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A30    world news
               Diaranson 16 Februari 2022

                            Six months of Taliban: Afghans safer, poorer, less hopeful


            (AP)  —  Afghanistan  has                                                              those in the higher grades are
            undergone  a  dramatic                                                                 still locked out in most parts  “9/11 had nothing to do with
            transformation  in  half  a                                                            of  the  country.  The  Taliban  Afghans,”  one  placard  read.
            year of Taliban rule.                                                                  promised  all  girls  will  be  in  “Shame  Shame  Mr.  Biden,
                                                                                                   school after the Afghan new  you kill us, you bomb us and
            The  country  feels  safer,  less                                                      year  at  the  end  of  March.  now you steal our money.”
            violent than it has in decades,                                                        Universities are gradually re-
            but the once aid-fueled econ-                                                          opening and private universi-  Tuesday’s  was  the  largest
            omy is barreling toward col-                                                           ties and schools never closed.  demonstration yet against the
            lapse.  Tens  of  thousands  of                                                                                     order  and  was  organized  by
            Afghans  have  fled  or  have                                                          Poverty  is  deepening.  Even  an umbrella group of private
            been  evacuated,  including                                                            those who have money have  money dealers.
            large  numbers  of  educated                                                           a  hard  time  accessing  it.  At
            elites.  They  either  fear  for                                                       banks, lines are long as resi-  The Taliban have campaigned
            their economic future or lack                                                          dents  wait  for  hours,  some-  for  international  recognition
            of  freedom  under  a  group                                                           times even days, to withdraw  of  their  all-male,  all-Taliban
            that  ascribes  to  a  strict  in-                                                     a limit of $200 a week.      government, but they are be-
            terpretation  of  Islam.  Dur-                                                                                      ing  pressed  to  create  an  in-
            ing  its  previous  rule  in  the                                                      More  than  $9  billion  in  Af-  clusive  administration  and
            late 1990s, the Taliban barred                                                         ghanistan’s  foreign  assets  guarantee the rights of wom-
            girls from school and women                                                            were frozen after the Taliban  en and religious minorities.
            from work.                                                                             takeover.  Last  week,  Presi-
                                                                                                   dent Joe Biden signed an ex-  Graeme Smith, a senior con-
            Tuesday  marks  six  months  ter  initially  shedding  them  The  Taliban  have  cracked  ecutive  order  that  promised  sultant  for  the  International
            since  the  Afghan  capital  of  for  the  traditional  shalwar  down  on  women’s  protests  $3.5 billion — out of $7 bil-  Crisis  Group’s  Asia  Pro-
            Kabul was ceded to the Tal-  kameez,  the  long  shirt  and  and  harassed  journalists,  in-  lion  of  Afghanistan’s  assets  gram,  warned  against  using
            iban  with  the  sudden  and  baggy  pants  favored  by  the  cluding briefly detaining two  frozen  in  the  United  States  sanctions,  saying  that  would
            secret departure of the coun-  Taliban.                   foreign  journalists  working  — would be given to families  backfire.
            try’s  U.S.-backed  president.                            with the U.N. refugee agen-  of  America’s  9/11  victims.
            The  takeover  of  Kabul  had  Unlike in the 1990s, the Tal-  cy last week.            The other $3.5 billion would  “Keeping  economic  pres-
            been preceded by a months-   iban are allowing some wom-                               be freed for Afghan aid.     sure on the Taliban will not
            long  Taliban  military  cam-  en to work. Women are back  On  Monday,  the  detention                              get  rid  of  their  regime,  but
            paign to take control of pro-  in their jobs in the health and  of  some  young  men  selling  Afghans  across  the  political  a  collapsing  economy  could
            vincial areas, many of which  education ministries, as well  heart-shaped  flowers  in  rec-  spectrum  have  decried  the  lead  to  more  people  fleeing
            fell with hardly a fight.    as at Kabul International Air-  ognition  of  Valentine’s  Day  order,  accusing  the  U.S.  of  the country, sparking another
                                         port, often next to men. But  was a stark reminder that the  taking money that belongs to  migration crisis” he said. He
            Today,  the  sight  of  armed  women are still waiting to re-  new all-male religion-driven  Afghans.               also noted that this round of
            Taliban fighters roaming the  turn to work in other minis-  administration  has  no  toler-                         Taliban rule “probably ranks
            street  still  jars  and  frightens  tries. Thousands of jobs have  ance for Western ideas of ro-  On Tuesday, about 3,000 Af-  as  the  most  peaceful  six-
            residents.  But  women  have  been  lost  in  the  economic  mance.                    ghans in the capital protested  month  period  that  Afghani-
            returned  to  the  streets,  and  downward spiral, and wom-                            Biden’s  order  carrying  plac-  stan has enjoyed in four de-
            many  young  men  have  put  en have been hit hardest.    Girls in grades one to six have  ards calling “Biden the world  cades.”
            on Western clothes again af-                              been  going  to  school,  but  thief of 2022.”


                       UK Post Office inquiry hears from workers wrongfully accused


            (AP)  —  A  public  inquiry  theft, fraud or false account-  more  than  700  postal  work-  gest miscarriages of justice in  hearing  Monday  that  the
            begins  Monday  to  examine  ing because of a faulty com-  ers were wrongfully accused,  British legal history.     inquiry  was  not  about  “an
            the  wrongful  convictions  of  puter system.             with  some  convicted  and                                IT  project  gone  wrong”  but
            hundreds  of  British  postal                             sent to prison. The mistakes  The  failures  were  blamed  about the devastating impact
            workers who were accused of  Between  2000  and  2014,  represented  one  of  the  big-  on  a  defective  computer  ac-  the failures had on those it af-
                                                                                                   counting system called Hori-  fected.
                                                                                                   zon that was installed in local
                                                                                                   Post Office branches in 1999.  “Lives  were  ruined,  fami-
                                                                                                   The  system  was  supplied  lies torn apart, families were
                                                                                                   by  the  Japanese  technology  made  homeless  or  destitute.
                                                                                                   firm Fujitsu. The Post Office  Reputations were destroyed,”
                                                                                                   maintained for years that data  Beer said.
                                                                                                   from  Horizon  was  reliable
                                                                                                   and  accused  branch  manag-  The inquiry was “about peo-
                                                                                                   ers  of  dishonesty  when  the  ple whose mental and physi-
                                                                                                   system  showed  money  was  cal health has been impacted,
                                                                                                   missing.                     people  whose  marriages  and
                                                                                                                                partnerships  have  deterio-
                                                                                                   In  April,  the  Court  of  Ap-  rated or failed, about people
                                                                                                   peal  overturned  the  wrong-  who  thought  about  taking
                                                                                                   ful  convictions  of  39  people  their own lives and in some
                                                                                                   who  ran  local  post  offices.  cases  took  their  own  lives,”
                                                                                                   Those who had their names  he said.
                                                                                                   cleared  included  Harjinder
                                                                                                   Butoy,  who  was  convicted  The  inquiry  will  hear  from
                                                                                                   of  stealing  about  200,000  those  most  affected  by  the
                                                                                                   pounds ($270,000) and jailed  IT  failings  and  examine  the
                                                                                                   for more than three years in  conduct  of  the  Post  Office,
                                                                                                   2008.                        as  well  as  whether  affected
                                                                                                                                workers  have  been  rightly
                                                                                                   Lawyer  Jason  Beer  told  the  compensated.
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