| |
|
|
|
|
|
||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
The Week in Germany: Politics November 18, 2005 Leaders vow resolve after suicide blast in Afghanistan German leaders this week pledged continued resolve in efforts to restore peace and stability in Afghanistan amid tributes to a German peacekeeper killed by suicide attackers in the capital Kabul.
Officials said the soldier died Monday after suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden car into vehicles belonging to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force during a routine patrol. The resulting blast also killed several Afghans and injured two Germans. Less than 90 minutes later, insurgents launched a separate attack on another ISAF convoy not far from the site of the original blast. German leaders including outgoing Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the attack showed that the fight for stability and security in Afghanistan had not yet been won. The aim of the terrorists is to sabotage reconstruction and democratization, a process that took a significant step forward with the recent conclusion of the country's first free parliamentary election, Fischer said in a statement. "These people must not and shall not succeed. Afghanistan can continue to count on the support of the Federal Government in future," said Fischer. The commander of the German ISAF contingent, General Hans-Christoph Ammon, echoed Fischer's comments at a memorial service for the fallen peacekeeper, saying: "We will not yield to the attackers, murderers, and hate preachers." "ISAF stands for hope and confidence in this oppressed country," Ammon said. "Let us see this loss we've been forced to bear as reason to increase our efforts even more." Germany's two main political parties, which are forming a bipartisan coalition government together, both strongly back the deployment of German troops in the UN-mandated peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. Parliament recently voted to extend Germany's participation in the mission for another year, agreeing to boost troop levels by up to 750 soldiers to a total force of up to 3,000 soldiers. Germany is already the leading contributor to the ISAF force, with approximately 2,375 troops on the ground now. Germany has been a leading backer of international efforts to help Afghanistan back onto its feet since a U.S.-led coalition toppled the brutal Taliban regime in 2001, including spearheading efforts to train a new Afghan police force at German-staffed academies. Links:
|
|
More from Germany.info  Newsletters
 Printer-Friendly
Page
Email This Article |
||
|
|||||
|
|||||
