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AFGHANISTAN

‘Time is running out’: Spain warns it will have to leave people behind in Afghanistan

Spain will not be able to rescue all Afghans who served Spanish missions in Afghanistan because of the "dramatic" situation on the ground, Defence Minister Margarita Robles said Tuesday.

Published: 24 August 2021 13:01 CEST
'Time is running out': Spain warns it will have to leave people behind in Afghanistan
Military personnel help an Afghan family after a second evacuation airplane carrying Afghan collaborators and their families landed at Spain's Torrejon de Ardoz air base. Photo: Mariscal/Pool/AFP

Robles said Taliban checkpoints and violence were making it difficult for people to reach Kabul airport to catch one of the daily flights on a Spanish military plane out of the country.

“We will evacuate as many people as possible but there are people who will stay behind for reasons that do not depend on us, but on the situation there,” Robles said during an interview with news radio Cadena Ser.

“It is a very frustrating situation for everyone, because even those who reach Kabul, access to the airport is very complicated,” she added.

“The Taliban are becoming more aggressive, there is gunfire, violence is more obvious,” she said.

“The situation is frankly dramatic and besides with each passing day it is worse because people are conscious that time is running out.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (L) and Minister of Defence Margarita Robles. Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP

Spain has been evacuating its nationals and local contractors from Afghanistan via Dubai since the Taliban swept to power ten days ago.

Madrid has so far evacuated just over 700 people from Afghanistan but Robles said there were still “many people” who feared Taliban reprisal who needed to leave.

“We will keep trying until the end,” she added.

The Spanish government has consistently declined to give a figure for the total number of people it planned to take out of Afghanistan.

US President Joe Biden has set an August 31 deadline to finish the chaotic airlift organised by thousands of temporarily deployed US and UK troops, but has left the door open to an extension if needed.

However, a spokesman for the Taliban warned Monday the hardline Islamist group would not agree to any extension.

Asked if Biden should extend the deadline for US troops to leave Kabul, Robles declined to comment, saying only that she was focused on Spain’s evacuation operation.

But during an interview with private television La Sexta on Monday, she said Spain could only carry out its evacuation flights as long as Kabul airport is “controlled” by US troops.

A child waves an Afghan flag during a demonstration called by “Ca la Dona” feminist association in support of Afghan women and girls, in Barcelona on August 18th. Photo: Lluis Gené/AFP

Another 420 people are expected to arrive in Spain on Tuesday, the minister said.

They include 290 people who are already in Dubai and 130 who are expected to leave on a Spanish military plane from Kabul, she added.

In addition, Spain has agreed to host up to 4,000 Afghans who will be airlifted by the United States to air bases in Rota and Moron de la Frontera in southern Spain.

Under an agreement signed by Madrid and Washington, the evacuees may stay at the airbases which are used jointly by the United States and Spain for up to 15 days.

READ ALSO: ‘It’s Europe’s hub’ – EU chiefs to visit Afghan evacuation centre in Spain

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POLITICS

Spain PM’s wife to testify in her corruption investigation

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's wife testifies before a judge Friday as part of a preliminary corruption probe into her business ties in a case that has infuriated the Socialist leader.

Published: 5 July 2024 09:11 CEST
Spain PM's wife to testify in her corruption investigation

Last month, a Madrid court summoned Begoña Gómez to testify on July 5 “as an investigated party” as part of a judicial inquiry into “the alleged offences of corruption in the private sector and influence peddling”.

She is due to appear at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) for the proceedings, which won’t be public.

The preliminary investigation was opened on April 16th following a complaint filed by the anti-graft NGO Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), which is linked to the far right.

The right-wing opposition has pounced on the affair as proof of their claims that Sánchez and his left-wing government are corrupt.

But he has denounced it as a smear campaign.

Earlier this week, Sánchez told Cadena SER radio he was feeling “totally calm and confident” because there was “absolutely nothing” in the allegations, denouncing “a legal strategy of harassment aimed at overthrowing” his government.

Along with the Catalan amnesty law, the Gómez affair has complicated life for Sánchez, whose brother is also facing a graft probe triggered by another Manos Limpias complaint, prompting a barrage of right-wing criticism.

READ MORE: Spain govt slams ‘trumped-up’ charge against PM’s brother

“It is an insult to the intelligence of all Spaniards when her husband simply says there’s nothing to it,” railed Miguel Tellado, spokesman for the right-wing opposition Popular Party (PP).

When news of the investigation broke at the end of April, Sánchez shocked Spain by saying he was considering resigning over what he described as a campaign of political harassment by the right.

After five days of reflection, he ultimately decided to stay on.

Madrid prosecutors appealed to have the case thrown out for lack of evidence, but they were overruled, with the investigating judge issuing the July summons just days before Spain voted in the EU elections.

European involvement

Legal documents show the probe is focused on the professional ties between Gómez and consultant Carlos Barrabes.

In documents released at the end of May, the court said it was looking into two letters of support Gómez allegedly provided in 2020 for a joint venture bidding for several public contracts.

The joint venture’s main shareholder was Barrabes, who also had ties to a department at Madrid’s Complutense University run by Gómez.

It won the contracts, beating 20 rivals, and was awarded 10.2 million euros ($11.1 million).

Earlier this week, the investigating judge said Gómez was being investigated for “all actions, conduct and behaviours… since her husband became prime minister”.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who spent years as a judge at Spain’s top criminal court, said he found such a statement “worrying”, suggesting the investigation may be stretching beyond its legal mandate.

Part of the probe involving European funds has been turned over to Brussels.

“We can confirm that we have partially taken over the investigation… on June 6th,” the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said in a statement to AFP, without giving further details.

‘Tip of the iceberg’

With a degree in marketing from Madrid’s private university ESIC and a master’s in management, Gómez has specialised over the years in fundraising, particularly for foundations and NGOs.

Her career has taken her to a number of positions, including at business consultancy Inmark Europa and Complutense University.

The issue has provoked a political war of words with PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo telling Onda Cero radio this week that Sánchez should take responsibility.

“The political responsibility lies with her husband. His behaviour is completely unacceptable, at very least from an ethical point of view,” he said.

“I’m not naive about why they’re doing this,” Sánchez told Cadena SER.

“From a political point of view they are trying to put an end to this progressive coalition government.”

The PP’s Tellado said the bottom line was simple.

“To what extent did Sánchez know about what was going on, and to what extent did he play a leading role? We have no doubt that Begoña Gómez is only the tip of the iceberg in this scandal.”

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