The Slovak Government is going to send a special military aircraft to Afghanistan in order to evacuate Slovak citizens, as well as Afghans cooperating with Slovak authorities. "We are jointly preparing a special Slovak plane to be sent to Afghanistan. The situation requires a rapid reaction in order to help those whose lives are at risk in time. The safety of citizens is our priority," stated the Slovak PM Eduard Heger. "Our job is to safely evacuate Slovak citizens who are currently in Afghanistan, Afghans cooperating with Slovak authorities and we will provide any remaining capacity of the plane to our allies within the EU and NATO," said Slovak Foreign and European Affairs Ivan Korčok.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry earlier this week reported that it had information about three Slovak citizens in Afghanistan at the moment: one person working for the humanitarian organisation Doctors without Borders and two women who married in Afghanistan.
According to Korčok, the latest news on the militant Taliban movement's progress to the Afghani capital of Kabul is very bad news for the peace, stability and security of Afghanistan and of the region as a whole. At the same time, it is bad news for our almost 20-year mission in Afghanistan, aimed at the renewal of the country and helping its people to live a dignified life, said the Slovak MFA. "Today I am thinking of the most vulnerable ones - girls and women in Afghanistan. After years, they were able to return to school, work and find their place in society, their freedom is in great danger now. My thoughts also go to all citizens of Afghanistan, who face terror and whose lives are exposed to risk," stated Korčok.
"Slovakia as a country that values human lives, freedom and fundamental human rights as the highest values, calls on all actors in the country to prevent further bloodshed and guarantee the rights for all the people of Afghanistan," said the head of the Slovak diplomacy. As part of the democratic world, we cannot accept any regime based on the forcible takeover of power and using killing and massive violations of human rights and freedoms as its working methods," added Korčok.
