Afghanistan Live: Barbock Accuses Federal Government of Failure

President Diakonie: You have to talk to the Taliban too

The president of Diakonie Deutschland, Ulrich Lilly, has spoken in favor of negotiating with the Taliban about safe escape routes from Afghanistan. “You also have to talk to the Taliban,” the president of the Evangelical Care Association said on the SWR broadcast: “You can not only demonize the Taliban in a black and white way, but of course we also have to see how we can find diplomatic solutions.” The goal is to maximize humanitarian opportunities. Lilly says this requires a lot of diplomatic sensitivity and “less hawkish policies”.

President Diakonie welcomed the fact that several German federal states meanwhile agreed to accept Afghan refugees. The Protestant theologian explained: “We still have well-established structures and resources since 2015, so we are certainly in no way confused by a few thousand people in this big country.” Helping the people is “the accursed duty and obligation of Germany after this devastating departure of the West from Afghanistan”.

Lilly called on the German government to work within the framework of the European Union to find emergency solutions for the reception of Afghan refugees and the resettlement programme, that is, a permanent right to stay. He named women at risk, human rights activists, and non-Muslims at risk. “We will see big movements of refugees,” Lilly said, stressing that Europe must take responsibility.