Even before the Taliban took control of Kabul, the Joe Biden administration was supposed to ask Poland to accept 3,000 people. Afghan translators and US partners in Afghanistan. “Poland is not ready for such a large number,” says the paper. “That is why Warsaw took the initiative with caution.” However, “DGP” does not provide the source of its information.
However, the PiS government has to analyze how many refugees from Afghanistan it can accept. It is about the translators and collaborators of the Polish military mission, which has been in this country for almost 20 years. Only after its adoption should Poland consider assisting US collaborators.
Two planes on their way to Afghanistan
On Tuesday, the head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, Mikhail Dorczyk, told Polsat News that Two Polish military planes They are on their way to Afghanistan and a third will be launched soon.
– At the moment, in the list of people to be evacuated there are about 100 of those people who cooperated with the Polish military unit or with our facility. However, this situation is dynamic, said the head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery.
He stressed that it is a major logistical operation coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by the Ministry of National Defense in cooperation with other ministries. “It is a series of challenges that must be overcome,” he added. As he indicated, the evacuation concerns Polish citizens who are in Afghanistan. The minister explained that this primarily concerns people who cooperated with the Polish diplomatic mission or, above all, with the Polish military unit.
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Dowerchik: The situation in Afghanistan is unstable
As he pointed out, the situation in Afghanistan is unstable. – The organization of the technical and organizational loading of these people on the planes that will appear in Kabul is a great challenge for everyone. It’s about checking who has to get to the airport, Dworkzyk said.
The Minister noted that in June the Ministry of National Defense evacuated the people who had cooperated with the Polish battalion and who had declared their readiness to leave. – The minister said: “The situation today is completely different, so it is not surprising that these people who were not interested in leaving at that time are now determined to flee Afghanistan for their own safety and that of their families.”
The head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery emphasized that Polish diplomats “are trying to establish contact with all those who have informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through various channels as people who want to leave, and are afraid for their fate.” – We will do everything immediately so that those who want to leave and who previously helped Polish soldiers or diplomats have the opportunity to leave. But it must also be clearly stated that the situation there is very difficult and unstable. Just getting to Kabul and the airport – not all of them from Kabul – can be a problem.”
“We will do everything in our power to evacuate our partners”
But according to the minister, it is not possible to make an announcement today whether everyone will be evacuated and whether everyone will be able to reach the airport. – These people have to get to the airport by themselves. Given this precarious situation, it is difficult to make such accurate statements today.”
When asked if the whole process was delayed, given that other countries had sent planes earlier, the head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery replied that he could not agree with this thesis. – Let us remind you that Kabul airport was not operating for long hours. Therefore, even if a plane lands there, it still cannot take off. He noted that the Americans, as I said, have now launched flights again, and now the evacuation will be carried out.
The head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery affirmed that Poland will do its utmost to evacuate the Afghans cooperating with the Polish side. – As Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced, we will do everything we can so that everyone who cooperated with Polish soldiers and Polish diplomats, and who need help today, receives such help – said the Minister.
Dworczyk coordinates the evacuation from Kabul
In response to a question about what is the “upper limit” for the people that the Polish services can take from Afghanistan, Dworchik noted that “if necessary, according to the Prime Minister’s decision, we will increase the forces and resources involved in the evacuation so that every Afghan who helps Polish soldiers or Polish diplomats can leave Afghanistan.”
When asked if he himself is the coordinator of this operation, Dworczyk explained that “on the order of the Prime Minister, the operation is coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Polish Armed Forces and of course the Ministry of National Defense. It bears the main operational and organizational burden.”
After the United States withdrew most of its forces from Afghanistan, the Taliban occupied a large part of the country’s territory. On Sunday, they entered the capital, Kabul, and took control of the presidential palace. Earlier, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left the city and went abroad, possibly to Tajikistan. European Union and NATO countries are evacuating their citizens from Afghanistan. Afghan civilians have been constantly gathering at Kabul airport since Sunday, trying to flee the country from the Taliban’s grip.
Prime Minister Morawiecki announced on Monday that the government has decided to send our aircraft to Afghanistan in order to safely evacuate Polish citizens and staff of our military mission in Afghanistan. He emphasized that the government would do everything possible to “treat everyone who helped Poland as a translator or in any other form of assistance” as humanely as possible, granting a humanitarian visa and transferring them to Poland or Europe.
Source: Dziennik, PAP
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