Halting the conflict ” “

After eight days of intensive discussions, the Bonn conference finally reached an agreement on the future of Afghanistan, during the night between 3 and 4 December. The accord provides for the creation of an interim administration, headed by an executive composed of 29 members for a duration of six months. Under the terms of the accord the participants in the Conference “ask the UN Security Council to take into consideration as soon as possible the deployment of a UN-mandated force in Afghanistan. This force will contribute to the maintenance of security in Kabul and in its environs”. But while an agreement was reached in Bonn, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has once again erupted in the territories of the Holy Land. Just a few days earlier the alarm bells had been rung by the Jesuit review “La Civiltà Cattolica”: if the conflict in Afghanistan should long persist, wrote the assistant director Father Michele Simone , there is a “by no means improbable risk of the war being extended to other countries”. We interviewed him. You were right therefore. The conflict is spreading… “What’s happening in the Middle East underlines the need for the international community as a whole – beginning with the United Nations, the United States and Europe – to exert all possible pressure to stop this recourse to war which adds only suffering to the populations involved and risks causing a further enlargement of the conflict”. An enlargement towards what countries? “Towards some possible Arab countries, with the danger of triggering a chain reaction and striking other innocent populations”. Who should take the first step to stop the violence? “Above all those who believe that the problem can be solved by arms. If this past year has proved anything, it is that the continuous recourse to arms not only fails to solve the problem, but aggravates it”. From the diplomatic point of view, what way out from the impasse could be taken? “Diplomatic pressures of economic type could be brought to bear. Because the Palestinian national Authority has a need for aid from the Arab countries and from Europe, but Israel too is proportionately one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world due to its continuous military expenditure, especially in its relations with the United States”. In such a context, how important is the Bonn accord? “A final word on the matter can only be pronounced once the accord is put into practice. As we know, the various tribal groups present in Afghanistan are – beyond the proclamations – armed to the teeth against each other. From this point of view, the small – at least initial – size of the international pacification force seems to me a limitation. According to the terms of the accord, this force may intervene in Kabul and may be progressively extended to the other regions of the country, if necessary. I believe, however, that a larger deployment is necessary; otherwise the accord will not achieve its objective, which is that of defending the people and giving the country a government up to the task. This force must also help to ensure that the humanitarian aid of the international organizations reaches its intended beneficiaries. We know in fact that at the present time the conflicts between the rival Afghan factions do not permit the humanitarian convoys to enter the country. And people are starving. But to achieve all this, a good deal of time is needed “. What role may Europe play? “As regards the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, Europe all things considered is playing its part. By contrast, it has shown itself to be divided – even if the divisions are now being healed – with regard to the presence in Afghanistan. European foreign policy and military policy still remain to be constructed”. Chiara Biagioni