Berlin - The Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schr÷der, moved yesterday to silence criticism within his government of the bombings in Afghanistan and said it was likely that Germany would soon be militarily engaged in the war, writes Derek Scally.
"We will shortly have to give extensive help in the fight against terror, and with our military capabilities, as was asked of us," Mr Schr÷der said yesterday. He rejected calls from a leader of his Green Party coalition partners for a halt to the bombings to deliver humanitarian aid to ordinary Afghans.
He said he "understood and respected" the call from Green Party co-leader Ms Claudia Roth but said a temporary halt to the bombings would only give the Taliban a chance to reorganise and plan new attacks. "Ms Roth's position is not the position of the federal government and it never will be," he said.
Leading Green Party politicians, with the notable exception of the Foreign Minister, Mr Joschka Fischer, defended Ms Roth yesterday, while the right wing of the SPD accused the Greens of a lack of solidarity.
Ms Roth's comments came a day after over 10,000 people gathered in Berlin to protest against the bombings.