To view the Embassy`s NYHETSBREV December 2008 Edition

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Embassy of Afghanistan in Oslo
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland
DECEMBER 2008
Dear Reader,
As the year 2008 draws to a
close, Afghanistan enters a new
year that will be marked not just
by hopes and opportunities but
also fears and challenges.
2008 was a difficult year for the
Afghan people. We saw not just
the highest level of losses of life
by the Afghan people and
international forces based in
Afghanistan, but also terrorist
violence engulfing Pakistan and
spreading even more widely
across the region, including
India.
Beyond security, a
worsening humanitarian situation
was exacerbated by drought and
environmental
conditions,
triggering urgent appeals for
humanitarian assistance from the
international community.
On the other hand, 2008 also
saw continuing progress on all
fronts.
In
two
critical
conferences in Bucharest and
Paris
the
international
community reiterated its strong
commitment
to
Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s national army took
greater responsibility in counter
terrorism operations; significant
foreign investment, particularly
in the mining sector, was
received; and greater results
were achieved in the education
and health sectors. More notably,
President Karzai’s efforts at
improving
governance
were
translated in several tangible
actions at the national and
provincial level.
We begin 2009 hoping for a
better, more peaceful year than
the one we have left behind. The
most important event in 2009
would be Afghanistan’s elections
in the autumn. These will open a
new horizon of hope and political
maturity in the Afghan society.
Jawed Ludin
Ambassador
Afghan carpets in international markets
Picture: AFP
Carpets are among the most
well-known
products
of
Afghanistan in the international
markets and its export from
Afghanistan reaches over $180
million per year, but the Export
Promotion Agency (EPAA) of
Afghanistan
in
a
recently
unveiled strategy aims to double
the amount.
To obtain the target of $360
million by the year 2018, EPAA is
sending 28 major carpet traders
of Afghanistan abroad to explore
new
potentials
for
Afghan
carpets.
Afghan carpet traders complain
about the restraining challenges
they are faced with i.e. lack of
access to business loans, the
availability of safe transportation
for the easily-damaged product
and the miss-representation of
high-quality Afghan carpets as
Pakistani carpets or the poorquality Pakistani carets as made
in
Afghanistan
in
the
international markets. But they
are still hopeful that this ancient
product
of
Afghanistan
will
reclaim its worthy position in the
global market.
The recent Best Carpet Award
given to a specimen of Afghan
carpet at the Domestic Carpet
Fair in Germany is seen by the
Afghan carpet weavers and
traders as a proof of their
optimism for the further success
of their product.
Inside the Newsletter
Stories from Afghanistan:
Nekzad Receives Courage
in Journalism Award
NATO Commander has
High Hopes for 2009
Afghan pistachio to
reclaim its worthy
position
Afghan - Nordic Relations:
Danish Crown Prince and
Defense Minister Visit
Afghanistan
Norwegian MoD Wants
Troops to Extend Area of
Operation
Finland to Increase Troop
Level
The Embassy:
Ambassador Ludin Signs
International Convention
on Cluster Munitions on
Behalf of Afghanistan
Ambassador Ludin
addresses the 16th
Ministerial Council of the
OSCE
Afghans celebrate the
arrival of New Year
Stories from Afghanistan
Picture: Leslie Knott
Farida Nekzad receives
Courage in Journalism Award
Upon
receiving
the
award,
Nekzad stated that “I am
working for women to play a role
in society and am driven by
being a role model for women so
they can be encouraged to play
an important role and not be
silenced, which is not an easy
task”.
The
International
Women’s
Media Foundation (IWMF) held
its annual Courage in Journalism
Awards at the end of 2008 in
recognition of women who report
under dangerous or difficult
circumstances.
This year, one of the four
recipients of the award was
Afghan journalist Farida Nekzad.
As the managing editor and
deputy director of Pajhwok
Afghan
News,
the
leading
independent news agency in
Afghanistan, and also as vice
president of the South Asia
Media commission, Nekzad has
fought to increase opportunities
for women in journalism. She
has frequently encountered lifethreatening circumstances, yet
she has never betrayed her
commitment to journalism.
Nekzad studied journalism at
Kabul University prior to the
Taliban era, and fled Afghanistan
when the Taliban came into
power in 1996. She finished her
education at the Indian Institute
of Mass Communication in New
Delhi, and has been active in
journalism since her return to
Afghanistan in 2001.
It is her stated goal to continue
to work for women’s rights in
Afghanistan, encouraging women
to pursue careers in journalism
even though at times she fears
for both her job and her life.
Picture: NATO
Top NATO Commander has
high hopes for Afghanistan in
2009
According to Lieutenant General
Jim Dutton, deputy commander
of NATO's International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), plans to
boost the Afghan army and
police force and increase the
number of foreign troops would
turn things around in 2009.
