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Austria to keep returning illegal aliens to Afghanistan, as govt
calls for deportation centers in nearby Middle Eastern countries
16 Aug, 2021 14:50
Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan's 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the group's feared hardline brand of Islamist rule. © Wakil Kohsar / AFP
Austria has called on countries around Afghanistan to establish “deportation centers” to handle immigrants attempting to flee the Taliban, as the country’s government maintains its hardline immigration stance.
In a joint statement released on Monday, Austria’s interior minister, Karl Nehammer, and foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, suggested “deportation centers” should be established in the “region around Afghanistan” to handle asylum claims.
The comments from the Austrian officials came ahead of an online meeting between EU interior ministers on Wednesday, and after the country’s government joined five other member states in warning the bloc against halting deportations of illegal immigrants from Afghanistan. However, three of those EU countries – Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands – have since changed their position.
“If deportations are no longer possible because of the restrictions imposed on us by the European Convention on Human Rights, alternatives must be considered,” the statement from the Austrian ministers read.
The Austrian officials also called on the EU to expand the meeting of interior ministers to include foreign secretaries in order to allow member states to coordinate their policy towards Afghanistan. However, since their statement was issued, the EU has called for a separate meeting of foreign ministers to be held on Tuesday.
Austria’s governing coalition, led by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, has maintained a hardline stance on immigration, which saw him rise to power shortly after the 2015/16 migration crisis in the region, becoming the youngest person to hold the position in Austrian history.
An influx of migrants to Austria and other European nations during that period resulted in Vienna passing a controversial law that allows for officials to reject most asylum seekers who attempt to illegally cross into the country. The legislation also limited successful asylum claims to just three years, and it allows the country to limit the number of applications accepted.
Afghan president fled Kabul with cars full of cash & was forced to abandon
some loot on airport runway, Russian embassy claims
16 Aug, 2021 11:01
Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani addresses the nation in a message in Kabul, Afghanistan August 14, 2021.
© Afghan Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS
The Western-backed former Afghan leader, Ashraf Ghani, departed his country with so much money that it couldn’t all fit on his helicopter, and he was forced to leave some cash at the airport, the Russian Embassy in Kabul has said.
Speaking to RIA Novosti, its spokesman Nikita Ishchenko dubbed Ghani’s escape an “eloquent characterization” of the fall of the “regime.”
“Four cars were stuffed with money. [They] tried to fit all the money on the helicopter, but not all of it fit. Some of the money was left lying on the tarmac,” he explained, without elaborating how he obtained the information.
Ghani became president of Afghanistan in September 2014, marking the first time in the country’s history that power was democratically transferred. Since his election, Ghani has enjoyed a close relationship with the US, which has pumped almost a trillion dollars into the country. According to a 2019 study by Brown University in the US, Washington has spent around $978 billion in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2001.
So, there's a good chance the money is in American dollars. I wonder where it ended up?
The situation in Afghanistan has intensified in the past few weeks. On Sunday, Taliban militants entered the capital, Kabul, and declared that they had taken control of the entire country. The group is recognized in Russia as a terrorist organization. On the same day, Ghani fled the country, claiming that he had resigned and escaped to prevent any bloodshed in the capital. According to initial reports, he was flown to Tajikistan.
On Monday, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem declared that the war in Afghanistan was over and called for peace.
The Taliban’s victory came after the US decided to withdraw its troops from the country. In April, US President Joe Biden declared that he had decided to end the operation in Afghanistan – the most protracted foreign military campaign in US history. All troops were scheduled to leave by September 11, almost 20 years after the war began.
High-res satellite photos shows Kabul airport chaos as crowds of Afghans
swarm runway in desperate effort to flee
16 Aug, 2021 17:17
© AFP / Maxar Technologies
High-quality satellite images have captured the ongoing Kabul airport debacle, showing droves of Afghans on the runway, attempting to leave aboard Western evacuation flights after the country fell to the Taliban.
The images, released by US-based Maxar Technologies on Monday, revealed scenes taken from above the airport after the Afghan capital was seized by the militants.
A massive traffic jam can be witnessed outside the facility, as well as scores of people roaming the tarmac. Armored vehicles can be seen next to the runway, although nothing resembling a security cordon is visible.
The chaotic evacuation from the airport has already resulted in at least seven deaths, according to the Associated Press, citing US officials. Hundreds of Afghans have been making their way there in a desperate attempt to board a fight and flee the Taliban takeover.
As footage of the unruly scenes at the airport emerged, the Pentagon suspended its evacuation process, citing “an abundance of caution.” The US Army and other international troops were working to secure the runway so flights could resume, a US military spokesperson said.
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