Tobias Ellwood apologized for posting a video hailing Afghanistan’s ‘transformation’ underneath the hardliners’ rule
Members of the UK’s Conservative Get together have launched a bid to take away Tobias Ellwood from his place as chair of the Commons Defence Choose Committee after he posted a video on social media praising the Taliban.
In a video and accompanying message on Twitter earlier this week, the Tory MP mentioned Afghanistan was a “nation remodeled” because the Taliban seized energy in August 2021. He added that “safety has vastly improved, corruption is down and the opium commerce has all however disappeared.” The tweet, which was posted after a latest go to to the south-central Asian nation, has since been deleted.
Criticism of Ellwood, a former member of the British Armed Forces himself, was swift. Tory MPs launched a no-confidence movement quickly afterwards, with 4 MPs – two Tories and two from Labour – supporting the movement, in accordance with the minutes of a parliamentary assembly on Wednesday.
Certainly one of Ellwood’s critics, Labour MP Kevan Jones, mentioned: “This isn’t the primary time that Tobias Ellwood has made statements which don’t mirror the committee’s stance. This one is past the pale.” The 11-member committee is predicted to vote on Ellwood’s future on September 14. Six votes can be adequate to take away him from the place.
Following the furor, Ellwood backtracked on a few of his feedback – however instructed that his overarching level was correct. “I bought it improper,” he informed TalkTV of what he described as a “well-intentioned” error. He additionally added that he stands by feedback made within the temporary clip through which he criticized the UK authorities’s lack of engagement with Afghanistan’s rulers.
Ellwood additionally instructed that the UK ought to reopen its embassy in Kabul, and proposed that with out exterior intervention Afghanistan stands on the verge of financial catastrophe.
“I noticed a really weak economic system that may quickly collapse with out worldwide intervention, turning this nation right into a failed state, with terrorist camps little doubt returning and triggering mass migration,” Ellwood mentioned in an announcement on social media on Thursday.
The Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan has been continuously criticized for the removing of ladies’s rights within the nation – and after drawing scorn in Westminster, girls on the streets of Kabul echoed the criticism of Ellwood throughout a uncommon protest.
“The British politician says that he’s optimistic and he’s blissful concerning the scenario in Afghanistan,” the BBC quoted an unnamed Afghan lady as saying on Wednesday. “Immediately we went on the road to ask for our rights and so they attempt to cease us and beat us.”
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