Thomas Ruttig

Vertreter der Zivilgesellschaft: Das Land braucht Einheit und Zusammenhalt

Fides, 21 February 2020 AAN research by Thomas Ruttig is quoted in this article by the German service of the news agency of the Papal mission service: Die Stimmen für Ghani repräsentieren 9,6% der wahlberechtigten Bürger, so Thomas Ruttig vom „Afghanistan Analysts Network“, während Abdullah 7,5% auf sich vereint. Doch jeder der beiden Kandidaten, behauptet […]

21 Feb 2020

Taliban Officials Expect To Sign Deal With U.S. By The End Of The Month February 20, 2020

National Public Radio, 20 February 2020 A small cameo of AAN’s Thomas Ruttig in this programme about the forthcoming US-Taliban deal and intra-Afghan peace negotiations: QUESTION: … If the negotiations fail, Afghanistan will remain at war with itself. THOMAS RUTTIG: This is what is at stake because it has been tried for 18 years to […]

20 Feb 2020

The Guardian: [T]he children and slaves [including from Afghanistan] mining Pakistan’s coal

The Guardian, 19 February 2020 An excellent reportage from Pakistan’s coal mines where Afghan miners make up around 50% of the workforce, toiling in “one of the world’s harshest work environments”: The story of the coal miners of Balochistan is one of debt bondage and human rights abuses [including sexual abuse of children], an absence […]

19 Feb 2020

Afganistan (asi) dostal šancu na mier

Pravda, 19 February 2020 Quotes from AAN’s Thomas Ruttig about Afghanistan inching toward a US-Taleban deal and intra-Afghan piece talks (in Slovakian): “Áno, po mnohých rokoch je to najlepšia šanca. Koncom roka 2001 Taliban v podstate písomne ponúkol svoju kapituláciu afganskému lídrovi Hámidovi Karzajovi. USA to prostredníctvom ministra obrany Donalda Rumsfelda odmietli. Terajšia šanca prišla iba preto, lebo […]

19 Feb 2020

Afghanistan’s 2019 Elections (30): Final results… and parallel governments?

Thomas Ruttig •

Afghanistan’s 28 September 2019 presidential election has finally meandered to what may be its end after almost five months, with the Independent Election Commission (IEC) declaring incumbent Ashraf Ghani the first-round winner. However, the result is too narrow and disputed, and the manner of dealing with complaints not transparent enough to quash doubts in his […]

19 Feb 2020

‘All Bets Off’: Afghanistan Plunges Into Crisis After Losing Presidential Candidate Alleges ‘Coup’

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 18 February 2020 AAN’s AlI Adili is quoted in this article, looking at the situation in Afghanistan after both Ghani and Abdullah claimed the presidency: Ali Adili, a researcher at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul, said he envisioned two scenarios: Ghani could “suppress Abdullah’s faction, which […]

18 Feb 2020

Afghanischer Präsident Ghani wiedergewählt: Gegner ruft Gegenregierung aus

n-tv, 18 February 2020 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted in this article on the German news channel’s website about the publication of the final – but disputed – result of the September 2019 Afghan presidential election: Thomas Ruttig von der Kabuler Denkfabrik Afghanistan Analysts Network sagt, eine Wahlbeteiligung von knapp über 15 Prozent sei “nicht […]

18 Feb 2020

Ghani declared winner of Afghan election – but opponent rejects result

The Guardian, 18 February 2020 AAN’s Kate Clark is quoted here about the importance of the Afghan election result: “At a normal time, disputed election results would be traumatic for a country that craves stability and strong government, but this week, Afghans are also expecting a US-Taliban deal to be announced,” said Kate Clark, a […]

18 Feb 2020

Efter 19 års krig med tusinder af dræbte – Udsigt til aftale om Afghanistan

Politiken, 16 February 2020 AAN’s Thomas Ruttig is quoted in the leading Danish daily on the ‘reduction on violence’ week in Afghanistan (behind a paywall).

16 Feb 2020

al-Jazeera: Herat’s restored synagogues reveal Afghanistan’s Jewish past

al-Jazeera, 7 February 2020 While the last Jew living in Kabul and his synagogue are well known, it is lesser known that Herat – and other cities of northern Afghanistan – had had Jewish communities for centuries. It is believed that the population of Jews in western Afghanistan was close to 40,000 as of 1836 […]

7 Feb 2020

National Geographic: In Afghanistan, climate change complicates future prospects for peace

National Geographic, 3 February 2020 An important thematic reminder in the midst of the current hot discussion about ‘elections and peace’, on one of the gravest problems Afghanistan is facing: “Afghanistan is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, and one of the least equipped to handle what’s to come. […]

6 Feb 2020

New York Times: Asylum Seekers Find a New Route to Europe [through Cyprus]

New York Times, 28 January 2020 This article doesn’t mention Afghans or Afghanistan, but it describes another facet of the ongoing refugee crisis at the gates of Europe: “The number of asylum seekers in Cyprus was five times higher in 2019 than it was four years ago, unlike in the rest of the [EU], where […]

5 Feb 2020