German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended on Saturday the nation's presence in Afghanistan as necessary to ensure security, while thousands of protesters called for German troops to pull out of the peacekeeping efforts.
In her weekly video podcast, Merkel insisted that helping Afghans to rebuild their nation was the only way to keep the country from again becoming a breeding ground for terrorists.
"We have no alternative, because we cannot leave Afghanistan to the hands of the terrorists," Merkel said.
PHOTO: AP
"Since Sept. 11, 2001, we know that the security we defend in our own open, democratic countries must be defended in other countries where they lack sufficient governmental structures to do so themselves," she said.
Three separate mandates for Germany's involvement in Afghanistan are coming up for debate and renewal later this year.
About 3,000 German troops are stationed mostly in the north of Afghanistan as part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, which is permitted under one of the mandates. Most politicians support the efforts, which combine providing military security with rebuilding civilian infrastructure.
In the vote on renewing the mission, that mandate has been coupled with another governing the use of Germany's six Tornado reconnaissance jets in Afghanistan, which the opposition Greens and others charge are providing NATO with information for bombing targets.
Some members of the Social Democrats -- in coalition with Merkel's Christian Democrats -- also oppose keeping the jets in Afghanistan.
The third mandate authorizes participation in the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom, which is focused on anti-terrorism combat missions in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Calls for an end to the Afghan missions have become louder, especially after a string of attacks on Germans in Afghanistan and after authorities foiled alleged terrorist plots to bomb US and other targets in Germany earlier this month.
Some 5,000 peaceful demonstrators in downtown Berlin also called for Germany to bring its troops home, insisting that efforts to help rebuild Afghanistan had fallen short and that international efforts were doing more harm than good.
At an extraordinary party conference held on Saturday, members of the opposition Greens party urged their lawmakers to vote against the Tornado mandate, even if it means upsetting the nation's participation in the NATO force.
The Greens acknowledge that Germany needs to remain active in Afghanistan, but by investing more in reconstruction efforts and focusing less on the military aspect.
School bullies in Singapore are to face caning under new guidelines, but the education minister on Tuesday said it would be meted out only as a last resort with strict safeguards. Human rights groups regularly criticize Singapore for the use of corporal punishment, which remains part of the school and criminal justice systems, but authorities have defended it as a deterrent to crime and serious misconduct. Caning was discussed in the parliament after legislators asked how it would be used in relation to bullying in schools. The debate followed stricter guidelines on serious student misconduct, including bullying, unveiled by the Singaporean Ministry of
‘GROSS NEGLIGENCE?’ Despite a spleen typically being significantly smaller than a liver, the surgeon said he believed Bryan’s spleen was ‘double the size of what is normal’ A Florida surgeon who is facing criminal charges after allegedly removing a patient’s liver instead of his spleen has said he is “forever traumatized” by that person’s death. In a deposition from November last year that was recently obtained by NBC, 44-year-old Thomas Shaknovsky described the death of 70-year-old William Bryan as an “incredibly unfortunate event that I regret deeply.” Bryan died after the botched surgery; and last month, a grand jury in Tallahassee indicted Shaknovsky on a charge of manslaughter. “I’m forever traumatized by it and hurt by it,” Shaknovsky added, also saying that wrong-site surgeries can happen “during
A MESSAGE: Japan’s participation in the Balikatan drills is a clear deterrence signal to China not to attack Taiwan while the US is busy in the Middle East, an analyst said The Japan Self-Defense Forces yesterday fired a Type 88 anti-ship missile during a joint maritime exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces, hitting a decommissioned Philippine Navy ship in waters facing the disputed South China Sea, in drills that underscore Tokyo’s rising willingness to project military power on China’s doorstep. The drill took place as Manila and Tokyo began talks on a potential defense equipment transfer, made possible by Japan’s decision to scrap restrictions on military exports. The discussions include the possible early transfer of Abukuma-class destroyers and TC-90 aircraft to the Philippines, Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. Philippine Secretary of
A South Korean judge who last week more than doubled former South Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee’s prison sentence was found dead yesterday, police said. Shin Jong-o was found unconscious at about 1am at the Seoul High Court building, an investigator at the Seocho District Police Station in Seoul said. Shin was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, he said. “There is no sign of foul play in the death,” the investigator added. Local media reported that Shin had left a suicide note, but the investigator said there was none. On Tuesday last week, Shin presided over 53-year-old Kim’s appeal trial, finding her guilty
RSS