ICRC News 22 / 11.06.97
** SHORT MENU....
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO / HOMEWARD BOUND: Planes, boats, trains, trucks, cars... just about every means of transport imaginable was brought into play for the ICRCs transfer of more than 6,500 people displaced within the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).
CONGO BRAZZAVILLE / ICRC BACK AT WORK : After being trapped indoors for several days by the heavy fighting in Brazzaville, ICRC delegates were finally able to reach the airport on 10 June and begin to help evacuate foreigners from the town, using an ICRC-chartered plane.
RWANDA / ICRC RESTORES WATER SUPPLY FOR NYANZA: Water is flowing from the taps once again for the residents of the southern Rwandan town of Nyanza. Less than 24 hours after receiving a request from the local authorities, the ICRC had a new pump delivered from its Kigali warehouse.
EAST TIMOR / AFTER THE VIOLENCE: On 5 and 6 June the ICRC was granted access to all 23 people still being held in connection with the violent attack on a police barracks in Dili, the capital of East Timor, on 28 May.
ALBANIA / DANGER: WEAPONS: The proliferation of weapons among the Albanian population following the looting of abandoned military installations constitutes a real threat, especially for young people.
HUMANITARIAN MEETING IN WOLFSBERG / DEFYING inhumanity: The growing challenges facing the humanitarian community in today's conflicts - where both civilians and humanitarian workers are often targeted for attack - were the subject of discussions by some 70 eminent representatives of donor governments and humanitarian organizations gathered at the invitation of the ICRC in Wolfsberg, Switzerland, earlier this week.
** STORIES IN FULL...
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO HOMEWARD BOUND
Planes, boats, trains, trucks, cars... just about every means of transport imaginable was brought into play for the ICRCs transfer of more than 6,500 people displaced within the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).
The operation began on 15 April with an airlift: using a Hercules, a Boeing 727 and a DC3 (later joined by another transport plane dispatched from Nairobi), in six weeks the ICRC transferred a total of 6,019 people from Kisangani and Kindu to Bukavu, Goma, Isiro, Bunia and Lubumbashi. Other displaced persons were taken from Kisangani to Lubutu and Walikale by truck, and to Bafwasende by smaller vehicles. The ICRC also paid the train fares for 150 people from Lubumbashi to Kalemie.
In a new phase of the operation, which got under way on 2 June, a further 6,000 displaced people will be taken from Kalemie to Uvira. The whole undertaking is expected to continue for several more months, and forms part of a global assistance programme for the displaced population in the region.
Each family of returnees has been given a kit of essential items to help them settle back into their homes. The ICRC is also continuing to provide food and other assistance to the most vulnerable, in places affected by the passage of large numbers of people, looting and insecurity. A seed distribution programme is planned for the most affected areas.
All these assistance activities are aimed at helping between 250,000 and 300,000 people in the east of the country over the coming months. The ICRC is also continuing its rehabilitation and support work -- begun before November 1996 and maintained during the conflict -- for medical facilities in the east. This programme is seen as a vital contribution towards helping returnees resume a normal life.
Further information: Josui Anselmo, ICRC Nairobi, tel. ++2542 716 339
CONGO BRAZZAVILLE ICRC BACK AT WORK
After being trapped indoors for several days by the heavy fighting in Brazzaville, ICRC delegates were finally able to reach the airport on 10 June and begin to help evacuate foreigners from the town, using an ICRC-chartered plane. Priority is being given to women, children and the ill. Fourteen people were taken across the river to Kinshasa on the first flight and further trips back and forth are now taking place.
The authorities in Congo Brazzaville have meanwhile granted the ICRC permission to resume its flights from Kinshasa to Lukolela, where Rwandan refugees have gathered after crossing the river from the former Zaire. After a six-day interruption, the ICRC plane will start up its round-trip journeys again on 11 June to deliver food and medical supplies that will be distributed by two ICRC expatriates and volunteers from the Congolese Red Cross.
Further information: Michael Kleiner, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 22 81
RWANDA ICRC RESTORES WATER SUPPLY FOR NYANZA
Water is flowing from the taps once again for the residents of the southern Rwandan town of Nyanza. Less than 24 hours after receiving a request from the local authorities, the ICRC had a new pump delivered from its Kigali warehouse. Nyanza's 29,000 residents were suffering from a severe water shortage after two of the three pumps feeding the municipal reservoir had broken down.
