A high-ranking Afghan Taliban official appeared in a mosque in Cologne, sparking harsh criticism. “We condemn the appearance of #Taliban representative Abdul Bari Omar in Köln in the strongest possible terms,” the Federal Foreign Office (AA) announced on Friday evening on the X platform (formerly Twitter). The trip was not announced to the AA and the man was not issued a visa before entering Germany. “We are examining further measures in close cooperation with the internal authorities and partners.”
The umbrella organization Ditib, to which the mosque heard, distanced himself from the appearance in the prayer house in the Chorweiler district on Thursday. The “Afghan Cultural Association Cologne Meschenich” organized the event, which was announced as religious. “Contrary to contractual agreement, this turned into a political event to which a speaker unknown to us was invited,” said Ditib Köln-Chorweiler. The club was banned from entering the building. “We are deeply disappointed that our trust has been exploited in such a way.”
The AA emphasized that the federal government Taliban don’t recognize. “As long as the Taliban in #Afghanistan blatantly trample on human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, there will be no normalization with the Taliban regime.”
The North Rhine-Westphalia State Chancellery also condemned the Taliban official’s appearance. “The fact that members of a radical organization like the Taliban spread their ideologies unfiltered on German soil is an unspeakable event,” a spokesman told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”. “All details of this matter must now be fully clarified.”
The Cologne CDU member of the Bundestag Serap Güler, who is a member of the parliament’s study commission to examine the Afghanistan mission, also criticized the matter. “This visit is shocking,” she told the Editorial Network Germany (RND). The Dititb headquarters must immediately explain how the appearance came about.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:231117-99-989249/2
A high-ranking Afghan Taliban official appeared in a mosque in Cologne, sparking harsh criticism. “We condemn the appearance of #Taliban representative Abdul Bari Omar in Köln in the strongest possible terms,” the Federal Foreign Office (AA) announced on Friday evening on the X platform (formerly Twitter). The trip was not announced to the AA and the man was not issued a visa before entering Germany. “We are examining further measures in close cooperation with the internal authorities and partners.”
2023-11-17 19:44:17
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