ICRC News 19 / 21.05.97

ICRC News 19 / 21.05.97



** SHORT MENU....

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (FORMER ZAIRE) / AFTER THE STORM: Teams of 
volunteers of the National Red Cross Society collected a total of 228 
bodies in and around Kinshasa on Sunday 18 and Monday 19 May. They also 
evacuated more than a dozen wounded to various hospitals and clinics.

SRI LANKA / EMERGENCY AID AS FIGHTING FLARES: A large-scale military 
operation launched by the Sri Lanka armed forces on 13 May in the 
northern part of the island has resulted in a new wave of displaced 
people and a high number of casualties, mainly combatants belonging to 
LTTE and government forces. 

TAJIKISTAN / ICRC VISITS 128 PRISONERS: On 16 and 17 May, two delegates 
visited 128 government soldiers held by the Tajik opposition forces 
following the fighting that took place in Tavildara district in 1996.

ALBANIA / AN UNEASY NORMALITY: Although certain schools have reopened and 
some governmental services seem to have been resumed, the high number of 
weapons in circulation and the resultant violence continue to give rise 
to growing unease throughout Albania.

LANDMINES / AFRICA MOVES WITH A BANG TOWARDS A BAN: epresentatives of 
more than 40 African States gathered in Johannesburg this week for the 
Conference on a Landmine-Free Africa: the OAU and the Legacy of 
Anti-Personnel Mines. 

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE AND THE BALTIC / STOCKHOLM: NGO SEMINAR TO 
PROMOTE MINES BAN: Some 50 participants, including representatives of Red 
Cross Societies from Finland, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and 
Ukraine, are expected in Stockholm on Friday, 23 May, for a three-day 
seminar on anti-personnel landmines. 


** STORIES IN FULL...

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (FORMER ZAIRE)
AFTER THE STORM

Teams of volunteers of the National Red Cross Society collected a total 
of 228 bodies in and around Kinshasa on Sunday 18 and Monday 19 May. They 
also evacuated more than a dozen wounded to various hospitals and 
clinics.

On Tuesday they transferred several dozen bodies from the morgue at Mama 
Yemo Hospital to a field outside the city for mass burial. The bodies, 
including some that had been brought to the morgue by other means, had 
not been identified and had to be buried for reasons of public health.

Further information: Nic Sommer, ICRC Kinshasa, tel. ++243 88 46 900
Rolin Wavre, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 4122 730 2876


SRI LANKA
EMERGENCY AID AS FIGHTING FLARES 

A large-scale military operation launched by the Sri Lanka armed forces 
on 13 May in the northern part of the island has resulted in a new wave 
of displaced people and a high number of casualties, mainly combatants 
belonging to LTTE and government forces. During the first few days of the 
hostilities the ICRC has been assisting some 1,800 displaced families by 
distributing emergency items such as plastic sheeting, cooking utensils 
and hygiene requisites. Six Sri Lanka Red Cross mobile health teams are 
taking care of the medical needs of the local and newly displaced 
population in the Vanni region affected by the fighting. The ICRC is 
supporting these teams and has provided medical supplies to the hospitals 
of Mallavi, Akkarayan and Mullaittivu to help them cope with the influx 
of wounded.

The offensive has entailed even greater hardship for an already 
conflict-stricken region: the number of displaced persons has increased 
sharply and access to food, medical assistance and other humanitarian 
essentials has been severely restricted. The ICRC, which already has a 
permanent presence in the Vanni with seven expatriates and 33 locally 
recruited staff, has set up a new office in Vavuniya, on the southern 
side of the front line. From there delegates are assisting the displaced 
persons in transit centres and people living in small villages which are 
cut off from basic services.

Further information: Harasha Gunawardene, 
ICRC Colombo, tel. ++ 941 503 346
Kim Gordon-Bates, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 4122 730 2302


TAJIKISTAN
ICRC VISITS 128 PRISONERS 

On 16 and 17 May, two delegates visited 128 government soldiers held by 
the Tajik opposition forces following the fighting that took place in 
Tavildara district in 1996. The delegates spoke to each prisoner in 
private, in accordance with the ICRC's standard working procedure  in 
order to assess their conditions of detention. 66 prisoners took the 
opportunity to write Red Cross Messages which are now being dispatched to 
their families. The ICRC will continue regular visits to these captives 
until their release.

