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98258
Tue, 01/05/2010 - 13:54
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ANALYSIS -- German Protestant Church takes lead role against Afghan war
Berlin, Jan 5, IRNA -- Head of the German Protestant Church Margot Kaessmann has assumed a lead role against her country's participation in disputed NATO-led military campaign in Afghanistan, triggering fierce criticism by mainly conservative political leaders.
Kaessmann has called for the withdrawal of German soldiers from Afghanistan, saying the war was "not justified."
Talking to the daily Hannoverschen Allgemeinen Zeitung, the 51-year-old religious leader said that German soldiers had to be withdrawn from the war-stricken country "as soon as possible."
Kaessmann expressed "despair" over the fact that military means had been prioritized in the Afghan conflict.
"As the Protestant church, we say that such a mission can only be justified if the civilian aspect clearly dominates it," she told the Bild newspaper.
"But the dominance of the civilian aspect has long since been called into question in the Bundeswehr's (German Army) mission. And it will be completely destroyed if Germany sends further troops to Afghanistan," Kaessmann went on to say.
The female bishop reaffirmed her viewpoint in a sermon on New Year's Day.
"Nothing is right in Afghanistan. All these strategies have just obscured that soldiers are using their guns and even killing civilians. We need people who are not paralyzed by the logic of war, but present a clear witness for peace," Kaessmann was quoted saying.
"I am not naive. However, weapons do not apparently create peace in Afghanistan. We need more imagination to pursue peace as well as other forms of tackling conflicts," she added.
Although most Germans agree with her anti-Afghan war stance, Kaessmann has faced a barrage of attacks by senior conservative politicians, among them key political allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"Kaessmann shouldn't overlook the fact that that the Bundeswehr (German Army) is in Afghanistan on a mandate from the United Nations," Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview with the Sunday daily Welt am Sonntag.
The minister's remarks were echoed by the chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, Ruprecht Polenz who said, "Kaessmann is making it too easy for herself when she conveys the message that one could pull out of Afghanistan in the short term without making oneself guilty."
Reacting to the stinging criticism by conservatives, Kaessmann told the Bild newspaper she had had never advocated an immediate pullout of German forces.
"But it's clear for our church that we need a recognizable plan for the withdrawal, we need an exit strategy," she said.
Sending ever more troops is evidently not the solution and won't bring lasting peace," the bishop added.
A spokesman for Merkel acknowledged that there was a "difference of opinion" on the issue of the Afghan war between the government and the Protestant church.
"There is a difference of view here. Just as we respect the opinions of others, those who never had and do not have an easy time deciding to send to troops to Afghanistan are entitled to receive some respect," Christoph Steegmans told media representatives in Berlin.
He stressed every military mission involved ethical dilemmas and the bishop should give the government more credit.
The Afghan has turned into a major political problem for the center-right German government in the wake of the September 4 German-ordered NATO airstrike which killed dozens of civilians.
Confronted with intense US pressure to send more German troops to Afghanistan, Berlin has reportedly voiced strong reservations about such a move.
Germany has repeatedly made clear it would await the outcome of the London meeting on January 28 before committing more soldiers to Afghanistan.
Around 4,500 German troops are deployed in mainly northern Afghanistan and Kabul as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)./end
Kaessmann has called for the withdrawal of German soldiers from Afghanistan, saying the war was "not justified."
Talking to the daily Hannoverschen Allgemeinen Zeitung, the 51-year-old religious leader said that German soldiers had to be withdrawn from the war-stricken country "as soon as possible."
Kaessmann expressed "despair" over the fact that military means had been prioritized in the Afghan conflict.
"As the Protestant church, we say that such a mission can only be justified if the civilian aspect clearly dominates it," she told the Bild newspaper.
"But the dominance of the civilian aspect has long since been called into question in the Bundeswehr's (German Army) mission. And it will be completely destroyed if Germany sends further troops to Afghanistan," Kaessmann went on to say.
The female bishop reaffirmed her viewpoint in a sermon on New Year's Day.
"Nothing is right in Afghanistan. All these strategies have just obscured that soldiers are using their guns and even killing civilians. We need people who are not paralyzed by the logic of war, but present a clear witness for peace," Kaessmann was quoted saying.
"I am not naive. However, weapons do not apparently create peace in Afghanistan. We need more imagination to pursue peace as well as other forms of tackling conflicts," she added.
Although most Germans agree with her anti-Afghan war stance, Kaessmann has faced a barrage of attacks by senior conservative politicians, among them key political allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"Kaessmann shouldn't overlook the fact that that the Bundeswehr (German Army) is in Afghanistan on a mandate from the United Nations," Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview with the Sunday daily Welt am Sonntag.
The minister's remarks were echoed by the chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, Ruprecht Polenz who said, "Kaessmann is making it too easy for herself when she conveys the message that one could pull out of Afghanistan in the short term without making oneself guilty."
Reacting to the stinging criticism by conservatives, Kaessmann told the Bild newspaper she had had never advocated an immediate pullout of German forces.
"But it's clear for our church that we need a recognizable plan for the withdrawal, we need an exit strategy," she said.
Sending ever more troops is evidently not the solution and won't bring lasting peace," the bishop added.
A spokesman for Merkel acknowledged that there was a "difference of opinion" on the issue of the Afghan war between the government and the Protestant church.
"There is a difference of view here. Just as we respect the opinions of others, those who never had and do not have an easy time deciding to send to troops to Afghanistan are entitled to receive some respect," Christoph Steegmans told media representatives in Berlin.
He stressed every military mission involved ethical dilemmas and the bishop should give the government more credit.
The Afghan has turned into a major political problem for the center-right German government in the wake of the September 4 German-ordered NATO airstrike which killed dozens of civilians.
Confronted with intense US pressure to send more German troops to Afghanistan, Berlin has reportedly voiced strong reservations about such a move.
Germany has repeatedly made clear it would await the outcome of the London meeting on January 28 before committing more soldiers to Afghanistan.
Around 4,500 German troops are deployed in mainly northern Afghanistan and Kabul as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)./end
