HRW, October 2001: Human Rights Watch urges that no assistance be given to any group or coalition that includes commanders with an unremedied record of serious violations of international humanitarian law standards, including .... Haji Muhammad Muhaqiq, a senior commander of the Shi'a Hazara party Hizb-i Wahdat....
“By inviting the former warlord Haji Mohammed Mohaqeq to Berlin, the German government demonstrates once again that it supports the wrong concepts, the wrong instruments, and the wrong people”, explains MP Heike Hänsel. The spokes woman for development politics of the LEFT PARTY parliamentary group announced that she and her fellow MPs would establish a support network for democratic groups in Afghanistan:
“The parliamentary group THE LEFT wants to help build a support network for democratic people and organizations in Afghanistan, in order to give those brave men and women a voice, who peacefully, often by risking their lives, struggle for a democratic development, against occupation, against warlord structures and against fundamentalism. Unfortunately, these democratic organizations and individuals are little known but they need our solidarity.” A week ago, the parliamentary group had invited the Afghan woman’s rights activist Zoya to Berlin who also participated in the peace protests against the war in Afghanistan. Recently, the parliamentary group had hosted the Afghan parliamentarian and woman’s rights activist Malalai Joya.
However, the democratic groups in Afghanistan have so far not received any support by the German government. Instead, the ministry of economic cooperation and development invites a former warlord from the Afghan civil war (1992-1996) for a luncheon. In the 1990s, Haji Mohammad Mohaqeq was a commander in the civil war. He has allegedly been involved in numerous attacks on civilians and is being accused of having executed extremely cruel torture practices against prisoners. Mohaqeq is an example of how warlords from the civil war have risen to partners of the occupation and the Karzai government.
In its invitation to the member of the committee of economic cooperation and development, the Ministry defines this man as a strategically important partner. I will, of course, not take part in this luncheon. And I ask the German government to fundamentally change its strategy in Afghanistan: Warlords and individuals who have allegedly committed war crimes cannot be partners for a peaceful, democratic development in Afghanistan. Instead, we have to provide the democratic, secular organizations and persons with strong political support.