A senior Taliban official appeared at a mosque in Cologne on Thursday. An Afghan cultural association is said to have announced and organized the performance as a religious event. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser calls for clarification.
“The appearance of the Taliban representative in Cologne is completely unacceptable and must be strongly condemned. No one should offer radical Islamists a platform in Germany,” Faeser said on Saturday.
Afghan cultural association is not allowed to enter the building
Senior Taliban official Abdul Bari Omar appeared at a mosque in Cologne on Thursday. The umbrella organization DITIB distanced itself from the appearance and said that the “Afghan Cultural Association Cologne Meschenich” had announced and organized it as a religious event. The club has now been banned from entering the building.
The cultural association, in turn, announced that no club members were present at the performance and that a complaint had been filed for reputational damage.
In this video you see Abdul Bari Omar.
He was also a civil servant in the Netherlands
Omar had previously attended a World Health Organization (WHO) conference in The Hague. How the official was able to enter the country is now under investigation. Dutch Minister of Health Ernst Kuipers even had his photo taken with the Taliban representative. He said he regretted having his picture taken together. He didn’t know who it was. “Of course I do not want to be associated in any way with this terrible regime: I stand up for human rights and especially the rights of women.”
Here you see the photo of the official with the Dutch Minister of Health.
“We have absolutely no business in Germany”
German Interior Minister Faeser emphasized on Saturday that the Taliban are responsible for massive human rights violations. “In Germany we protect many refugees from Afghanistan against the oppressive rule of the Taliban. That is why Taliban officials have absolutely no place in Germany.”
No visa
The German Foreign Ministry also strongly condemned Omar’s actions on Friday. The trip had not been announced to them and the man had not obtained a visa before entering the country. According to the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of the Interior, he is the head of Afghanistan’s food and medicine authorities.
At the same time, the Ministry of the Interior in Dusseldorf stated that the Taliban would no longer be considered a criminal or terrorist organization since they came to power in Afghanistan in September 2021.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