Though the security situation in
Afghanistan the past year has
been dire, there is hope for
improvements in the year to
come.
Lieutenant
General
Dutton
emphasizes
the
change
in
administrations in the USA as a
positive
element
that
can
influence
the
situation
in
Afghanistan. "There are some
causes for optimism. Things
should get better, not worse, in
2009," he told reporters in
Kabul, adding that "We have a
new US administration coming
into power with fresh ideas,
many of which we already
know."
Along with the increase in
international troop levels, he
points to improved coordination
between Afghan, NATO and
Pakistani forces along the border
between the two countries and
an increase in the number of
Afghan security forces as causes
for optimism.
Afghanistan has plans to build a
134,000-strong army and a
police force of almost the same
size by 2012, and more than
80,000 Afghan soldiers and a
similar number of police have
already been trained since 2001.
The Lieutenant General sees
these plans as very promising,
adding his praise to the Afghan
efforts in the matter, saying that
"Few armies in the world would
be capable of doubling their size
while at the same time fighting
an insurgency, but the Afghans
seem quite capable of doing
that."
Afghan Pistachio to reclaim
its lost position in
international markets
The Ministry of agriculture of
Afghanistan plans to rehabilitate
the pistachio jungles that once
contributed to the export of 2000
tons of pistachio annually. The
jungles that lie like a belt in the
country’s
north-eastern
provinces
of
Badakhshan,
Takhar, Baghlan, Samangan,
Balkh, Sar-i-Pul, Faryab, Badghis
and Herat have been destroyed
by 60 percent during the three
decades of conflict. The ministry
is
now
preventing
the
irresponsible cutting of pistachio
jungles and is working on a plan
to restore the damaged parts of
the vast jungles.
Kronprinsensgt. 17, 0244 Oslo, Norway . T: + 47 22 83 84 10. F: + 47 22 83 84 11 . [email protected] . www.afghanistanembassy.no
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Afghan - Nordic Relations
Finland to increase troop
levels in Afghanistan
Pictures: Dansk TV2
Picture: Dansk TV2
Danish Crown Prince and
Defense Minister Visits
Afghanistan
Norwegian Minister of
Defence wants ISAF Troops
to Extend Area of Operation
The
Danish
Crown
Prince
Frederik and Defense Minister
Søren Gade visited Afghanistan
from December 1 to December
3.
The
Norwegian
government
wants the Norwegian troops in
Afghanistan to cover a greater
area, NRK reports.
The purpose of the trip was to
visit the Danish troops in the
country. Crown Prince Frederik
and Defense Minister Gade
wanted to see how the Danish
soldiers were living there, and
thank them for their efforts to
help Afghanistan.
During their three-day stay
Crown Prince Frederik and the
Defense Minister visited several
military camps. Monday evening
they traveled to the Danish base
camp Armadillo in southwestern
Helmand province. They spent
the night with the soldiers, slept
in sleeping bags on camp beds
and ate army rations, according
to a statement released by the
Danish Defense Ministry.
The two also met with governor
Abdul Ahad Khan and the mayor
of the town of Said Dur, Ali
Shar, as they visited the
Gereshk district.
There are currently 690 Danish
soldiers in NATO's International
Security Assistance Force in
Afghanistan, most of who are in
the
Helmand
province.
Minister of Defense Anne-Grete
Strøm-Erichsen
stated
on
December 1 that the Norwegian
troops
should
extend
their
operations to cover the Gormach
area south of their base in
Meymaneh.
This particular area has no
international presence, which
according
to
the
Defense
Minister allows insurgent groups
to operate freely.
Troops should be deployed in the
area as soon as possible to
prevent
an
increasingly
dangerous situation for both
troops and the local population
to develop, and prevent it from
spreading further North, Defense
Minister Strøm-Erichsen stated.
The suggestion from the Ministry
of Defense has not been without
controversy,
as
Afghanistan
expert with PRIO Kristian Berg
Harpviken pointed out that such
an
extension
on
of
the
Norwegian forces’ geographical
sphere
without
increasing
numbers will make the task far
more risky.
Finland’s Ministry for Foreign
Affairs and Ministry of Defense
are prepared to increase the
number of crisis management
troops
in
Afghanistan
considerably next year, some
official sources have reported to
the Finnish newspaper Helsingin
Sanomat.
The troops would be deployed
around the city of Mazar-eSharif where the other Finnish
troops
are
situated.
The
supplemental peacekeepers to
leave for Afghanistan some
time around mid-2009 would
serve
to
safeguard
the
country’s presidential election.
