportation to Afghanistan: A Challenge to State Legitimacy and Stability?

Thomas Ruttig •

Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organisation & medico international, 27 November 2019 AHRDO, an Afghan human rights organisation, has conducted semi-structured interviews with 50 returnees and deportees from Europe in four regional centres of Afghanistan – Balkh, Kabul, Herat and Nangarhar – as well as with. Research interviews 20 civil society and human rights activists […]

27 Nov 2019

Afghan Sportswomen: Courage, hurdles and harassment

Rohullah Sorush •

Afghan sportswomen have become a symbol of change for many in Afghanistan, representing hope for a more egalitarian society with greater opportunities for girls and women. For others, they are a symbol of western imperialism that is bringing change and undermining Afghan society and culture, turning women away from their families and traditional roles. For […]

25 Nov 2019

Problematic Polling Stations Break-down of the Types of Problems, Presidential Election 2019

Table: Problematic polling stations with a break-down of the types of problems Total polling stations 29,586 Closed polling stations 3,006 Open polling stations 26,580 Total problematic polling stations to be audited and recounted 8,494 Decision Problems with missing BVV devices/memory cards 2,423 ·       National Tally Centre (NTC) and Digital Centre received results but no BVV […]

21 Nov 2019

Afghanistan’s 2019 Election (24): Disputed recount, threats not to accept results, and some interesting new data

Ali Yawar Adili •

The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has overruled the demand by most of the presidential candidates to invalidate around 300,000 out of the 1.8 million votes (about 16 per cent) from the 28 September presidential election. Critics wanted these excluded before the IEC started auditing and recounting the votes from 8,255 ‘problematic’ polling stations. However, the […]

21 Nov 2019

With ISIS gone, Afghan villagers struggle to rebuild from rubble

AAN • Thomas Ruttig •

The National, 21 November 2019 In the Dubai-based daily, author Stefanie Glinski quotes AAN research by Reza Kazemi, on Achin district in Nangrahar: “The fighting in Achin between 2015 and 2018 has frequently been chaotic, brutal and violent to a degree not seen before in the district, or elsewhere in the country,” Reza Kazemi of […]

21 Nov 2019

Presidential Pardons: Trump sets his seal on a record of US impunity in Afghanistan

Kate Clark •

Donald Trump has given a presidential pardon to three members of the American military for crimes they were accused or convicted of carrying out while on service in Afghanistan or Iraq. The pardons have raised questions as to whether there will be consequences for US behaviour on the battlefield and possibly also at the International […]

20 Nov 2019