A12 The World A deployment with all the fixings
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2010
Maliki promises new Iraqi cabinet within weeks
Prime minister says
no need for U.S. troops after 2011 deadline
BY LEILA FADEL
baghdad — Newly reappointed IraqiPrimeMinisterNouri al-Ma- liki pledged Saturday to form a cabinet bymid-December, amove thatwould endmonths of govern- ment lethargy after inconclusive elections in March, and declared that Iraq would not need U.S. troops after their December 2011 withdrawal deadline. “If we can’t form the govern-
PHOTOS BY ANDREA BRUCE/VII NETWORK FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
Members of theUS Army’s 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, celebrated Thanksgiving a day late on Friday, after waiting for colleagues out on an assignment to return toHonaker-Miracle combat outpost in Afghanistan’s Pech Valley. The unit’s cooks managed to fry a turkey in the outpost’s small deep fryer without burning down their tiny plywood kitchen (left), and the troops had picked the carcass clean less than 30 minutes after the bird was laid out. “Basically, it was mission accomplished,” said Capt. Bo Reynolds, who came up with the idea of frying the turkey. “I got a very small taste, because I wanted to let all ofmy soldiers eat first.” Above, Sgt. AndrewKuklis digs in. —Greg Jaffe
More Afghans pursue asylum Disillusioned by war and instability, many have become economic migrants
BY DAVID NAKAMURA IN KABUL
T
he number of Afghans who are fleeing their country and seeking political asy-
lum abroad has spiked dramati- cally during the past two years, a sign that people here are giving up the dream of a peaceful home- land to seek security and employ- ment elsewhere. The increase has coincided
with a sharp escalation in U.S. troop levels and has made Af- ghanistan the world’s top country of origin for asylum seekers worldwide — ahead of Iraq and Somalia, according to statistics compiled by the U.N. High Com- missioner for Refugees. Last year, 27,057 Afghans
sought official protection in for- eign nations, and although the pace is down this year, the overall trend line could be a troubling indicator as the United States seeks to return Afghanistan to stability. The vast majority of the refu-
gees are youngmenin their teens, 20s and 30s, often well educated and with the financial means to pay $20,000 or more to human smugglers for passports and visas to Pakistan or Iran, then on to Europe, Australia, Canada or the United States, immigration offi- cials said. Among the most capable and
brightest of their generation, some are fleeing war-ravaged vil- lages or ethnic tribal violence.But more appear to be pursuing edu- cation and higher-paying jobs, sending money home to their families or arranging for relatives to join them abroad. The common thread among
them,humanrights activists said, is a growing impatience with the war and a lack of faith that U.S. and NATO forces, which are aim- ing to hand off authority to Af- ghan troops by 2014, will prevail against the Taliban. “What’s driving this sharp in-
crease is an uncertainty among the population about the future,” saidAhmadNaderNadery,acom- missioner at the Afghan Indepen- dentHuman Rights Commission. “As the discussions about troop withdrawal become much more serious, this is a question of sur- vival. They don’t see the current fragility in this government al- lowing it tomakeasmoothtransi- tion to prevent the Taliban from coming back.” The increase of Afghan refu-
gees has prompted foreign gov- ernments to implement stricter immigration controls. In Austra- lia, where 2,705 Afghans have
Seeking shelter Te number of Afghan refugees seeking asylum in foreign countries has increased over the past two years. Scandinavia and Western Europe have seen the highest levels of applications.
10 20 30 40 50
0
Total asylum seekers from Afghanistan
In thousands
closer proximity of Europe and easier access to South Asian stag- ing points for reaching Australia. In 2010, 113 Afghans applied for asylum in the United States, the most since 2002, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
High-priced risk Often the only way out of Af-
ghanistan is a risky journey. Eight Afghans drowned off the coast of Greece last year while trying to reach Europe by boat. But that doesn’t deter people
’00 ’02 ’04 ’06 ’08 ’10* *As of Sept.