The new pump, with a capacity of 35 cu.m/hour, has restored the water supply for the town's population and for its schools, hospital, health facilities and detention centres. The construction of the cement base, the plumbing and electrical connections were handled by the national utility company, Electrogaz. "Over the past few years we have done our best to provide emergency assistance to those in need", said Nicolas Stein, head of the ICRC's water and sanitation unit in Rwanda. Further information: Bernard Barrett, ICRC Kigali, tel: ++250 77 344
EAST TIMOR AFTER THE VIOLENCE
On 5 and 6 June the ICRC was granted access to all 23 people still being held in connection with the violent attack on a police barracks in Dili, the capital of East Timor, on 28 May. Twenty of them are at Dili Police Headquarters, while the remaining three, who were injured in the incident, are in the city's military hospital. Seven of the detainees were visited on the first day, the 16 others on the next. Twenty-five arrests had been reported after the attack, which happened on the eve of the Indonesian general election, but two people were released on 6 June.
Earlier in the week, on 3 and 4 June, the ICRC went to the town of Baucau, east of Dili, to collect information on an ambush there on 31 May in which a number of policemen were killed. The team saw the commander of sector A, the chief of police, the deputy head of the military district, and a number of representatives of civil society. Reportedly, thus far there have been no arrests in connection with this incident. While in Baucau, the delegates met the family of the two civilians killed in another attack there on 28 May. The ICRC is also scheduled to meet the families of the policemen who died in the ambush on 31 May.
The ICRC has been present in East Timor since 1974, working as a neutral intermediary to facilitate dialogue between the population and the Indonesian authorities.
Further information: Sri Wahyuendah, ICRC Jakarta, tel. ++6221 720 7252 Kim Gordon-Bates, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2302
ALBANIA DANGER: WEAPONS
The proliferation of weapons among the Albanian population following the looting of abandoned military installations constitutes a real threat, especially for young people. In recent months, a growing number of incidents have been reported in which people have suffered severe burns, lost limbs or even been killed owing to the mishandling of firearms or explosives.
To ward off this danger the Albanian Red Cross, with the support of the ICRC, has organized its first media campaign informing the population, in particular young people, of the risks involved in handling weapons of any kind. The first phase of the campaign, which kicks off this week, includes a 30-second radio spot and the distribution of an information leaflet to the public at large. Some 70,000 vulnerable families will receive a copy of the leaflet together with food parcels.
During the second phase, beginning next week, a television spot will be broadcast and an assessment made of the impact of the campaign among families.
Further information: France Hurtubise, ICRC Tirana, tel. ++355 42 30 457 Michael Kleiner, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2281
HUMANITARIAN MEETING IN WOLFSBERG DEFYING inhumanity
The growing challenges facing the humanitarian community in today's conflicts - where both civilians and humanitarian workers are often targeted for attack - were the subject of discussions by some 70 eminent representatives of donor governments and humanitarian organizations gathered at the invitation of the ICRC in Wolfsberg, Switzerland, earlier this week.
The meeting devoted much of its time to evaluating the difficulties humanitarian organizations face when trying to gain access to entire groups of conflict victims, in particular in the light of recent experience both in the Great Lakes Region of Africa affected by the 1994 genocide and in other parts of the world.
Several participants expressed deep concern at the reports of repeated violations of international humanitarian law in the Democratic Republic of Congo and called on the new authorities to allow access to all refugees and internally displaced persons in the country so that assistance and protection can be provided to them.
In closing the forum, ICRC President Cornelio Sommaruga underlined the importance of establishing a closer dialogue between politicians and humanitarian players to enable both to be more effective in their respective tasks when confronted with human tragedies. He also pointed out the ongoing urgency of bringing the perpetrators of war crimes to justice and stressed the need to explore the problem of environmental degradation as a potential source of future conflicts.
The Wolfsberg forum was convened in follow-up to the humanitarian summit held on the initiative of Emma Bonino, European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, in Madrid in December 1995. It was proposed that similar high-level meetings be organized in the future.
Further information: Doris Pfister, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 23 17
During the week-end of 14 - 15 June 1997, for all information please call the press officer on duty, Kim Gordon-Bates, on (mobile) 41 79 357 50 03