UNITED NATIONS OPEN NEW AFGHAN OFFICE IN TEHRAN
TEHRAN 15TH May. (IPS) The United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan warned neighbouring nations against meddling in the Afghan conflict and urged them to be "aware" of the negative impact of such interference.
The "friendly advise" was delivered Sunday by Mr. Francisc Vendrell during the official inauguration of a new UN's Special Mission for Afghanistan (UNSMA) in Tehran to supervise more closely the situation in this war-torn Asian nation.
Describing the situation in Afghanistan as "very difficult, very complex" but "not desperate" Mr. Vendrell said the people were "tired" by more than 20 years of wars and destruction and hoped "desperately" for a lasting solution to the internal conflict.
"The countries in the region are aware, or at least are increasingly getting aware, that unless there is peace in Afghanistan consequences for their countries could be extremely negative", he told the official Iranian news agency IRNA.
In his view, the first thing that the neighbouring countries can do is to stop interfering in a negative sense, to stop providing any kind of weapons assistance, war materials of any kind to the Afghan parties
"At the moment, there is not enough trust among outside countries, that if one side stops sending arms, the other side will also stop. This mistrust is one of things we have to overcome", he added.
Asked about the Afghan refugees and their voluntary return to their homeland from Iran and Pakistan, the UN Representative noted that it would be very difficult to resolve the problem without peace.
Mr. Vendrell explained that the decision by the United Nations to open a new Afghan mission based in Iran was to better supervise and co-ordinate UN and other international agencies operation for Afghanistan.
He said since the situation in Afghanistan do not allow such an office working there properly and considering the fact that the existing similar office in Islam Abad can not handle all the afghan-related problems, it was therefore "normal" that a new office to be opened in Iran, a country that plays an important role in afghanistan.
He presented Mr. Jean Pierre Castella as the Head of the Tehran office, saying that adding that the Tehran office will function both as a liaison office and in complement the one in Pakistan.
The ceremony was attended by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for International Affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Head of the Foreign Ministry's Afghanistan Head-Quarters Mohammad Ebrahim Taherian, UN officials in Iran, several European diplomats and representatives of international agencies as well as leaders of some Afghan factions represented in Iran, the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
The aim of opening regional offices is to collect scattered relief donations coming from all over the world for the people of Afghanistan, Mr. Vendrell said.
He described as "positive" the last meeting organised in Jeddah by the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) between the ruling Taleban and the Iranian-backed Northern Alliance and hoped that the next session, to be held at the end of this month to bear more fruits in closing the gap between to two sides.
In the last meeting, the Saudi-Pakistan-supported Taleban who controls more than 85 per cent of the Afghan territory and the Northern Alliance agreed on an exchange of prisoners but failed to proclaim a cease-fire.
In a brief talk to English Desk of IRNA, Taherian termed the opening of the Tehran office as a positive step forward and expressed his hope that the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the current chairman of the OIC and a neighbour of Afghanistan, could help achieve closer co-ordination and co-operation between the Jeddah-based OIC and the U.N.
"Iran has a decisive influence in achieving serious co-operation among international organisations and humanitarian agencies in the effort to alleviate the agonies of the Afghan people", Taherian pointed out.
After years of one-sided policy in Afghanistan where Iran, under the impulsion of Ayatollah Ali Khameneh'i, had placed all it's eggs in the basket of the Afghan Shi'a minority, Tehran shifted position following the fall of Mazar Sharif, the Alliance's stronghold at the hands of the Taleban and the assassination of 9 Iranian diplomats and a journalist at the Iranian consulate there.
The killing brought the two neighbours to the brink of war, but Iran retracted, fearing backlash and turmoil inside.
Though Tehran continue not to recognise the Taleban, yet relations have improved in the past months, with Iran opening borders and sending much needed goods for the poverty stricken Afghan people while negotiating with Taleban representatives on bilateral basis both in Kabul and in international functions.
"The prospects for peace in Afghanistan are not bright in terms of early settlement", he told IRNA
However, he said he was not totally pessimistic about the chances of reaching a peace settlement."
Meanwhile Libya also offered Sunday to help in bringing peace to Afghanistan and also showed willingness to contribute to reconstruction of the war-torn country.
The offer was made by the visiting Libyan Foreign Minister who met the Pakistani leader General Parviz Mosharraf in Islam Abad before the latter's departure for Turkmenistan.
Expressing Tripoli's concern and sympathy over the sufferings of the people of Afghanistan, according to an official press release, Mr. Abdol Rahman Shalqam expressed "his country's readiness to contribute to the restoration of peace in Afghanistan and the reconstruction of the war-devastated country", the daily Dawn reported
He also lent Tripoli's support to Islamabad's effort to resume peace talks with New Delhi and hoped that both India and Pakistan would be able to resolve Kashmir dispute on the basis of the UN resolutions. ENDS AFQAN TEHRAN OFFICE 15500