What they are saying about the deal: Part II

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We had a previous post on what prominent actors were saying about the lack of a decision (see here).  This is a follow up piece on responses to what is hopefully the decision that resolves the current crisis.

  • Ashraf Ghani: “Peace is our demand and, God willing, it will come…I and Dr. Abdullah are committed to the commitments we have made before the people.” (from The Washington Post here)
  • The White House (see Reuters here) : “This agreement marks an important opportunity for unity and increased stability in Afghanistan.  We continue to call on all Afghans – including political, religious, and civil society leaders – to support this agreement and to come together in calling for cooperation and calm.”
  • The Taliban spokesman in a statement release to reporters “Installing Ashraf Ghani and forming a bogus administration will never be acceptable to the Afghans…The Americans must understand that our soil and land belong to us and all decisions and agreements are made by Afghans, not by the U.S. foreign secretary or ambassador…We reject this American process and vow to continue our jihad until we free our nation from occupation and until we pave the way for a pure Islamic government.” (Reuters)
  • Nader Nadery Head of AREU and chairman of Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan: “Many people risked their lives to vote, some lost their lives, and this is a very bad precedent; to persuade people to come back and vote again will be very hard.” (quoted in this NYT article)
  • Halim Fadai, in charge of the observer team for Ghani: “The international community gives out democracy slogans while putting nails in the coffin of democracy of Afghanistan.”  (also quoted in this NYT article)
  • Karzai congratulating himself: “Our government and our structures today are a hundred times better than when I first took office,” Karzai said. “I had to micromanage everything when I first came. But now, the new president-elect could take over within hours of the Independent Election Commission’s (IEC) announcement.” (See Tolo)
  • NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen  “I look forward to the resolution of the electoral process with the announcement of the election outcome, the inauguration of a new President and appointment of a Chief Executive, and the conclusion of the necessary security agreements with the United States and NATO as soon as possible, as both candidates pledged in their joint message to the NATO Summit in Wales. This is key for the stability of Afghanistan and the continued support of the international community.”  (from Tolo)
  • Parliamentarian Qurban Ali Erfani: “Afghanistan’ enemies and neighboring countries … are waiting to see if this agreement brings a crisis.” (Reuters)

 

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