The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 27th August 2021
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 27th August 2021
The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
AMERICAN troops are struggling to maintain order at Kabul airport, besieged by thousands of Afghans desperate to board the last planes out before the deadline set by the Taliban for the departure of all imperialist troops from Afghan soil. But at the United Nations, People’s China said the USA and its allies must be held accountable for human rights violations in the war in Afghanistan. China’s UN ambassador said these countries caused “great suffering” whilst “under the banner of democracy and human rights”.
Meanwhile the Group of Seven (G7) held a virtual summit on Tuesday as the imperialists scramble to complete evacuations from Taliban-held Afghanistan before the impending 31st August deadline. The ‘rich man’s club’ that consists of Anglo-American and Franco-German imperialism along with Canada, Japan and Italy, says its “immediate priority” is to ensure the safe evacuation of their citizens and Afghans who “have assisted” the group’s “efforts over the past 20 years”.
Nineteen Afghans have been killed at the airport since the Taliban took over Kabul. Some were shot by troops trying to stop mobs surging onto the runways and others died in a stampede to rush the barriers outside the international airport. Whilst the chosen few have already been ferried out of the Afghan capital along with most of the Western diplomatic corps, others desperate to avoid Taliban ‘justice’ have to run the gauntlet of checkpoints manned by imperialist troops, Taliban militiamen and what’s left of the CIA-backed Afghan intelligence force to get to the terminal buildings.
British and French politicians are calling for more time to get their people out of Afghanistan, but this has been ruled out by the Americans and the Taliban’s ruling council. Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the complete withdrawal of foreign forces was a “red line” and warned of serious consequences if the occupation is extended.
Transitional
In Kabul, the Taliban leaders are preparing to form a transitional government that some believe will include key warlords from the north and west of the country as well as former president Hamid Karzai. They’ve also offered the olive branch to Ahmad Massoud, whose clan controls the Panjshir valley. Massoud is backing the Afghan resistance movement led by Amrullah Saleh, the former deputy president of the old puppet government, but they’re clearly open to persuasion. This week they both held talks with top Taliban leaders in Massoud’s mountain stronghold.
The Taliban have also extended the hand of friendship to runaway puppet leader Ashraf Ghani and his followers, insisting that “there is no enmity” between the sectarian Muslim militia and the former president, who fled the country on the eve of the Taliban march on Kabul. Ghani, now safely ensconced with his money in the United Arab Emirates, however, may not want to exchange the comforts of a new life in Abu Dhabi for a very dubious promise from the Taliban of safe-conduct.
good relations
Taliban envoys are also reaching out to a wider world they once ignored. They say they’ve already established “good relations” with Russia, and they’ve had talks with the Chinese ambassador in Kabul. In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it has established an “open and effective communication and consultation with the Afghan Taliban” following talks with a Taliban delegation in China last month.
“We have always respected Afghanistan’s sovereign independence and territorial integrity, pursued a policy of non-interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs and adhered to a policy of friendship toward the entire Afghan people,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry official told reporters at a daily briefing on Wednesday in Beijing.
“China respects the Afghan people’s independent decision on their own future and destiny, supports the implementation of the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned principle, and stands ready to continue to develop good-neighbourly relations of friendship and co-operation with Afghanistan and [to] play a constructive role in the peace and reconstruction of the country,” he said.