The Ministry of Defence has already selected Afghan interpreters to assist. Primarily, the Czech army will offer the interpreters money, but their relocation to the Czech Republic is not excluded.
The selected Afghans who helped the Czech soldiers in the “most recent period” will be contacted directly shortly, said Jana Zechmeisterová from the press department of the Ministry of Defence.
The foreign ministry is ready to exempt the Czech embassy in Kabul for securing the necessary visas. The Czech authorities do not want to disclose details for security reasons. The assistance should concern about two dozen interpreters.
They are at risk of death
The Afghan collaborators of the coalition troops are threatened with death by the Taliban insurgency, which has recently scored several victories: it has already taken control of 11 of the 34 provinces, representing more than two-thirds of Afghanistan’s land area. On Thursday alone, it captured two regions: Ghazni and Herat.
In late July, the Czech government approved a program to help translators who have worked for Czech forces in Afghanistan and their families. “The program is designed to take into account the demanding nature of the service of its potential and proven users and to accept individual preferences,” Zechmeisterová said.
The ministry does not want to disclose the number of interpreters or specify the assistance offered for the safety and protection of the participants in the program. The program has been in the works for several months. According to unofficial information, some of the translators preferred financial assistance to asylum in the Czech Republic even before the situation in Afghanistan escalated in recent weeks.