ICRC News 30 / 31.07.96
SRI LANKA ICRC DELEGATES CONTINUE TO ASSIST CIVILIANS in North
Out of concern for the large number of civilians fleeing the fighting between the Sri Lankan Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in northern Sri Lanka, ICRC delegates remained up to 31 July in the LTTE-held town of Kilinochchi, as the only representatives of humanitarian organizations there. They are now gradually redeploying their activities westwards towards the Malawi region, where the population has increased more than fourfold over the past few days.
The delegates remained in Kilinochchi in spite of the shells and rockets falling on the town as the Sri Lankan Army advanced southwards from Elephant Pass. By 31 July almost all the town's inhabitants had left, not knowing where to find a safe haven. After the closing of the hospital on 26 July, a first-aid post had been set up in the ICRC sub-delegation. Twelve serious casualties have meanwhile been evacuated further south to Anuradhapura, ICRC staff and ambulances alone being allowed to cross the lines between the warring parties.
The ICRC has also made repeated approaches to the parties in an effort to gain access to displaced civilians in other areas of northern and north-eastern Sri Lanka. The situation remains particularly critical for an estimated 280,000 people who left the Jaffna peninsula during a Sri Lankan Army offensive in April to seek refuge in LTTE-held territory. Until now these displaced people have been living almost entirely on assistance provided by the Sri Lankan authorities. The aid programmes are currently disrupted by the fighting, which has caused further population movements.
Further information: Peter Iseli, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2086
RWANDA RETURN OF REFUGEES
In response to last week's emergency caused by the forcible repatriation of thousands of Rwandan refugees from Burundi, the ICRC - along with other humanitarian organizations - has been working in the Butare region to try to deal with the problems arising from the operation. ICRC teams took dozens of sick and wounded people from the border to the transit camp set up in Butare by UNHCR, and moved swiftly to install a water supply for the camp. ICRC delegates are trying to locate the parents of some 150 unaccompanied children who are among those repatriated. Six of these children became separated from their families during the recent repatriation. In the returnees' areas of origin, ICRC teams are keeping a close watch on conditions and are visiting people arrested by the authorities. A total of 80,000 detainees are currently being monitored by the ICRC in Rwanda.
Further information: Josui Anselmo, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++2542 716 339 Rolin Wavre, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2876
INDIA DISSEMINATION IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR
The ICRC's New Delhi delegation held a series of five one-day workshops for senior officers of the border security force and the central reserve police force in the state of Jammu and Kashmir between 17 and 24 July.
The workshops, which were conducted by an ICRC delegate to the armed forces and the coordinator of ICRC activities in Jammu and Kashmir, were attended by around 100 officers up to the rank of brigadier.
The focus was on the importance of humane behaviour in containing armed violence, the proportionate use of force and the conscious choice of military targets. The universal obligation of all armed forces to abide by the principles of international humanitarian law was also stressed. The nature of the ICRC's role, with particular reference to its work in Jammu and Kashmir, was explained to the participants, who represented one of the world's largest paramilitary forces.
The ICRC began its constructive dialogue with the Indian paramilitary forces in academies and other training centres three years ago. The recent courses in Jammu and Kashmir brought this dialogue into an operational environment for the first time.
Further information: Savita Varde-Naqvi, ICRC New Delhi, tel. ++9111 463 1723 Peter Iseli, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2086
AFGHANISTAN TOGETHER AT LAST!
16 July 1996, 10 a.m. - Hanifa is scanning the skies over Mazar-i-Sharif with growing impatience. At last a speck appears: the ICRC aircraft from Kabul. As soon as it taxis to a halt Abdul Hakim emerges. He looks around hesitantly, then sees Hanifa and dashes down the steps. He has not seen his wife for four years.
In 1992 a rocket destroyed their house in Kabul, leaving the family homeless. Hanifa made her way to Mazar-i-Sharif to join her three adult children, while her husband left for Pakistan. When Abdul Hakim returned to the Afghan capital in June 1996, he heard that the ICRC was reuniting families and a seed of hope began to grow.
The ICRC set up its family reunification programme in Afghanistan in mid-1995, giving priority to the most vulnerable individuals:
- women, enabling them to join their husbands or, if the husband has died, another close relative; - children under 16, who are reunited with their parents; - persons over 60 years of age, who are reunited with their spouses or children.
Since the beginning of this year arrangements have been made for 43 people to rejoin their families.
This activity is part of a wider programme whose primary aim is to restore family links. Since 1994 the ICRC has been gradually setting up a countrywide network for the collection and distribution of Red Cross messages. Thanks to the cooperation of the Afghan Red Crescent and many National Societies in Europe and Central Asia, thousands of Afghan civilians have been able to restore or maintain contact with relatives abroad. So far this year 6,092 messages have been collected, 2,116 of them from detainees visited by the ICRC, and 4,800 have been distributed, 961 of them to detainees.
Further information: Peter Iseli, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2086 Jean-Luc Paladini, ICRC Kabul, tel. ++873 382 280 131
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