Posted on : Aug.3,2006 12:29 KST
Peace festival goers turned back by Afghani president
South Korean Christians who entered or will enter Afghanistan to take part in a peace festival to be held in Kabul on Aug. 5-7 will be forced to leave the country by an order of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a Foreign Ministry official in Seoul said yesterday. Safety concerns were cited as the reason behind the travel ban.
"The Afghan government denied entry of 35 Koreans who arrived at the Kabul airport from New Delhi, India, on Monday. They have deported all the South Koreans who were expected to participate in the Afghan peace event," the official added, referring only to this latest group of travelers. Some 2,000 Christians from about 1,000 South Korean churches are expected to participate in the Afghanistan Peace Festival. The ministry official said that "it is difficult to know the exact number of participants, but we estimate that about 1,500 persons have already entered Afghanistan."
An official of the Afghan foreign ministry said to South Korean ambassador to Afghanistan Yu Yeong-bang, "Eight persons were killed in a suicide bomb attack near Kabul on July 31. President Karzai decided to deport Korean Christians because we cannot guarantee their safety."
The participants reportedly will gather in Kabul shortly before the event after dispersing to a number of places in the country, such as Kabul, Bamian, Mazar-i-Sharif, Shahr-e Heart, and Kandahar.
"Even allied troops, which have a presence in Afghanistan, are worried about the festival-goers. We are earnestly asking the organization to cancel the event," Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon told reporters yesterday.
The Seoul government is requesting cooperation from U.S. and NATO antiterrorist forces to secure safety for the festival attendees, and they are also discussing emergency measures to get Koreans out of Afghanistan should any clear and present danger arise.
