“Don’t turn blind eye” Plaid urge UK Government and international community as Afghanistan crisis escalates

In a joint statement, Plaid Cymru MPs Liz Saville Roberts MP, Hywel Williams MP and Ben Lake MP said,

“After twenty years, over a quarter of a million civilians lives lost, thousands displaced, 457 British soldiers dead – with many more at home suffering from both mental and physical injuries because of this bitter war, the world looks on in horror at the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Afghanistan. The implications for Afghanistan’s civilians will be horrific – not least for women and girls who, according to reports, are already being denied access to education, work, basic freedoms, and civil rights with brutal and draconian restrictions being placed upon them. 

“The UK Government has a responsibility to provide refuge to all the Afghan people who served alongside British forces who are now at risk of being targeted by the Taliban, including interpreters, Afghans trained as special forces, and those people who set up schools for girls and helped NGOs. They must also urgently arrange visas for those 35 Afghans who are due to start scholarships at UK universities within weeks but have now been told their places have been suspended because their visas cannot be arranged in time.

“We urge the UK Government and the international community not to turn a blind eye and to stand by their obligations and press any future Afghan government to protect and sustain progressive gains made in justice and education.