Money crisis in Kabul: – Not on the Taliban, but on the US, EU and Norway – VG
NEW YORK (VG) Bernt Apeland of the Norwegian Red Cross describes a desperate money crisis in Afghanistan. The problem is not the Taliban, but Western countries, he says. From Kabul, he asks Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Labor Party) to take up the matter in the UN Security Council.
An international embargo on money transactions to Afghanistan prevents banks from transferring money to the country’s aid organizations – payment for food and medicine, which will pay their aid workers.
– This is not on the Taliban, but on the major Western players such as the United States, the EU and Norway. It is a complete crisis for our humanitarian work, says Bernt Apeland to VG on the phone from Kabul. He is Secretary General of the Norwegian Red Cross.
Problem created by western
Now that the Taliban representatives have left Oslo in the chartered private plane, the Red Cross wants to focus on the obstacles that – according to Apeland – have been created by western countries, and which are part of the sanctions against the Taliban regime.
– At the moment, it is possible to get some money in via agents who physically transport banknotes into Afghanistan. But there is a limit to how much they can get in, so this is not sustainable over time, says the Red Cross boss.
From Kabul, the situation describes a very serious humanitarian crisis:
– Here in Kabul, there are a growing number of beggars. I see people selling their owners on the street. Without means of payment, people cannot be paid wages. Thus, the local markets collapse, and after each economy, the same applies to the health care system that does not receive supplies of vital medicines, says Bernt Apeland.
He believes that Norway and the Støre government, which now heads the UN Security Council in January, must make a strong appeal to the countries that have established the sanctions:
– They must be abolished, he says.
– There should be a clear message about this from the UN Security Council, Apeland adds.
Talk to the United States
– I think what Apeland describes is a reality. We must address this, Jonas Gahr Støre answers.
Night to Thursday Norwegian time, Støre has an agreement with Jake Sullivan, the United States’ national security adviser and one of President Joe Biden’s closest advisers. Støre says that this will be a topic there:
– I’ll talk to the US government tonight. This is one of the topics I want to address there, says Støre to VG.
A frozen hell
In his speech to the Security Council on Wednesday afternoon, Støre described life in Afghanistan right now as “a frozen hell”.
He referred to sanctions and a lack of trust means that there are nine billion dollars in frozen bank accounts, money intended for Afghanistan.
– We will talk further with central country about this. But one of the obstacles has been terrible for money entering the country, going now to the Taliban. We know this from other countries: They want to help the population but not those in power, he says to VG.
– According to Apeland, the Taliban is not the problem here?
– But it is important to be clear to the Taliban that they do not want to send money in their direction. In the United States, it is about money that is frozen. And I have the impression that the victims after 9/11 have a strong voice in this, says Støre.