Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2 January 2025
AAN’s Thomas Ruttig – together with an Afghan NGO activist and former education minister Rangina Hamidi who had recently travelled to Kabul and left again unharmed – is quoted in this article about the insecure situation of Afghan NGOs:
In the view of renowned Afghanistan expert Thomas Ruttig, dealing with the Taleban means walking a fine line. Activists working in the country always find themselves in a grey area, he says: ‘Is this already collaboration, as opponents of this cooperation accuse them of, or rather a vital compromise that they make with their work?’ In any case, the Taleban are making every effort to exert greater control over non-governmental organisations. (…) This results in ‘systematic uncertainty’ as to what exactly is permitted and what is not.
Ruttig is also calling for greater [western] engagement in Afghanistan. ‘The West shares responsibility for the current situation due to its disastrous mission [there],’ he says. This gives rise to an obligation to continue to support the people of Afghanistan, at least in humanitarian terms, if possible also through development cooperation, for example in the defence against the climate crisis. ‘This must happen below the threshold of diplomatic recognition,’ he outlines a possible strategy for dealing with the Taleban.
The original article is in German.
Revisions:
This article was last updated on 7 Jan 2025
