GERMANY: Doubts Rise over Afghan Intervention

By Julio Godoy Reprint | | Print |

Julio Godoy

BERLIN, Oct 12 2007 (IPS) - German non-governmental organisations operating in Afghanistan are urging the government to reduce its military focus in favour of development and civil cooperation.

The call, ahead of the vote Friday in the Bundestag (the lower chamber of parliament) on extension of military operations in Afghanistan, has been signed by practically all the involved NGOs.

The international military and reconstruction strategy in Afghanistan, mostly determined by U.S. policymakers, "is pushing Afghan people in the hands of the Taliban," Thomas Gebauer, managing director of Medico International told IPS.

A decision to prolong these campaigns appeared certain even though the Greens and the Left, and also members of the co-ruling Social Democratic Party said they will vote against the move.

The two mandates being considered were German participation in the UN International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which patrols the north of Afghanistan to protect development workers, and the contribution of six Tornado reconnaissance aircraft to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) operations. Germany has sent 3,000 soldiers to the ISAF.

The third operation is deployment of about 100 Special Forces soldiers to the controversial Operation Enduring Freedom in southern Afghanistan. Extension of this mandate is due to be discussed next month.

NGOs oppose the military component of the reconstruction strategy. The organisations say indiscriminate military action, especially of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom, has led to considerable civilian casualties, and substantially damaged the international mission&#39s reputation.

"Afghan children, who used to cheer and greet and praise the allied soldiers at the beginning of their military operations in Afghanistan in 2001, are now throwing stones at them," Gebauer said.

Juergen Lieser, deputy director of the Association of German Development Non-Governmental Organisations (VENRO) says "the fact that military and civil operations are led by the same army people is damaging the reputation of the NGOs&#39 cooperation workers.

"It does not help us that the military personnel active in Afghanistan most of the time appear in public without uniforms. Our staff members wear an emblem that identifies them as civilian cooperation workers, but that does not help much to make a difference in the eyes of Afghan people."

Military personnel, he said, should stop carrying out humanitarian and reconstruction operations.

Thorsten Hinz, Afghanistan expert at the Catholic charity Caritas International, said cooperation between the army and civil society organisations "is no longer an option for us."

Lieser said Afghanistan is "very far away from political stability, peace and the overcoming of poverty." In democratisation, in the fight against production of drugs, and in defence of women&#39s rights, "advance is very slow."

Peter Struck, who was minister of defence between 2002 and 2005, and is now chairperson of the Social Democrats in the Bundestag, said in an interview that the international mission "must increase civil investments in the country, especially in cooperation with non-government organisations."

Struck said "the German mandates for the ISAF and the six Tornado reconnaissance aircraft for NATO must be extended. But we must consider what we are doing, beyond the military operations."

This critical assessment contrasts heavily with the official evaluation of the German and international missions. At the opening of a photographs exhibition on the German mission in Afghanistan Oct. 8, minister for defence Franz Josef Jung said Afghanistan "is taking heart" from the international intervention. "The Afghan people are confident, an awakening is taking place."

Jung said that "Afghanistan has now, with the international community&#39s help, a democratically elected parliament; 5.6 million children go to school now, instead of only one million (during the Taliban regime), people&#39s income has doubled, and 7.5 million refugees have come back to the country."

Jung admitted that the "security situation has deteriorated in the last year." But this setback should not be seen as impeding the progresses since 2001, he said.

The NGOs scepticism reflects public opinion, polls suggest. According to a survey carried out in mid-September by the FORSA opinion analysis institute, 77 percent of the German population supports withdrawal of German troops from Afghanistan.

This poll confirms previous results: a survey last July found that some 66 percent of people questioned, including 55 percent of right-wing voters, want withdrawal of German troops from Afghanistan.

Such views have led army officers to call for greater public support. Major-General Bruno Kasdorf, chief of staff of the German troops in ISAF, told Stern weekly: "The lack of understanding of our mission expressed at home is demoralising our soldiers."

But he acknowledged that "if the Afghan population turns against us, the best thing we can do is to make our suitcases and get out of the country. In that situation, we would have no chance at all."