ICRC News 30 / 10-Aug-00

** SHORT MENU....

Indonesia: ICRC assists 16,000 displaced people:
The security situation in Poso, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, has
temporarily improved, but the sectarian violence that broke out in May has
claimed over 200 lives, left over 4,000 homes destroyed and caused
thousands of people to seek shelter in safer areas.

Sri Lanka: Passenger ferry sails under ICRC protection:
On 7 August the passenger ferry "City of Trinco" carried 353 civilians from
Trincomalee to the Jaffna Peninsula under the protection of the ICRC.

Angola: Sowing early for a good harvest:
Francisco is one of the 60,000 heads of families to have benefited from the
distribution of agricultural supplies in Huambo during the month of July.

Kivu: Six years after the tragedy in Rwanda, children still being reunited
with their families:
In early August, 27 Rwandan children crossed the border at Goma, in Kivu
province (eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo), into
Rwanda, where they were finally reunited with their families in the "land
of a thousand hills".


** STORIES IN FULL...

Indonesia
ICRC assists 16,000 displaced people

The security situation in Poso, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, has
temporarily improved, but the sectarian violence that broke out in May has
claimed over 200 lives, left over 4,000 homes destroyed and caused
thousands of people to seek shelter in safer areas. Approximately 30,000
internally displaced persons are now staying in various towns and villages
in central Sulawesi, mostly in private homes or with relatives. An
additional 16,000 are living in camps situated around Poso and are in
urgent need of help.

This week, as part of an ongoing humanitarian relief programme for the camp
dwellers, a joint ICRC / Indonesian Red Cross team completed the
distribution of family parcels consisting of sleeping mats, sarongs,
cooking pots, cups, plates, soap, detergent, candles, matches and jerrycans
to 4,000 heads of families in 40 different locations. About 400 of the most
severely affected families also received tarpaulins.

Surveys conducted earlier in the area indicate that while medical and water
and sanitation services have been seriously disrupted, displaced persons
can still rely on existing coping mechanism and assistance from the local
authorities to obtain food.

Further information: Arista Vadya Idris, ICRC Jakarta, tel: ++ 6221 720 72
52


Sri Lanka
Passenger ferry sails under ICRC protection

On 7 August the passenger ferry "City of Trinco" carried 353 civilians from
Trincomalee to the Jaffna Peninsula under the protection of the ICRC.

At the request of the Sri Lankan government, the ICRC agreed to let the
ferry fly the ICRC flag on its twice weekly trips to and from the north
provided only civilians were on board. The ICRC had previously obtained
written guarantees for the safe passage of the vessel from both the Sri
Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. According to
the terms of the agreement, the transport of military personnel and arms
and ammunition is strictly prohibited and the ship must not be accompanied
by military escorts.   
-240
The ICRC has been working in Sri Lanka since 1989, carrying out its
traditional humanitarian activities and acting as a neutral intermediary
whenever required. Its daily tasks consist in protecting detainees,
restoring family ties, providing the civilian population with material
assistance and spreading knowledge of the basic rules of international
humanitarian law.

Further information: Harasha Gunawardene, ICRC Colombo, tel. ++ 941 722 35
904


Angola
Sowing early for a good harvest

Francisco is one of the 60,000 heads of families to have benefited from the
distribution of agricultural supplies in Huambo during the month of July.
Over 6,000 families living in the outlying districts of Kuito were also
included in the programme.

With seed and fertilizer in hand, and a brand new hoe on his shoulder,
Francisco lost no time iours that the government had orchestrated the fighting in
Voinjama to create a corridor to bring in rebel Revolutionary United Front
fighters wounded in a recent attack on their positions by UN peacekeepers
in Sierra Leone, PANA reported.

WEST AFRICA: US military team evaluates peacekeeping needs

A curriculum development team from the US military is in Nigeria and Ghana
to evaluate their needs for further peacekeeping duties in Sierra Leone,
Assistant Secretary of Defence Kenneth Bacon told reporters on Tuesday.

Several dozen US Air Force, Army and Special Forces personnel have been in
the two countries since the end of July assessing training needs for the
troops, who will be equipped by the United States. Speaking at the
Pentagon in Washington DC, Bacon said the team was expected to complete
its review in "a week or so" and make recommendations to the US
government.

He said that several weeks ago, when UN troops were detained by the RUF in
Sierra Leone, the US government said it would spend US $20 million to
strengthen UN peacekeeping in the West African country. Part of this money
would be used to buy communications gear, trucks and other equipment for
one Ghanaian and three Nigerian battalions.

"This is all designed to train Nigerian or Ghanaian peacekeepers who then
might be deployed to Sierra Leone," he said.

NIGERIA: Senate president impeached, deputy resigns

Nigeria's Senate was unable to elect a new president on Wednesday, a day
after members voted 81 to 14 to expel the speaker, Chuba Okadigbo,
according to news reports.

The ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) party on Wednesday failed to
agree on its candidate for the post, causing a postponement of a scheduled
Senate vote until Thursday, acting Senate President John Mbata told
reporters.

In the vote that decided Okadigbo's fate on Tuesday, there was one
abstention and 12 senators were absent from the session, Radio Nigeria
reported. Okadigbo's deputy, Haruna Abubakar, and Senate majority leader
Samaila Mamman - both accused of corruption - resigned before the ballot.

A Senate committee investigating the misuse of public funds accused
Okadigbo of inflating contracts, overspending on official home furnishing,
accepting US $200,000 as a Christmas "welfare gift" and acquiring eight
unauthorised cars - bringing to 32 his official fleet, AFP said.

NIGERIA: States to plant 50 ha of trees a year

Nigeria's 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory have been ordered to
devote 50 ha of land every year to an annual tree planting exercise, `The
Guardian' of Lagos reported on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor
Bola Tinubu said he would enforce a law barring the cutting of trees
without permission from the ministries of agriculture and the environment.

SENEGAL: Red Cross distributes food to Casamance IDPs

The Senegalese Red Cross in collaboration with the International Committee
of the Red Cross this week began distributing over 35 mt of rice and
millet to some 4,380 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the southern
town of Ziguinchor, the Senegal news agency, APS, reported. The IDPs were
displaced by insecurity in the Casamance area, where a rebel group is
fighting for an independent state an
ICRC NEWS  30

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Indonesia: ICRC assists 16,000 displICRC NEWS  30

** SHORT MENU....

Indonesia: ICRC assists 16,000 displaced people:
The security situation in Poso, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, has
temporarily improved, but the sectarian violence that broke out in May has
claimed over 200 lives, left over 4,000 homes destroyed and caused
thousands of people to seek shelter in safer areas.

Sri Lanka: Passenger ferry sails under ICRC protection:
On 7 August the passenger ferry "City of Trinco" carried 353 civilians from
Trincomalee to the Jaffna Peninsula under the protection of the ICRC.

Angola: Sowing early for a good harvest:
Francisco is one of the 60,000 heads of families to have benefited from the
distribution of agricultural supplies in Huambo during the month of July.

Kivu: Six years after the tragedy in Rwanda, children still being reunited
with their families:
In early August, 27 Rwandan children crossed