It was a colorful scene at the Beethoven Hall in Bonn, the former West German capital, on the weekend. Among the delegates at a forum ahead of the Afghanistan conference were some wearing ties, some with smartly-trimmed red coats without headscarves and village elders wearing turbans and long beards.

The 18 men and 16 women representing Afghanistan's civil society took the opportunity to express their pride in the country's achievements since 2001: new freedoms in the world of work for women, progress in health and education and freedom for the press and media.

The delegates were gathered in Bonn to represent the voices of those who were once oppressed, or at best ignored. Many of them spent years in prison, or had simply been dismissed for their beliefs.

"Afghan civil society is in a better situation that it was two years ago," said delegate Sayed R. Sattar. "At that time we were not involved in the international conferences about Afghanistan and we had no right to speak at them. Now, we have been able to choose our representatives - half from the provinces as many again and from social organizations."

Ongoing commitment

The announcement that Germany and other NATO troops are to withdraw their troops in 2014 has been a dominant feature of the talks at the Bonn forum. On one hand, delegates see it as a chance to assume greater sovereignty. On the other hand, many Afghans worry the withdrawal will leave the field open for the Taliban and warlords to take over. The issue was addressed by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.

"We guarantee to you that we will not leave Afghanistan alone after 2014," said Westerwelle. "We are not simply going to close our eyes and say goodbye. Instead, we will continue to show solidarity after the transition phase."

Some of the delegates, like Azizeh Khairandaish, a human rights activist and delegate for the province of Herat, remained skeptical about the withdrawal.

"Next year is already 2012 - there are only two years left until 2014. I do not believe Afghanistan will be able to stand on its own feet by then," she said. "The international community will therefore have to continue its support."

Barialai Omarzai, a delegate for Kabul, pointed out the connection between the economic situation and possible Islamist radicalization.

"It's a fact that a bad economic situation contributes to radicalization," said Omarzai. "Young people follow the Taliban as a result of poverty and unemployment, in order to fight against the government."

Criticism of the conference

The broader scope of Afghanistan's civil society, beyond the 34 official delegates, was something that also had to be recognized, according to Sayed Mahmud of Kabul. He was not chosen as one of the delegates.

"Our grouping is against the Bonn conference because - to some extent - the delegates who really want democracy and reconstruction have not been invited," said Mahmud.

Many of the delegates complained of a lack of transparency in the awarding of aid projects, something seen as strengthening corruption rather than combating it. In addition, the rights of women have been greatly affected by corruption.

"Bribes are commonplace in Afghanistan," said Khairandaish. "And because women often have no control over money, they are the ones that lose out."

A proposal was made to make the 34 delegates the nucleus of a new controlling authority for greater transparency. But despite this, there was some disappointment in the results of the forum for Afghanistan expert Thomas Ruttig.

"I think the Afghan guests, while very polite, could have put forward their demands a bit more decisively," he said. "If you look closely, you notice that the importance of issues here is significantly different from those issues normally administered by the government."

The 34 delegates will continue to hold discussions until Monday. Then, two of their spokespeople will sit as representatives at the official conference of foreign ministers itself to put forward their concerns.

Author: Martin Gerner, Wasla Hasrat-Nazimi / rc
Editor: Martin Kuebler