Diplomats from the U.S., Germany and Australia have been denied extended visas and are preparing to leave Afghanistan without having seen eight Western aid workers being held on charges of proselytizing, the State Department has said.
Since arriving in Kabul last week, the diplomats have been unable to see the eight members of the Shelter Now International assistance group who have been held in Kabul since August 6.
Deputy State Department spokesman Philip Reeker called the denial of access to those jailed "a violation of international norms."
The aid workers are accused of attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity, an act considered illegal by the Islamic Taliban. Sixteen Afghan aid workers have also been arrested.
Visas expire
Visas issued last week to the diplomats are due to expire Tuesday, and Taliban officials have refused to renew them.
In a statement released in Kabul, the diplomats said they will "return to Islamabad to continue our efforts to obtain consular access and to work for the speedy release of our citizens.
Reeker said the the Taliban have advised the consular officers to contact Taliban representatives in Islamabad to "learn when the investigations of the detained aid workers have been concluded."
He said the Taliban have assured the consular officers that the detainees are being treated well, and that Taliban officials passed along to the detainees the toiletries, food and letters from their families that were delivered by the diplomats last week.
"But that of course is insufficient," Reeker said. "What we want is access so that we can make those determinations ourselves."
This isn't a game of "Let's make a Deal," he said. "We want the Taliban to live up to international norms and obligations and grant our consular officers access".
Diplomats want another visa
State Department official said that once David Donahue, the U.S. consul general in Islamabad, and the other diplomats return, they will visit the Taliban representative there as a group "every day until they get another visa to return to Kabul and visit with the detainees."
Another State Department official said that the diplomats made no headway on hearing the charges against the detainees or an explanation as to how the case would be handled according to the Taliban's interpretation of its Islamic laws.
State Department officials said efforts to secure the aid workers' release are complicated by the lack of formal diplomatic relations with the Taliban, which the United States does not recognize as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
The Taliban, followers of an extremist religious movement, adhere to a strict brand of Islamic law.
According to another State Department official, Shelter Now has been known to be proselytizing for several years in Afghanistan.
Shelter Now is based in Germany. According to its Web site, the group has been working in Afghanistan and Pakistan for the past 20 years, helping refugees, distributing food, building mud homes and working on other aid projects. |
