GERMANY ASSURES HELP IN AFGHAN RECONSTRUCTION

Business Recorder, April 11, 2005

Germany on Tuesday renewed its commitment to the ongoing reconstruction of
Afghanistan, ruling out an early withdrawal of its troops and assuring its
continued co-operation in areas of police training and promotion of the
basic education. In a freewheeling interview with Pajhwok Afghan News,
German Ambassador to Kabul Dr Rainald Steck frankly broached subjects
including the challenges posed by insurgents, the role of Afghanistan's
neighbours in bringing a lasting peace to the conflict-battered country
and the prevailing security situation.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE EXCERPTS:

Q: As you are aware, Germany had hosted the famous Bonn conference three
years back, do you think the international community is honoring its
commitments to Afghanistan made at that conference?

A: I think so. After the Bonn moot, we have seen the Tokyo conference and
the Berlin conference, held last year. Today we are sitting together at
the ongoing Afghan Development Forum in Kabul, and discussing issues
facing Afghanistan. It shows the international community remains committed
to the post-conflict development of this country.

Q: German troops, under the rubric of International Assistance Security
Force (ISAF), have played a key role in restoring peace and stability to
Afghanistan. Will Germany send more forces to Kabul?

A: Germany is the largest troop contributor to the ISAF, with 2,250 of its
troops deployed in Kabul as part of the ISAF force, a multinational
brigade, and two Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in the northern
Kunduz province and the Faizabad city. I don't think we will, for the time
being, increase the number of troops but we will stay on and keep our
commitments.

Q: Does Germany have any plan to withdraw forces from Kabul, if yes when
and why?

A: At the moment, there is no concrete plan to do so.

Q: Attacks on Afghan troops and coalition forces have registered a sharp
rise in recent months. Do you think Afghanistan would wriggle out of the
militancy quagmire any time soon?

A: It's a difficult question to answer; in any case, the problems facing
this country are varied and complex - terrorism, militancy and illegal
militias. These problems persist despite a number of measures taken by the
government - with the help of international community, coalition forces
and the ISAF. I think the Afghan government and its security forces - as
well as the international community, ISAF and coalition forces - will have
to work in tandem to address these issues. Hopefully, the problems will be
resolved in the future.

Q: There is widespread perception that the Karzai administration is
heavily dependent on the US forces in terms of security. Do you think his
government will be able to rule the country in a more effective manner
after the US pullout?

A: Well, I don't know how I should answer this question. You can ask the
Afghan government and the US forces in this regard. I don't know whether
the administration of this country is heavily dependent on foreign forces.
The government of President Hamid Karzai is a democratically elected
dispensation. So it is representative of the will of Afghans. Therefore, I
do think, it is recognised by the majority of this country; I don't know
why it should not be able to rule this country. It is already in charge;
actually, I think it will continue to do so.

Q: Do you think the neighbouring countries are still meddling in
Afghanistan?

A: Well, I don't know that neighbouring countries are interfering in
Afghanistan, which encountered the problem over the last 23 years of
Soviet occupation, civil war, resistance to Taleban rule, and all that.
Now Afghanistan has reached agreement with its neighbours on forging good
neighbourly relations. That convention was signed two years ago. Germans
are engaged in the reconstruction process, training some personnel of the
police force and border police. In this connection we are working together
with the Afghan government and the neighbouring countries to make sure
management on the borders of Afghanistan is as good as possible. So I
don't see any meddling.

Q: As a diplomat, how do you look at Afghanistan's transition towards
democracy?

A: You know, since you asked me as a diplomat. An optimist as I am, I
think the future is bright. There are still a number of problems -
everybody knows it, the government and the international community as
well. But I think these problems can be overcome. I can show you the
German government is certainly honouring its commitments towards bringing
about a stable democracy in Afghanistan. We will do anything we can in
order to help the Afghan government make all-round progress.

Q: Your country played a key role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
What does Germany plan to do in the future for the betterment of this
war-weary nation?

A: We are engaged in Afghanistan in two main areas: One is the security.
On which front we are taking concrete measures under the ISAF; two, our
troops are part of PRTs. Also in terms of security, we are the leading the
reconstruction of the Afghan police force, which is ethnically balanced.
The other aspect is economic reconstruction. We have three main areas in
focus - clean drinking water supply, improvement of the energy situation
including renewable energy and support for the private sector in terms of
small and middle-size enterprises, industries and so on. We think the
private sector will play an important role in bringing long-lasting,
sustainable development to Afghanistan. Ergo, we support it. We are also
doing our bit in areas of promoting the basic education and cultural
co-operation with universities and schools. But the main focus is really
on these three pillars I am talking about.

Q: How is Germany contributing to the development of an open and strong
civil society in Afghanistan and what measures other countries should take
to make it happen?

A: It is not easy for a foreign country to contribute to the development
of an open civil society elsewhere; this is something, which must come
from within the country. But as far as Afghanistan is concerned, I am very
optimistic because I do see there is a quite active civil society in the
process of being built. The process is not yet complete but there are lots
of civil society organisations, political and social groups - especially
women organisations. Our government and Germany-based political
foundations are supporting these organisations. The second step would be
to create - slowly but surely - political parties, which then could
contest regional and national elections.

Q: What has Germany done for the promotion of independent media in
Afghanistan?

A: Our contribution has a long tradition. First of all, DW Radio has
broadcast here for almost 50 years. On March 19, we had an FM channel
broadcasting in Dari, Pashto, Urdu, English and German languages. Then we
have DW TV News, produced in Germany and broadcast in Dari and Pashto
through the State TV and Radio RTA. Hopefully, these programs will be
transferred to Kabul; at a later stage, they will be produced here. DW has
trained Afghan journalists, technical and management staff. We have been
training journalists from all Afghan provinces since 2003 through an
initiative called Free Press Afghanistan. We have invited a number of
Afghan journalists to Germany. We do supply Afghan media technical
equipment.

The Germany Embassy offers a number of services to the press. For
instance, we have organised for sometime regular media days. We present a
specific subject, which might be of interest to the public in Afghanistan
- for instance, the German-Afghan relations in terms of development
co-operation and the German contribution to the reconstruction of the
police.