For several years now, the ICRC has been seeking permission at the 
highest level to visit all detainees arrested in connection with the 
conflit of 1992 and ensuing internal violence. Some progress was made on 
the opposition side: already last December, delegates were able to visit 
a group of 110 government soldiers most of whom have been released since. 
However no access has been granted so far on the government side.

Further information: Suzanne Berger, ICRC Geneva, 
tel. : ++ 41 22 730 23 07


ALBANIA
AN UNEASY NORMALITY

Although certain schools have reopened and some governmental services 
seem to have been resumed, the high number of weapons in circulation and 
the resultant violence continue to give rise to growing unease throughout 
Albania. In this prevailing widespread insecurity, the Albanian Red Cross 
and the ICRC have both experienced the loss of a vehicle in the southern 
port of Sarande, in two separate incidents without harm to their staff. 
The stolen ICRC vehicle was later returned in Gjirokaster. 

However, official supply channels have been restored for several 
hospitals in the centre and north of the country, and the ICRC has begun 
to adjust its distributions of food and medical supplies accordingly. 
>From the end of May on, the ICRC will continue to keep a close check on 
the situation of hospitals and other social welfare institutions and will 
limit its activities on their behalf to ad hoc emergency distributions, 
thus supporting attempts to get state-run supply channels back to normal.

Further information: Michael Kleiner, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 4122 730 2281


LANDMINES
AFRICA MOVES WITH A BANG TOWARDS A BAN 

Representatives of more than 40 African States gathered in Johannesburg 
this week for the Conference on a Landmine-Free Africa: the OAU and the 
Legacy of Anti-Personnel Mines. The conference, which began on Monday 19 
May and continued until Wednesday afternoon, 21 May, addressed three 
aspects of the landmines problem in Africa: government policy, especially 
with regard to an international prohibition of landmines; mine clearance; 
and victim assistance. Presentations in plenary and working groups were 
given by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and included 
a report on the conclusions of the ICRC-sponsored regional seminar on 
mines held last month in Harare.

As a symbolic first step towards a landmine-free Africa, South Africa's 
Defence Minister Joe Modise  detonated  4,700  anti-personnel landmines 
in a controlled blast at the Alkantpan military base in the Northern Cape 
province on the final day of the conference. South Africa has announced 
it will destroy its existing stockpile of 186,000 anti-personnel 
landmines by the end of this year.

Further information: Keith Howell, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 4122 730 2592


CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE AND THE BALTIC
STOCKHOLM: NGO SEMINAR TO PROMOTE MINES BAN 

Some 50 participants, including representatives of Red Cross Societies 
from Finland, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Ukraine, are 
expected in Stockholm on Friday, 23 May, for a three-day seminar on 
anti-personnel landmines. The event, which is being organized for 
countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic by the Swedish UN 
Association and two Swedish NGOs, aims to raise awareness and foster 
dialogue among governments and NGOs from the region. Government 
representatives are invited only for the first day of the seminar, which 
will hear presentations on various aspects of the mines problem, 
including progress towards an international anti-personnel landmine ban 
treaty following the Ottawa Conference of October 1996, from governments 
of Austria, Canada, Croatia, Germany and Sweden. The ICRC will give an 
account of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement's work 
on the issue. The second and third days of the seminar are devoted to a 
series of strategy workshops for NGOs.    

Further information: Stuart Maslen, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2533


New on the ICRC Public Server - http://www.icrc.org :
- Update No. 9 on ICRC activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo 
(formerly Zaire) and neighbouring countries, dated  21.05.97


During the week-end of 24 - 25 May 1997, for all information
please call the press officer on duty, Kim Gordon-Bates, on
(mobile) 41 79 200 50 03