The numbers of the additional
troops could be more than 100,
or at least several dozens of
soldiers. This would mean that
Finland
could
temporarily
double its participation in the
NATO-led ISAF peacekeeping
operation. At the present time,
a
total
of
80
Finnish
peacekeepers are taking part in
the ISAF operation, while about
20 are involved in support
operations.
The
supplementary
troops
would stay in Afghanistan for at
least four months. With the
planned increase in its forces in
Afghanistan,
Finland
would
have a minimum of 150 crisis
management troops in the area
next year.
President Tarja Halonen and the
cabinet’s Committee for Foreign
and Security Policy determined
already in mid-November that
more troops would be sent to
Afghanistan for the presidential
elections, but the number of
troops has not yet been
decided.
Picture: Helsingin Sanomat
Kronprinsensgt. 17, 0244 Oslo, Norway . T: + 47 22 83 84 10 . F: + 47 22 83 84 11 . [email protected] . www.afghanistanembassy.no
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Embassy News
Ambassador Ludin Addresses
the 16th Ministerial Council of
the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe
Afghanistan Signed
International Convention on
Cluster Munitions
The Ambassador of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan Mr.
Jawed Ludin, on behalf of the
Government
of
Afghanistan,
signed on December 3 the
International
Convention
on
Cluster
Munitions
in
Oslo,
Norway.
In
his
speech
addressing the signing ceremony
he, congratulated the people,
governments and institutions
behind the conference, the
Kingdom of Norway and the
United Nations, in particular, for
the historical conference.
He added that Afghanistan was
not going to be a signatory to
the convention and it was a
principled position Afghanistan
had
maintained
since
the
beginning of the Oslo Process, as
a reflection of Afghanistan’s
current
situation,
because
Afghanistan is effectively at war
and any disarmament measure
at a time of war requires very
cautious treatment.
He
continued
that
since
Afghanistan was one of the worst
affected nations by war and
weapons,
including
cluster
munitions, and it was this very
reality, and the recognition of
the plight of the thousands of
victims of cluster munitions in
Afghanistan that resulted in
President Karzai’s decision to
sign the convention.
He said that the decision was,
above all, a tribute to the victims
of cluster munitions in the world.
The Ambassador of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan in Oslo
Mr. Jawed Ludin addressed the
16th Ministerial Council of the
OSCE organized by government
of the Republic of Finland in
Helsinki on 4-5 December.
First of all, he congratulated the
government of Finland for an
outstanding organization of the
council
which
opened
new
horizons
for
promoting
cooperation,
including
with
partner countries outside OSCE.
He said: “as an active and
committed
Partner
for
Cooperation
with
the
OSCE,
Afghanistan deeply cherishes this
partnership. Last month, my
Government hosted the OSCE
and four of its Asian partner
countries, Japan, South Korea,
Thailand and Mongolia, in Kabul
at the first OSCE conference on
Afghanistan. We highly welcome
the new impetus within the
OSCE for broadening cooperation
with Afghanistan, of which last
month’s conference in Kabul was
a good example.”
He
added:
”Afghanistan
today
remains a country where the
enormity of the challenges we face
is
matched
by
a
relentless
cooperation of the international
community
to
address
those
challenges.
Thanks
to
this
cooperation, and the determination
of our own people, much progress
towards
political
stability,
democratization
and
economic
recovery has been achieved over
the past seven years. Indeed,
there is no aspect of life of the
Afghan people where this progress
is not discernible, particularly
when contrasted to the dark age of
the Taliban rule and the long years
of
violence
and
destruction
before.”
Afghans in Oslo Celebrate the
Arrival of New Year
Hundreds of Afghans living in
Norway gathered in Oslo to
celebrate the arrival of year
2009
together
with
Qader
Eshpari on 27 December.
Mr. Eshpari, 40, is among the
most popular Afghan singers who
gathered their fame mostly
outside Afghanistan during the
years of conflict in Afghanistan.
As early as the age 5, he
demonstrated
extraordinary
talent
for
playing
different
musical instruments and singing.
He left Afghanistan along with
his family to Pakistan and then
to Germany and eventually they
moved to the United States. Now
he lives in California where he
continues to produce songs in his
music studio.
Having served as an engineer at
the IBM, he is now a fulltime
singer and continues to entertain
Afghans around the world.
NYHETSBREV – December 2008
Monthly Newsletter of the Embassy of the Islamic
Republic of Afghanistan in Oslo, accredited to Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland
Public Relations Department
Department
Embassy of Afghanistan, Oslo
Kronprinsens gate 17
0244 OSLO
Website: www.afghanistanembassy.no
For contact or submission:
[email protected]
Kronprinsensgt. 17, 0244 Oslo, Norway . T: + 47 22 83 84 10 . F: + 47 22 83 84 11 . [email protected] . www.afghanistanembassy.no
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