Month: September 2020

Afghanistan’s memory museum pushes for justice by reframing a war

The New Humanitarian, 15 September 2020 AAN’s Ehsan Qaane is quoted in this article about the Afghanistan Center for Memory and Dialogue‘s basement museum in Kabul to commemorate the untold stories of the victims of Afghanistan’s 40-year conflict: “Political deals have always ignored the voices of victims and neglected the issue of justice,” said Ehsan […]

15 Sep 2020

Taliban Siege Cuts Off Remote Afghan District

RFE/RL, 11 September 2020 Since three months, the Taleban have cut access from and to Chinartu district in Uruzgan. 6,000 Chinartu residents, according to the United Nations, cannot access medical services and face food shortages because of the road closure. The siege has led to the death of more than 20 civilians, most of them women […]

13 Sep 2020

Speech by Dr Abdullah at the opening of the Afghan peace negotiations in Doha

Doha, 12 September 2020 REMARKS BY THE CHAIRMAN OF HIGH COUNCIL FOR NATIONAL RECONCILIATION H.E. DR. ABDULLAH ABDULLAH  at THE OPENING CEREMONY OF AFGHANISTAN PEACE NEGOTIATIONS in DOHA-QATARSEPTEMBER 12, 2020 Unofficial English translation Excellencies; HE Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani the foreign minister of State of Qatar;HE Mike Pompeo the United States Secretary of […]

12 Sep 2020

Speech by Mullah Baradar at the opening of the Afghan peace negotiations in Doha

Doha, 12 September 2020 Speech by Deputy of Islamic Emirate and Chief of Political Office H.E. Mullah Baradar Akhund at opening ceremony of intra-Afghan negotiations الحمدلله وکفی والصلوة والسلام علیه رسوله المجتبی امابعد:فاعوذ بالله من الشیطن الرجیم، بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم (و اعتصموا بحمبل الله جمعیا ولا تفرقو) الاية  و ایضا قال الله تعالی: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا […]

12 Sep 2020

Interview zu Afghanistan mit Thomas Ruttig, Afghanistan Analysts Network

Deutschlandfunk, 12 September 2020 Listen to an interview on German public radio (in German) with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on the start of the Afghan peace talks in Doha. Go to 12.9. and click on the title given above.

12 Sep 2020

Talks between Afghan government and Taliban open in Qatar

al-Jazeera, 12 September 2020 AAN’s Thomas Rutttig is quoted in this article about the official opening of the Afghan peace negotiations in Doha: “The various delays since the first designated start of the talks in early March show how much mistrust the two parties need to overcome,” Thomas Ruttig, co-founder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, […]

12 Sep 2020

Two Parties Too Wary for Peace? Central questions for talks with the Taleban in Doha

Christine Roehrs • Ali Yawar Adili • Sayed Asadullah Sadat •

For the first time, representatives of the Afghan government and the Taleban are coming together, officially and in person, to negotiate power-sharing and peace.  While the start of the talks was somewhat delayed by disagreements on the last prisoners to be released, the negotiating teams in Doha are now ready to go.  But there are big questions […]

11 Sep 2020

Afghanistan talks: bitter foes with incompatible goals

AFP/Macau Business, 11 September 2020 AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted here on the forthcoming Afghan peace negotiations, saying that The peace talks “are clearly driven by a US desire to disengage from Afghanistan,” said Kate Clark, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. “The main goal for the US is to leave, or to leave without […]

11 Sep 2020

After 9/11: Has Germany failed in Afghanistan?

Deutsche Welle, 11 September 2020 In this article, various Afghans and Afghan experts were asked about Germany’s role in post-2001 Afghanistan. AAN’s Thomas Ruttig was one of them. Thomas Ruttig, 63, is an Afghanistan expert and former diplomat. He serves as co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank based in Kabul and Berlin. […]

11 Sep 2020

Ringen um Afghanistans Zukunft

SRF, 12 September 2020 Listen to an interview with AAN’s Thomas Ruttig on Swiss public radio (in German) on the Doha Afghan peace talks.

11 Sep 2020

Peace Leadership: Power struggles, division and an incomplete council

Ali Yawar Adili •

Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, has approved a 46-member Leadership Committee for the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), but criticisms have come in hard and fast from all quarters. The most significant rejection has come from Dr Abdullah Abdullah, who asserts his right under the power-sharing agreement to lead the peace process, including making appointments […]

6 Sep 2020

Afghanistans Schicksalsfrage und die Friedensverhandlungen mit den Taliban

dpa/Der Standard, 6 September 2020 This article (in German) gives a preview on the planned intra-Afghan (government-Taleban) peace negotiations in Doha. It quotes AAN’s Thomas Ruttig as saying that he does not believe that the Taleban will agree to the government’s demand to declare a ceasefire parallel with starting talks, but that there is a […]

6 Sep 2020