Dear friends of Sea-Eye,

As expected, there is no end to the horror stories about Afghanistan.

33 posts in the interim government have now been filled by the Taliban. The international community's call to include non-Taliban members has been ignored so far.

Part of the interim government is Mullah A. G. Baradar, who had also led the negotiations with the U.S. government under Donald Trump. It was agreed that the Taliban would negotiate peace with the now ousted Afghan government, cut ties with terrorist organizations and renounce violence. Under these conditions, Trump promised the troop withdrawal that has now taken place.

Sarajuddin Haqqani was appointed as interior minister. Haqqani is the founder of the so-called Haqqani Network, a militant Islamist organization that is classified as a terrorist militia by the United States, for example.

The U.S. government expresses concern about what is happening. How long the provisional government will last is yet to be determined.

Mistreatments and ban on demonstrations

The first official announcement from the new Interior Ministry was that protests without permits would be banned in the future. Reporting on such demonstrations will also be prohibited. For several days, pictures and reports have been circulating of journalists who were severely mistreated by the Taliban because they were documenting the resistance in Kabul. Similarly, there are numerous videos showing how demonstrations by Afghan women in Kabul, Ghor, Herat and other provinces have been brutally put down by Taliban security forces.

In Ghor province last week, a heavily pregnant policewoman, Banu Negarah, was killed in front of her tied up family by three men claiming to be Taliban fighters. Banu Negarah had worked for a women's shelter as well as for the Ministry of Women's Affairs in the past, among others, and had already received several threats from the Taliban. However, the Taliban denied responsibility for Negarah's death.

Despite the alleged general amnesty – as announced by the Taliban – the series of reports about executions, mistreatment, oppression of women, ethnic and religious minorities and all others who oppose the Taliban or do not fit into their world view does not end.

Demands for more evacuations

In addition, people seeking protection are unable to obtain the documents they need from the respective states in order to leave Afghanistan. This seems to be the case even for people who are already on evacuation lists issued by the German Foreign Office.

The threatened persons need digital confirmations to enter third countries or Germany.

In a joint appeal, ProAsyl, Amnesty International and numerous other aid organizations are calling for more charter flights, including from Afghanistan's neighboring countries, and for visas to be issued. The German government is currently allowing too few people from Afghanistan to enter Germany. So far, no appropriate political action has been taken, the organizations stated.

Regarding the NATO mission as well as the political and bureaucratic failures in the past months and years, Germany – like many other countries – clearly has a responsibility to provide protection to those under threat.

We therefore continue to appeal to those in power to finally take responsibility and provide safe passages for those in need of protection.

We remain loud! We continue to draw attention to those who are responsible, the way they are shirking their responsibility and the way they are putting people's lives in danger through their actions as well as through their inaction!

Please help us to prevent that the people in Afghanistan become forgotten. Share the petition, get informed, get organized!

Thank you for your support & all the best,
Joana Weinmann, Gorden Isler, Sophie Weidenhiller, Axel Pasligh,
- from Sea-Eye e. V.