【Text/Observer Network Qi Qian】
At present, due to natural disasters and global supply chain problems and other factors, the living conditions of the Afghan people are facing serious uncertainty, and United Nations data shows that more than half of the country's population is in urgent need of humanitarian relief. However, at the open meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Afghanistan held on August 29, the United States, which has been slow to return huge overseas assets in Afghanistan, has beaten a rake, countering the "lackluster" assistance provided by China and Russia.
"Cynical and shocking!" In this regard, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations reprimanded the US representative for his unrepentant intentions and called on the United States to take responsibility and quickly return the "money stolen from the Afghans."
Ambassador Zhang Jun, our Permanent Representative to the United Nations, also shouted at the meeting that the United States should pay back the money, saying that the US freezing of Afghan overseas assets is "tantamount to depriving the Afghan people of life-saving money." Ambassador Zhang Jun also stressed that China's assistance to Afghanistan is real, does what it says, benefits ordinary people, and reflects equality and mutual respect.
On August 29, the United Nations Security Council held an open meeting on Afghanistan
According to the summary of the meeting published on the United Nations website, the representatives of the United States and Russia were at the beginning of the verbal session of the representatives of various countries.
"The United States says they came into Afghanistan to fight terrorism, but the reality is that the presence of U.S. forces has made Afghanistan a hotbed of terrorism and a sub-center of drug production," said Nebengia, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, adding that the United States and NATO are to blame for the current predicament in Afghanistan for 20 years of "irresponsible" Afghan war.
During that time, he said, the United States "fed the pockets of its Afghan puppets" with billions of dollars in investment and led to Afghanistan becoming a country dependent on external aid and unable to develop independently.
Nebengia further noted that while Afghanistan was experiencing a humanitarian and fiscal crisis, the United States and its allies "blocked Afghanistan's national financial resources and cut off the connection between the Afghan banking system and the Global Banking Financial Telecommunication Association (SWIFT)." He said the move pushed poor Afghans to the brink of collapse, forcing many of them to sell their organs and children to make ends meet.
Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Nebengia (infographic)
Hearing this, Thomas Greenfield, permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, did not give in, throwing the culprit of the afghan predicament to the Taliban regime, Russia and China first, and it is not the fault of the United States anyway.
Thomas Greenfield said the crisis in Afghanistan was due to the Taliban regime's weak governance, the most serious of which was "the oppression and abuse of women and girls." She also accused the Taliban of recent obstruction of the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Subsequently, she began to talk about U.S. aid, "the United States will not give up, nor will it stand idly by." According to her, the United States is a major donor to Afghanistan, providing $775 million in humanitarian assistance to Afghans last year.
Thomas Greenfield then went on to refute Russia's skepticism and rake back, claiming that Russia would only criticize others without helping and China that "China's contribution has been similarly underwhelming."
Thomas Greenfield has repeatedly stressed that the United States will not unfreeze Afghan overseas assets because "the Taliban will not use this money to safeguard the well-being of the Afghan people." She also suggested that countries should "put their money to the knife's edge" when providing assistance.
According to the Russian News Agency, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations Nebengia made a face-to-face response to the statement of the US representative.
"Judging by the lengthy speculation of our American counterparts, this may be seen as an appeal to Russia and China to pay for the restoration of Afghanistan," Nebengia said, adding that the U.S. representative believes that "now is the United States and its allies paying for everything, while Russia and China will only talk emptyly."
"This kind of cynicism is simply shocking!" Nebengia said.
He accused the United States, far from admitting its mistakes and trying to remedy them, accused others of being "unwilling to pay for other people's bills," while calling on the United States to pay for its own 20 years of wrong wars and return the money stolen from the Afghans.
"Our dear former Western partner, you must pay for your mistakes. First of all, you have to return to them the money you stole from the Afghan people... We suggest that you focus on paying the bills for the Afghan people for 20 years, because your senseless occupation has destroyed Afghanistan and left the Afghan people on the brink of survival. ”
Thomas Greenfield, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, from the website of the United States Embassy
In August 2021, after the Afghan Taliban took control of the capital, much foreign aid was interrupted, and the United States froze about $9.5 billion in assets of the Central Bank of Afghanistan (about $7 billion in the United States, the rest in Germany, the United Arab Emirates and other countries). The move has exacerbated Afghanistan's resilient economy. The Afghan Taliban have repeatedly asked the United States to unfreeze funds, but the United States has refused.
It is worth mentioning that on August 10, more than 70 well-known economists and other scholars jointly sent a letter to US President Biden and Treasury Secretary Yellen, demanding that the United States return about $7 billion of frozen assets in Afghanistan to solve the severe social crisis that Afghanistan is currently facing. The appeal was rejected by the U.S. government on the grounds that Atta had not fulfilled its commitment to "not harbour terrorist organizations."
Recently, Afghanistan has been hit by natural disasters such as earthquakes, droughts and floods, coupled with global supply chain problems and other factors, the country's food prices have risen, inflation has intensified, and the living conditions of the people are facing serious uncertainty.
Currently, more than half of Afghanistan's population (about 24 million people) need humanitarian assistance, about 25 million people live in poverty, and unemployment could reach 40 percent, according to UN data. Meanwhile, massive international aid has been interrupted for a year, and Afghanistan's humanitarian response plan faces a funding gap of $3.14 billion.
At the open meeting on Afghanistan on the 29th, Ambassador Zhang Jun, our Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said that the war in Afghanistan launched by the United States and NATO under the banner of "democratic transformation" did not bring peace, stability and prosperity, and ultimately left only a country full of holes and fragments. Despite the withdrawal of foreign troops, the effects of the war continue, and the Afghan people continue to suffer the consequences on all fronts.
He pointed out that the countries concerned should have seriously reflected and corrected their mistakes in a timely manner, rather than shrugging their shoulders and walking away. Regrettably, however, instead of shouldering their due responsibilities, the countries concerned have resorted to cutting off development assistance, freezing Afghan assets and isolating them through political blockades. This is not only a evasion of responsibility and abandonment of the Afghan people, but also a continuation of mistakes and exacerbation of the suffering of the Afghan people. What is even more puzzling is that we do not see any humility of reflection and sincerity of correcting mistakes, but instead maliciously accuse and attack others.
Ambassador Zhang Jun stressed that China is The largest neighbor of Afghanistan, has always firmly supported the peaceful and stable development of Afghanistan, and has always made great efforts to this end. Since the beginning of the winter last year, the Chinese government has provided emergency assistance of 300 million yuan to Afghanistan, importing more than 1,400 tons of Afghan pine nuts through the "Pine Nuts Air Corridor", helping the Afghan people, including many housewives, to generate income and increase income. In addition to contributing to the United Nations Humanitarian Response Plan for Afghanistan, China is implementing and will continue to implement the announced 1 billion yuan of bilateral assistance, and actively expand economic and trade cooperation with Afghanistan and promote Afghanistan's integration into regional cooperation. China's assistance to Afghanistan is real, it does what it says, it benefits ordinary people, and it embodies equality and mutual respect.
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