Countries with the most application submissions for asylum, 2009
Norway 3,871
United Kingdom 3,535 Germany Austria Sweden Belgium Greece
Netherlands Hungary Turkey
Australia
Denmark** Switzerland France Italy
Finland Canada Serbia
United States SOURCE: UNHCR
3,302 2,233 1,694 1,659 1,510 1,281 1,194 1,009 940 915 719 688 506 445 410 218 129
**January to November only. THE WASHINGTON POST
applied for asylum this year, sig- nificantly more than last year, officials froze all Afghan cases for six months before lifting the ban in October. Less than one-third of the Afghan applicants in Austra- lia have been granted asylum pro- tection this year. European countries, which
Topic: foreign
have no unified asylum policy, have deported hundreds of Af- ghan refugees and kept many morein detention centers or refu- gee camps for months. Fewer Af- ghans have applied for asylum in the United States, which immi- gration officials attributed to the
Run Date: 11/ XX / 2010 Size: 11p x 7.95” Artist: rivero
from trying. Hamid Rezayee, 22, is among those thinking of get- ting out. A recent graduate of northern Afghanistan’s Balkh University, where he majored in history, Rezayee dreams of con- tinuing his education abroad to avoid becoming a mechanic like his father and two older brothers. He and his nine siblings live
with their parents in a house in Mazar-i-Sharif, and Rezayee works as a translator for the U.S. Agency for International Devel- opment. Though the war has pro- vided him with a job, he speaks of his country with fatigue. “We have had 35 years of war in Afghanistan, and that has made a very bad situation here,” he said. For the past seven months,
Rezayee has sought a path to Australia.Unable to secure a legal student visa, he has turned to smugglers. For $20,000, they told him, he would receive a Pakistani passport and fly from Islamabad to Indonesia. Then he would join other Afghan refugees on a boat to Australia, part of a human smuggling operation that isgrow- ing in clout and sophistication, authorities said. Rezayee has be- gun to save up. In a report on human smug-
afghanrefugees.AAA PROOF1
gling in AfghanistanandPakistan in January this year, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime esti- mated the smuggling industry’s annual revenue at $1 billion. The growing network is centered largely in Peshawar, Pakistan, with its Afghan hub based in nearby Jalalabad, according to the report. “Althoughsmuggling networks
are understood as clandestine, many of the industry’s activities are quiteopenin Afghanistanand Pakistan,” the report stated. Smugglers create fake documents — including passports, visas, bank statements and education degrees—and provide advice “on how clients should represent themselves fraudulently.” The Afghan government’s re-
sponse, through legislation and law enforcement, “is quite sparse,” the U.N. report conclud-
ed. In an interview, Abdul Rahim, Afghanistan’s deputy minister for refugees and repatriates, said that none of his 1,000 employees is assigned to deal with asylum seekers, nor doesany other minis- try.
Rahim’s department deals in-
stead with the 5 million Afghans who have been repatriated since the war
began.Much of the effort is concentrated among the esti- mated 3 million Afghans who live in Pakistan and Iran but move across the porous Afghanistan border looking for employment. Many Afghans who have re-
turnedhomehavebecomedisillu- sioned, said NassimMajidi, a vis- iting doctoral candidate at Brit- ain’s OxfordUniversity who stud- ies Afghan migration. Of the 100 repatriates she interviewed, 70 told her they were saving money to try to leave again. This has led some foreign gov- ernments to label the Afghan ref- ugees “economic migrants” who are not in danger. But Ahmad Joyenda, an Afghan parliament memberfrom Kabul, said the lack of jobs is tied to the country’s insecurity. “When you cannot find the
work to feed your children, to go to school, to do your education, you are still a human being,” Joy- enda said. “People need to have some secure place for themselves. In this way, it’s kind of political- economic migration. It’s both.” Seyar, who is in his 30s and
spoke on the condition that his last name not be used, recently paid a smuggler $46,000 to send his mother and younger brother to a Scandinavian country. Seyarmet a smuggler in Jalala-
bad and raised the money by selling his house. The smuggler took Seyar’s mother and brother to Peshawar, then to Islamabad. After receiving travel visas, the
two were flown first to London, then to the Scandinavian nation, which Seyar did not want to iden- tify. The brother is in his 20s, but he was instructed to pose as a teenager because the destination countryoffersmorelenientimmi- gration policies for minors. “I paid that amount of money
without knowing a single person” involved in the deal, Seyar said. “I was very worried. I cannot earn that much money in three years.” But it was worth the risk, he decided. “People have lost hope in
American power maintaining peace and stability,” he said, “and they’ve lost faith in the [President Hamid] Karzai administration due to the huge corruption, fraud and nepotism. It is hopeless.”
