Tageszeitung, 18 December 2025
In this op-ed commentary for the Berlin-based German daily, AAN’s Thomas Ruttig looks at Germany’s last-minute evacuations and simultaneous cancellations of admission permits to hundreds of former Afghan local employees, calling the former an alibi move and the latter “covered moral state failure” (in German):
The trust in the protection by German rule of law, which the victims had held until the very end, was completely absent. The government clearly perceives NGO staff, in particular, are second-class allies (…)
Those unfortunate individuals, for whom Interior Minister Dobrindt, on behalf of the governing CDU/CSU and SPD, gave the thumbs down, have to expect to be deported to the Taleban while we celebrate New Year’s Eve. Once they’re across the border, no one can check what happens to them. While the Taleban regime doesn’t maintain camps for its undesirable citizens, arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearances are commonplace. The UN and EU cannot freely move within the country. Foreign reporters are almost entirely absent, and local ones face persecution for conducting research disliked by the regime.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 19 Dec 2025
