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Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said that the vast majority of accusations against the Taliban are false, but that they are only human and had possibly made mistakes. He made these remarks in an interview that aired on Ofogh TV (Iran) on August 21, 2021. The Iranian interviewer responded saying that the Taliban's "mistakes" include violence against women and ethnic minorities, and this goes beyond acceptable mistakes by governments. Naeem responded that in the Western countries that criticize the Taliban, many women are raped, people commit suicide, and children suffer from violence, but this is not reported by the press. Regarding the scenes at Kabul airport, Naeem said that the Americans told the Afghans they would take them to America, and in anywhere else in the world, such as Iran, the scenes of Afghans hanging on to airplanes taking off would be repeated. The Iranian TV host denied this would ever happen in Iran.
Interviewer: "The Afghan public has very bad and bitter memories from the years when the country was ruled by the Taliban. What do you think is the main reason for that?"
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Mohammad Naeem: "As you know, we have been a target of the enemy's press for the past 20 years. At the same time, we have had no opportunity to say our piece to the press.
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"The vast majority of these accusations constitute [false] propaganda, but the Taliban and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan are also human beings. They are not angels who descended from the heavens. They are a part of this society, and who doesn't make mistakes in this society? You tell me."
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Interviewer: "The discussion about the Taliban goes beyond mistakes that people make. After all, the Taliban has a record of deeds, a long list of violent practices and discriminating measures against women and against [other] ethnic groups. This goes beyond what can be described as mistakes that happen everywhere in the world. How comes these mistakes did not happen in other countries and under different rules? The image of the Taliban, even if we accept that some of it stems from the propaganda of the Westerners and the enemies of the Taliban... Ultimately, one cannot deny that the [Taliban's] mistakes exceeded the mistakes common to any government. Do you accept this?"
Mohammad Naeem: "Absolutely not. This is not true.
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"In the Western countries that talk about [the Taliban's] violence against women, tens of thousands of women are raped every day. Where is it reported in the press? Every day, tens of thousands of people commit suicide. How comes those topics do not appear in the press? Every day, they use violence against thousands of children. Where is it in the press?
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"You know that people gathered at Kabul Airport. Why? The Americans and their collaborators told the people: 'Come, we will take you to America.' If this were to happen anywhere else in the world, wouldn't the people go?"
Interviewer: "No. In Iran, this would not happen, in my opinion. No one would hang from the plane."
Mohammad Naeem: "Rest assured that it would. Rest assured. Anywhere."
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