nakamurad@washpost.com
ment within 30 days, the country will slide in directions only God knows about,” he said during his first news conference since being formally nominated for the top government post
Thursday.Mali- ki has 30 days fromthe day of his nomination to assign ministries and present a cabinet slate to parliament for endorsement. Ifhe does not meet this deadline, he risks losing his job. “The Iraqipeoplehavewaiteda
long time, and I think if we delay more thanthis, theywill lose their patience,”he said. “Wehave towin the trust of the people on all is- sues: fightingcorruption, fighting terrorism,providingessential ser- vices and protecting the state.” The Shiite incumbent also said
that failure to form an inclusive administration could prove disas- trous for Iraq, but he added, “If anyone decides not to join,we are ready to formitwithout them.” TheObama administrationhas
been pushing for a government that fairlyrepresentsall Iraq’seth- nic and religious groups,wanting to ensure stability as U.S. troops preparetoleaveandWashington’s influencewanes.Under the terms of the bilateral security agree- ment, Iraq could ask that U.S. forces stay longer than the end of next year — a scenario U.S. offi- cials appear to favor because it would allowthemto continue the strong partnership they have de- velopedwith Iraqi security forces. On Saturday, however, Maliki
implied that Iraq would be just
finewithoutU.S.militarymight. “TheIraqiarmy, theIraqipolice
and the Iraqi security services are capableof controllingthe security situation, and therefore the secu- rity agreement will stay,” he said, referring to the agreed-upon De- cember 2011 withdrawal date. “I do not feel that there is a need for the presence of any other interna- tional forces to assist the Iraqis in controllingthesecuritysituation.” Maliki’snominationcame after
a nine-part power-sharing agree- mentwas reachedamong the four largest elected political blocs. The accord includes a yet-to-be- formed council to be headed by his biggest rival, secular Shiite
AyadAllawi,whoremains thebig- gest question mark in the poten- tially difficult days ahead. Allawi hasmade it clear that if
Maliki does not honor the power- sharing agreement to his satisfac- tion he will not be part of the government. Secular and Sunni Arab Iraqis
largely backed Allawi’s Iraqiya bloc, which won more seats than any other bloc in the March par- liamentary elections. It is unclear whether the Sunni minority would view a government that does not include Allawi as legiti- mate. One of Iraqiya’s biggest challenges has been unity, and if Allawioptsnot toaccept thecoun- cil leadership post, others in his blocmight nevertheless staywith Maliki, observers say. Problems have already arisen.
During the new parliament’s sec- ond session on Nov. 11, in which the new speaker, Osama al-Nu- jaifi,andpresident,JalalTalabani,
“If anyone decides not to join [the
government], we are ready to form it without them.”
—Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki
were elected, most of Allawi’s Iraqiya blocwalked out to protest what theycalledbrokenpromises. They returned in the next session, however, and agreed to be part of the political process. The council that Allawi would
head cannot be formed until par- liament approves the legislation creating
it.Andwhenit is formed, any decision itmakeswill require at least 80 percent consensus, a difficult task for Iraq’s political groups to accomplish. “If it doesn’t have real power,
we’re not interested,” Allawi said of the proposed council in an in- terviewSaturday. Maliki will have to tread care-
fully as he tries to fulfill the prom- iseshehasmade, satisfyhispoliti- cal allies and form an inclusive government acceptable to his ri- vals. He has said that each party may nominate three of its mem- bers for each of theministry posts it has been assigned, but that he would have the final say on those selected—aconditionthatAllawi, who had claimed the right to be primeminister before finally con- ceding, says hewill not accept. Maliki has made clear that he
will proceed with or without Al- lawi.
fadell@washpost.com
Videotape shows foreigner seeking bribe from Afghan
Election commission identifies woman as vote monitor
BY JOSHUA PARTLOW ANDHABIB ZAHORI
kabul—Anelderly blondewom- an in glasses was videotaped ap- parently soliciting a bribe to ma- nipulate the results of Afghani- stan’s parliamentary election, the latest controversy to emerge from anincreasinglymessy vote. Two members of the election
commission identified the woman asKatonaMagdaNasrin,aHungar- ian who worked with the Founda- tion for Afghanistan. The group was registered as an observerwith theIndependentElectionCommis- sion to monitor the Sept. 18 vote. “What she has done is against the laws of Afghanistan,” said election commissioner Zekria Barekzai, adding that the Afghan govern- ment,workingthroughitsembassy inHungary, ispursuingthecase. The tape firstairedFridaynight
on the Emrooz television station, and a copy was obtained by The Washington Post. On the broad- cast, thewomanwas identified as workingforAfghanistan’sElector- alComplaintsCommission,which investigates voting fraud. A spokesman for that commission deniedthat shehadworkedthere. KatonaMagdaNasrincouldnot
immediately be reached for com- ment. In her role as an election
monitor, it isunclearwhatauthor- ity she would have to manipulate the vote tally. “She didn’t have anything to do with the result,’’ said Abdullah Ahmadzai, another electioncommissioner. The parliamentary election has
beenmarred bymany allegations of
fraudandcorruption.Theattor- ney general’s office has already arrested several people allegedly involvedinabribery scheme torig votes, and President Hamid Karzai’sofficehas suggestedanew roundof votingmighthave totake place incertainprovincesbecause of thewidespreadmalfeasance. Inthe video, thewomantells an
unidentified person that “I will take your complaints to them.” “Giveme this rightnow,butyou
have to getmemoremoney later,” she said. “Yes, even foreigners ac- cept bribes andmoney.” Shesaidshehadalreadyspoken
with election commissioners and would get in touch with them againinreturnforpayment. “I think we agreed on $8,000
and you still have to give the $6,000,” she said. “As I said, I will do my best, and we have enough time. I think your work will be done by 12 tonight.” Meanwhile, two suicide bomb-
ers dressed as policemen killed four officers in an attack on a training center in the eastern province of Paktia, the Reuters news service reported. Severalpeoplewerewounded.
partlowj@washpost.com
Habib Zahori is a special correspondent based inKabul.
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