Adrian Croft
Reuters
LONDON: Afghan President Hamid Karzai, winner of a fraud-tainted election, risks losing British and international support unless he acts decisively to fight corruption, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Friday. Brown, seeking to bolster dwindling public backing at home for keeping British troops in Afghanistan, said Karzai must pass five key tests.
He listed them as fighting corruption, building up the Afghan security forces, promoting reconciliation, encouraging economic development and fostering closer cooperation with Pakistan.
“If the government fails to meet these five tests, it will have not only failed its own people, it will have forfeited its right to international support,” Brown said in a speech at the Royal College of Defense Studies in London.
NATO’s Afghan mission involves 65,000 US troops and 39,000 from allied nations, including 9,000 from Britain.
Karzai’s controversial re-election and rising losses among its force in Afghanistan have led many in Britain to ask why the British troops are there.
A new YouGov poll for Channel 4 news found that 57 percent of people thought it was impossible for British troops to win the war against Taliban insurgents and 73 percent wanted British troops home within a year – up sharply from last month.
“I am not prepared to put the lives of British men and women in harm’s way for a government that does not stand up against corruption,” Brown said in one of the toughest public message given to Karzai.
Seven British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in the last week – including five shot dead by an Afghan policeman – bringing total British deaths there to 230 since 2001.
US President Barack Obama is still considering a call from the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, for tens of thousands more soldiers and NATO has asked other countries to increase their contributions.
Norway said on Friday it would maintain its current support for the Afghan mission, implying it had declined a request from NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen for more troops.
Brown’s spokesman said Britain had discussed the five tests for Karzai with its allies.
Speaking on GMTV, Brown said Karzai had agreed with him in a telephone conversation on Thursday that his government’s priority would be to take “decisive action” against corruption.
Brown avoided the question however when asked repeatedly what sanction Britain might take against Karzai if he did not carry out Brown’s demands.
Brown defended his strategy in Afghanistan, insisting British troops were there to protect Britain from terrorism.
“We cannot, must not and will not walk away,” said Brown, who argues that Britain and other allies must expand training of Afghan security forces so they can eventually take over responsibilities from foreign forces.
The NATO chief also urged member states to step up efforts to train and equip Afghan forces, and added there were other ways to support the mission besides sending more troops.
“Countries that have put limitations on the use of their troops can allow for more flexibility. There’s also a big need for more civilians to assist the Afghan development,” the former Danish premier said in Oslo.
Taliban tightens screws on UN in Afghanistan
KABUL: The Taliban on Friday leveled a stinging attack on the United Nations, ratcheting up pressure on the world body as it relocates 600 foreign staff in Afghanistan and reassesses its delicate situation in the country.
In a statement on its website, the Taliban accused the United Nations of “suppressing and oppressing” Muslims while supporting “arrogant invaders.”
The UN decision to temporarily withdraw 600 foreign staff – more than 50 percent of the current total – comes in response to a Taliban attack on a hostel nine days ago in which five UN employees and two Afghans were killed.
Referring to a pledge by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to bring the perpetrators to justice, the Taliban accused the world body of “horrendous” crimes in the eight years since the Islamist regime was pushed from power.
“They have their share in the mass murders of the Afghan people and are the cause of the tragedies and sufferings of the Afghans,” the statement said in English.
“During the past eight years, never a day has passed without the Americans and Western brutal forces not committing crimes, murder or torture against our people or not encroaching on our national and religious values,” it said.
The statement came with UN staff leaving or preparing to leave Afghanistan – and to swap hundreds of premises for more secure compounds – amid a reassessment of security arrangements for 5,600 staff based in 20 offices. – AFP
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