Protests in Oslo as Taliban Arrive for Talks

Protests in Oslo as Taliban Arrive for Talks
Source: VCG

24-01-2022

Hanorah Hardy

Europe and Human Rights Researcher,

Global Human Rights Defence.



On the 22nd of January, a protest of around 200 people broke out in Oslo, Norway in response to the Taliban’s visit to the city. The Taliban were invited by the Norwegian Foreign Ministry from the 23rd to the 25th of January for delegation meetings with Norwegian authorities and representatives from the international community. The majority of the protestors were Afghan nationals At the protest, Shahia Soltani stated: “We do not want the Taliban here in Norway. They do not represent us. The Taliban is on the blacklist for terrorists in the United States. So why should we invite and negotiate with them?” [1]

The Norwegian authorities have firmly stated that the visit is not a recognition of the legitimacy of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anniken Huitfeldt, said: “It does not in any way imply any recognition of the coup that took place. We will make strong demands on the Taliban, but we do not know if they will implement them afterwards.” 

A spokesperson for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, stated “The Islamic Emirate has taken steps to meet the demands of the Western world and we hope to strengthen our relations through diplomatic ways with all countries, including the European countries and the West in general, and to transform the atmosphere of war, which we had previously, into a peaceful situation.”[3] This is the Taliban’s first official visit to the West since they seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. The Taliban will be urged to uphold human rights in Afghanistan in return to be able to access to billions of dollars in frozen humanitarian aid currently being held by Western states. However, protestors were not hopeful about any change. Ahman Yasir stated at the protest “The Taliban has not changed as some in the international community like to say, they are as brutal as they were in 2001 and before.” [4]

Notes:

[1] ‘Afghanistan: Taliban delegation's visit to Norway prompts protest in Oslo’. (2022, January 22). EuroNews. https://www.euronews.com/2022/01/22/afghanistan-taliban-delegation-s-visit-to-norway-prompts-protest-in-oslo 

[2] ‘Taliban delegation begins talks in Oslo’. (2022, January 23). AlJazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/23/taliban-delegation-arrives-in-norway-for-first-talks-with-west

[3] Agence France-Presse. (2022, January 21). Taliban delegation travel to Norway for human rights talks. The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/21/taliban-delegation-travel-to-norway-for-human-rights-talks 

[4] ‘Taliban, Western officials meet in Oslo to discuss Afghanistan’. (2022, January 24). AlJazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/24/taliban-western-officials-meet-near-oslo-to-discuss-afghanistan