Afghanistan Expels Senior U.N. And E.U. Diplos For Secret Talks With Taliban
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The Afghan government expelled two senior European diplomats Thursday on accusations they held unauthorized meetings with Taliban militants, officials said.
The diplomats—one worked for the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the other was the acting head of the European Union mission—had traveled to Musa Qala, a former Taliban stronghold in southern Helmand province on Monday, where they met with local leaders, said Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the U.N. mission.
After that trip, the two were accused of meeting with Taliban militants and were told to leave the country, according to officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The diplomats left Afghanistan on Thursday, Siddique said.
President Hamid Karzai’s spokesman, Humayun Hamidzada, said the two were “involved in some activities that were not their jobs.”
The Afghan government, and particularly Karzai, has voiced a growing interest in meeting with Taliban leaders to try to persuade them to join the government and put down their arms.
But the diplomats’ expulsion will make some Western nations and international organizations wary of making their own overtures to the militants in an effort to end the insurgency, which has left over 6,300 people—mostly militants—dead this year alone.
British, Afghan and U.S. forces retook Musa Qala earlier this month from Taliban militants, who had held it since last February. Afghan and Western officials moved quickly into the town to extend governance to an area where the Taliban had run its own court system and collected taxes.
“We were in Helmand province to talk to the people on the ground, to understand from the people on the ground what their needs are, what their concerns are, and that includes people who are perhaps less than supportive of the government of Afghanistan,” Siddique said.
Siddique said talks were continuing to secure the return of the two diplomats, who have years of experience in Afghanistan, speak the local languages and know the country’s complex tribal structures.
“Discussions are ongoing with the Afghan authorities to seek the return of (the U.N.) official so that we can continue with the important work of building peace in Afghanistan,” Siddique said.
An official at EU headquarters in Brussels confirmed that the EU official expelled is Michael Semple, deputy EU representative.
The official, who spoke on condition he not be identified because of the sensitive nature of diplomatic relations, labeled the incident a “misunderstanding.”
Semple is Irish. The U.N. official asked to leave the country is British, from Northern Ireland.
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Democrats in disguise…
December 27th, 2007 at 12:49 am…and like democrats they know better than anyone else what is good for others.
December 27th, 2007 at 3:00 amI guess Pelosi will be back on U.S soil for the new year.
December 27th, 2007 at 3:35 amSucks to be us.
“The U.N. official asked to leave the country is British, from Northern Ireland.” >>> I bet he sees moral equivalence with the taliban and the IRA.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:59 amI guess, being from the EU, they were used to ignoring democratically elected governments.
December 27th, 2007 at 4:50 pm