Taliban Has Turned Afghanistan Into Islamic North Korea, Says Former French Ambassador
David Martinon, the former French ambassador to Afghanistan, has stated that the Taliban has turned Afghanistan into an "Islamic North Korea".
David Martinon, the former French ambassador to Afghanistan, has stated that the Taliban has turned Afghanistan into an "Islamic North Korea".
Martinon added that he is not optimistic about a change in the situation in Taliban-dominated Afghanistan in the short term.
In an interview with a newspaper about the documentary "The Collapse of Kabul", Martinon said that the Taliban is in full control of Afghanistan today and there is no serious internal opposition against it except for ISIS-K, which is a bloodthirsty group.
The documentary is an adaptation of David Martinon's book titled "The 15 Days That Transformed Kabul".
The French diplomat, who is now France's ambassador to South Africa, added that the Taliban's opponents, including Ahmad Massoud, are facing difficulties.
In a part of the interview, he said, "The Taliban has created fear inside the country. They are cruel and have made women's living conditions even more difficult. Women no longer have access to public spaces, education and medical education. Even in their homes, they are not allowed to have windows facing out. There is no better description of this situation of women and girls as domestic slavery."
He considered the fall of Kabul not only a defeat for the democratic international community, but also for the Afghan political class, adding, "After 20 years of efforts and investment, Afghanistan has not been able to achieve independence and stability."
Martinon also recalled the difficult days before the withdrawal from Kabul and said that the French embassy team had carried out the evacuation operations accurately and quickly in anticipation of the fall of the government.
He described tough decisions, such as opening the embassy doors to rescue hundreds of Afghans at risk, as one of the most critical moments of his mission.
The French-titled documentary "Kabul Chaos", written and directed by Thomas Brémond, David Périssère, Nils Montel & Myriam Weil, recounts the events of Martinon and his team's three-year mission in Kabul until their departure in August 2021.
The documentary, which was made using various archives and interviews, is scheduled to be broadcast on January 31.
David Martinon said that Afghanistan has been plunged into darkness under Taliban rule and has an uncertain future, but he still hopes that one day the French diplomatic mission in Afghanistan will be resumed.
