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The Many Owners of Ashab Baba: Land conflict at the Ainak copper mine

So far, after the (re-)discovery of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, interest has concentrated on the macro-level – how to access and to market it, who won the tenders (and why not American companies*) – or on the cultural heritage aspect, how the Buddhist relics found at the Ainak copper mine can be protected. Now, micro conflicts […]

10 Mar 2012 Obaid Ali • Thomas Ruttig • Economy, Development, Environment

Releasing the Guantanamo Five? 1: Biographies of the Prisoners (amended)

Releasing Taleban from Guantanamo Bay is on the agenda – in the context of finding a negotiated end to the conflict. Four senior and one junior Taleban official may be freed, or exchanged for the captured US soldier, Bowe Bergdahl. The idea has caused consternation among some in the US Congress, as well as consternation […]

9 Mar 2012 Kate Clark • Rights and Freedoms

Women’s Day in Afghanistan: Where the ‘Personal is still Political’

International Women’s Day is a good opportunity to reflect on the legal advances made by Afghan women over the past decade and what challenges remain to turn laws on paper into reality. It is particularly needed after the President’s endorsement of the recent Ulama Council statement that, among a number of other points, addresses Afghan […]

8 Mar 2012 Sari Kouvo • Rights and Freedoms

Parliament Completes the Cabinet – after two years

Taking most observers by surprise, the Wolesi Jirga has passed a very long-waited vote of confidence and approved all nine ministers put forward by the president today. It has been more than two years since the current government was formed, but all portfolios are now duly occupied by ministers approved by the Parliament, and not […]

6 Mar 2012 Fabrizio Foschini • Political Landscape

1 March 2012: Security Arrangements, Transitional Justice, and Peace Mediation: Challenges and Options for the EU

This expert and policymaker roundtable organised in Brussels will bring together 15-20 participants from the fields of Security Arrangements and Security Sector Reform; Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration; Transitional Justice; Peace Mediation and EU Foreign Policy. The expert seminar aims to: 1. Present and exchange lessons, findings, dilemmas and difficulties from the experience of promoting accountability and […]

1 Mar 2012 AAN • admin • Events

Afghanistan’s ‘Cumulative’ Protests and the West’s Dilemma (amended)

Afghanistan has seen its largest protests since the fall of the Taleban. For six days in a row, demonstrations protested the burning of copies of the Qur’an at Bagram airbase in about half of the Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. Roads were blocked, ISAF bases stormed and an UN office targeted and there were calls for jihad […]

1 Mar 2012 Thomas Ruttig • War and Peace

23 March 2012, Berlin: Film show and discussion on ‘Generation Kunduz’

AAN’s Thomas Ruttig will participate in a discussion of the documentary movie ‘Generation Kunduz: The War of the Others’ (both in German language) together with director and occasional AAN guest blogger Martin Gerner in Tilsiter Lichtspiele movie theatre on Friday 23 March 2012 at 8:00 pm. Generation Kunduz – Der Krieg der Anderen Dokumentarfilm, D […]

1 Mar 2012 AAN • admin • Events

Afghanistan between Democratization and Civil War: Post-2014 Scenarios

Thomas Ruttig, in: Charles King Mallory IV/Joachim Krause (eds.), Sustainable Strategies for Afghanistan and the Region After 2014, Aspen Institute, European Strategy Forum, reader for a conference, 10-11 January 2012, Berlin. This conference contribution draws on an earlier papers co-authored with Citha D. Maaß for Berlin’s SWP in August 2011. It discusses post-2014 scenarios for […]

1 Mar 2012 Thomas Ruttig • External publications

Guest Blog: The Quran burnings and the German retreat from Taloqan

German authorities announced on Friday, the third day of the Quran burning protests, that they have closed their ISAF base in Taloqan several weeks earlier than planned in response to the protests. Originally, the base had been slated for closure in March. This decision shows the limitations of the assumed international control of particular areas […]

26 Feb 2012 Marcel Habler • International Engagement

Guest Blog: Karzai and the ‘Imran Khan Factor’ in Pakistan

There is little understanding of Pakistan and its internal dynamics in Afghanistan. A recent example is the visit of President Hamed Karzai to Pakistan last week, during which he met with Pakistani leaders – not only those from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) but also a number of other prominent politicians: the leaders of […]

25 Feb 2012 Malaiz Chopan-Daud • Regional Relations