PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT RABBANI OF AFGHANISTAN

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT RABBANI OF AFGHANISTAN

Since the Taliban came into Afghanistan, there had been an increase in the cultivation and traffic of narcotics, an attack on women's civil rights, and the whole system of education had been abandoned, said Burhanuddin Rabbani, President of Afghanistan, at a press conference this afternoon at Headquarters.

From the beginning of Taliban rule, Afghanistan had become a place for terrorist activity and continued violations of human rights, President Rabbani said. His Government's policy, however, had been to fight against terrorism and terrorist activities. He concentrated on bolstering human rights, and he allowed the people of Afghanistan the freedom to express their ideas independently. Women were given the full right to work in Afghanistan, to be educated and hold government offices. Women even outnumbered men under his Government.

In relation to narcotics, his Government had set up a council to address the problem and fight the cultivation of drugs, President Rabbani said. In the framework of Islamic values, he tried to establish democratic institutions, and provided an atmosphere that allowed political participation by all groups in the country.

He added that the media were incorrectly reporting that the Taliban controlled two thirds of Afghanistan. While it claimed a number of provinces, the Taliban was actually in control of only the main cities of those provinces. Those in the suburbs and countryside were still resisting Taliban rule. The majority of people in Afghanistan were living in areas controlled by his Government, or they had sympathies for his Government.

A correspondent said that Israel had sent humanitarian aid to Afghanistan following the recent earthquakes there. Did President Rabbani welcome that humanitarian aid and what was the relationship between his Government and Israel? President Rabbani said the Government of Afghanistan did not have a political relationship with the Government of Israel. He did not know of such humanitarian assistance in the area affected by the earthquakes.

Pino Arlacchi, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, said more efforts should be made in Afghanistan to provide alternatives to drug crops, a correspondent said. What was President Rabbani's response to that statement and to United Nations efforts in the area of drug control? He responded that his Government welcomed any help and cooperation offered to the people of Afghanistan. But if help in that regard was channelled through the Taliban, it would probably not be effective. The sale of narcotics was one of the main ways the Taliban funded its war machine in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan Press Conference - 2 - 9 June 1998

How long will fighting continue in Afghanistan before the parties agree on a settlement? a correspondent asked. President Rabbani said that the current conflict was not a civil war, but an imposed war introduced from outside the country. If there was no foreign interference there would not be any kind of war in Afghanistan.

In press conferences in Afghanistan, did President Rabbani allow women reporters to ask questions? a correspondent asked. He responded that during Afghanistan's fight against Soviet forces, his country allowed a number of female reporters into the war zones. Under his Government, women were very active in all fields and they were still highly active in Mazar-i-Sharif, the temporary capital in the north of Afghanistan. There were women reporters, writers and even poets.

Who were the outside elements that were causing the conflict in Afghanistan, that he had referred to? a correspondent asked. President Rabbani said there was a tremendous amount of evidence that there was interference in the fighting from outside Afghanistan. He had asked the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mohammed Nawaz Sharif, to prevent some groups from going into Afghanistan to help in the fighting. The Prime Minister told him that he would not follow the policy of previous Pakistani governments in helping the Taliban. Neighbouring countries of Afghanistan should participate in bringing about peace and stability in his country as they had in the past.

It was said that the Taliban only controlled the cities, but most poppy growing did not take place in urban areas, a correspondent said. Did that mean the Taliban were not responsible for drug production? President Rabbani said that cities in Afghanistan were not like New York City. There were areas in and around them where poppy cultivation took place.

There had been reports that President Rabbani and the Government of Pakistan could come to an agreement in regard to the Taliban, a correspondent said. What was the status of such an agreement? President Rabbani responded that he trusted the good intentions of Prime Minister Sharif, who was helping to bring about peace and stability in Afghanistan. There should be efforts to resume talks between his Government and the Taliban.

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