ICRC News 25 / 02.07.97

ICRC News 25 / 02.07.97


** SHORT MENU....

PHILIPPINES: ASSISTANCE FOR 27,500 DISPLACED CIVILIANS: The ICRC began a 
relief operation on 28 June for thousands of civilians who have fled 
their homes as a result of an upsurge in fighting on the southern 
Philippine island of Mindanao.

SRI LANKA: LAW OF WAR TRAINING FOR THE AIR FORCE: The Sri Lankan Air 
Force (SLAF) has just held, in cooperation with the ICRC, its first-ever 
course on the law of war for officers and instructors.

SENEGAL: JOURNALISTS EXCHANGE VIEWS WITH ICRC: About 20 Senegalese 
journalists from public and private media organizations took part last 
week in a seminar organized in Dakar jointly by the ICRC and the 
Senegalese Press Agency on the theme of the media and humanitarian 
action.

** STORIES IN FULL...


PHILIPPINES
ASSISTANCE FOR 27,500 DISPLACED CIVILIANS

The ICRC began a relief operation on 28 June for thousands of civilians 
who have fled their homes as a result of an upsurge in fighting on the 
southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

Under the operation, conducted jointly with the Philippine National Red 
Cross, relief supplies will be distributed to over 4,600 families (about 
27,500 people) in 36 different locations in the province of Cotabato del 
Norte. Each family will receive a 10-day ration of rice, sardines, 
drinking water and soap. The distributions are being carried out by 
volunteers from the Davao and Cotabato branches of the Philippine Red 
Cross.

The mass exodus of civilians from villages in the combat zones to the 
towns of Pikit, Kabacan and Pagalungan started on 16 June, prompted by 
violent clashes in the region between the Philippine army and units of 
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Quoting official sources, the local 
press has reported that the ongoing fighting has already claimed over 150 
victims. ICRC delegates who travelled to the area on 25 June witnessed 
the arrival of thousands of families, together with their livestock. They 
were being housed in makeshift camps and were obviously in urgent need of 
aid.

The ICRC is staying on the spot to monitor the situation and to remind 
the warring parties, if need be, of their obligation to respect the 
civilian population.

Further information: Joerg Stoecklin, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2906



SRI LANKA
LAW OF WAR TRAINING FOR THE AIR FORCE

The Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) has just held, in cooperation with the 
ICRC, its first-ever course on the law of war for officers and 
instructors.

The four-day course, organized by the ICRC, was held at the Diyatalawa 
air force base from 23 to 26 June and was attended by 56 air force 
personnel. It focused on the following topics: terminology, basic 
categories under the law (combatants, non-combatants, prisoners of war, 
protected zones, protected services and property), conduct of operations, 
behaviour in action, the commander's responsibilities, and the role and 
mandate of the ICRC worldwide and in Sri Lanka in particular.
The talks were given by the ICRC regional delegate to the armed forces 
and his deputy, both based in New Delhi, the senior dissemination and 
information officer based in Colombo, and the Commanding Officer of SLAF 
Diyatalawa, Wing Commander T.P.C. Obeysekera.

In his opening address, Wing Commander Obeysekera said that for the SLAF 
the course was an historic occasion. He stated: "The observance and 
implementation of the law of war undoubtedly contribute to the betterment 
of every airman. Discipline and order are the very basis of any armed 
force dedicated to defending the sovereignty of a country. No 
undisciplined armed force has ever won a war". He also stressed that 
"abiding by the rules of the law of war will always win the hearts and 
minds of the people, so crucial in an internal armed conflict, as is the 
case in Sri Lanka today". 

Further information: Harasha Gunawardene, ICRC Colombo, tel. ++941 503 
346


SENEGAL
JOURNALISTS EXCHANGE VIEWS WITH ICRC

About 20 Senegalese journalists from public and private media 
organizations took part last week in a seminar organized in Dakar jointly 
by the ICRC and the Senegalese Press Agency on the theme of the media and 
humanitarian action. The meeting gave the journalists and the ICRC 
representatives an opportunity to exchange views, especially on the 
principles of neutrality and objectivity and on the need to respect a 
degree of confidentiality. The seminar concluded with the journalists 
stressing the importance of closer cooperation between the ICRC and the 
media.

Further information: Ibrahim Cissi, ICRC Dakar, tel. ++21 241 293  


New on the ICRC Public Server - http://www.icrc.org :
- Update 97/04 on ICRC activities in Sierra Leone, dated 26.6.97.
- Update 97/09 on ICRC activities  in Albania, dated  27.6.97
- Update No. 97/10 on ICRC activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo 
(formerly Zaire) and neighbouring countries, dated  1.07.97


During the week-end of  5 - 6 July 1997, for all information please call 
the press officer on duty, Michael Kleiner, on (mobile) 41 79 202 42 00