ICRC News 30 / 06.08.97

ICRC News 30 / 06.08.97

** SHORT MENU....

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: FRONT-LINE ACTIVITIES: 
After contacting all the relevant authorities in the northern and 
southern parts of the capital, Brazzaville, on 1 August the ICRC and 
volunteers from the Congolese Red Cross removed five corpses from areas 
of the city close to the front line.

RWANDA: HELPING  LOST  CHILDREN  FIND  THEIR  PARENTS:
In the hope of reuniting some families split up by war, the ICRC and 
UNHCR are currently arranging for scores of Rwandan parents to visit two 
centres for unaccompanied children.

SRI LANKA: A  NEW APPROACH  TO  FARMING  AID:
As a result of the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the 
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), since 1987 there has been a 
general decline in agricultural and fishing production throughout the 
country's eastern and northern provinces, particularly in areas 
controlled by the opposition forces.


** STORIES IN FULL...

REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 
FRONT-LINE ACTIVITIES

After contacting all the relevant authorities in the northern and 
southern parts of the capital, Brazzaville, on 1 August the ICRC and 
volunteers from the Congolese Red Cross removed five corpses from areas 
of the city close to the front line.

The ICRC also provided the various armed groups with the equipment 
necessary for removing bodies from zones where the cease-fire has not yet 
taken hold.

In parallel, the ICRC is continuing to supply drinking water, provide 
medical care and install latrines for the population displaced by the 
fighting. Distributions of relief supplies (soap, blankets, jerricans and 
cooking pots) and food (rice, beans, oil and salt) for tens of thousands 
of people affected by recent events will be organized within the next few 
days.

Further information:  Roland Sidler, ICRC Kinshasa, tel. ++243 12 48402


RWANDA
HELPING  LOST  CHILDREN  FIND  THEIR  PARENTS

In the hope of reuniting some families split up by war, the ICRC and 
UNHCR are currently arranging for scores of Rwandan parents to visit two 
centres for unaccompanied children.

In June the ICRC, in cooperation with UNICEF, published a 44-page booklet 
with photos of 220 unaccompanied children who came back to Rwanda last 
November. Most of them are under six years of age, and therefore unable 
to give their names or accurate information about their families.

Since the 2,500 copies of the booklet were distributed throughout Rwanda, 
families from all over the country have been coming forward, and it is 
believed that all but a dozen of the children have been identified. The 
ICRC and UNHCR are currently providing transport for about 20 families at 
a time to the two institutions caring for the children so that a second, 
on-site identification can be carried out. The operation started in late 
July and will continue until mid-August. Thus far some 40 families have 
been reunited with their offspring thanks to the photo-tracing programme.

Since last November's massive repatriations the ICRC and other agencies, 
such as Save the Children, have managed to reunite about 80 per cent of 
the returning unaccompanied children with their families.

Further information: Bernard Barrett, ICRC Kigali, tel. ++250 77 344


SRI LANKA
A  NEW APPROACH  TO  FARMING  AID

As a result of the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the 
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), since 1987 there has been a 
general decline in agricultural and fishing production throughout the 
country's eastern and northern provinces, particularly in areas 
controlled by the opposition forces.

The ICRC recently decided to take a fresh look at its agricultural and 
fishing aid programme, begun in 1996, in an effort to find the most 
useful way of bolstering the economic well-being of the population in 
those areas. There was general consensus among farmers, NGOs, government 
officials and LTTE forces that the existing irrigation system was in bad 
need of repair, a problem exacerbated by the drought which has persisted 
in the east over the past 18 months. Concerns over security have been 
preventing funds from the National Irrigation Rehabilitation Project, 
financed by the World Bank, from reaching the government departments in 
charge of maintenance.

There has also been a shortage of seed in those provinces as farmers find 
it difficult to place orders and make advance payments to the Agrarian 
Services Department. Another problem is the lack of information to 
encourage farmers to use natural fertilizer instead of relying on 
chemical fertilizers.

Taking all those factors into account, it was decided to shift the 
emphasis from distributing aid to helping the Departments of Irrigation, 
Agriculture, Agrarian Services and Fisheries to carry out their 
respective functions. The ICRC intends to do so by using its good 
offices, since it is perceived as neutral and has access to 
opposition-held areas and contact with both sides in the conflict. It 
will assist the various departments in making security arrangements, 
obtaining permits, transporting equipment into areas under LTTE control, 
and altogether help create a climate of confidence. It is hoped that this 
strategy will significantly increase the amount of land under cultivation 
and boost food production, thus benefiting especially the many 
poverty-stricken people living in the provinces concerned.

Further information: Harasha Gunawardene, ICRC Colombo
  tel. ++662 251 04 24


During the weekend of 9 - 10 August 1997, for all information please call 
the press officer on duty, Michael Kleiner, on (mobile) 41 79 202 42 00