{news} USGP-INT Release: Green Party of Canada enters 'debate' on Afghanistan (fwd)

[Justine McCabe]

> Green Party of Canada
> http://www.greenparty.ca/
> 
> News Release 
> For Immediate Release 
> 
> Green Party Enters 'Debate' on Afghanistan
> 
> (Kingston, Ontario, 18 April, 2006) - "The Green
> Party of Canada is opposed to extension of the
> Canadian military deployment to southern
> Afghanistan beyond the scheduled February 2007
> end date," said the Green Party's Foreign Affairs
> critic Eric Walton.
> 
> "Preventing the Taliban from recapturing power
> benefits the Afghan people and the international
> community," said Walton, "but we now need to
> shift training and security assistance to
> predominantly Muslim UN member nations. Also, we
> need to increase and better equip Afghan Army
> troops directly involved in counter-insurgency
> operations." 
> 
> The Green Party is concerned that the high
> profile of western nations in Afghanistan may be
> assisting the Taliban in recruiting new
> insurgents.
> 
> Unlike Iraq, the intervention in Afghanistan has
> a UN mandate. There are currently 52 nations in
> the UN with majority Muslim populations
> representing one quarter of the world's
> population.
> 
> The Green Party of Canada strongly supports
> enhancing Canada 's efforts to rebuild and
> strengthen Afghan society through long-term
> development and humanitarian and diplomatic
> assistance. 
> 
> Almost half of Afghanistan's citizens are
> children under the age of 15. The country has one
> of the highest percentages of widows and orphans
> in the world. The people of Afghanistan have
> suffered through 30 years of warfare and are in
> desperate need of development assistance and
> institutional capacity building, as well as basic
> human security.
> 
> 
> For more information:
> Derek Pinto
> Media Relations Officer
> 
> Authorized by the Chief Agent of the Green Party
> of Canada
> Information: media at greenparty.ca