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INDONESIA: RED CROSS RISES TO THE CHALLENGE: Since violence erupted in Indonesia, initially on several university campuses and subsequently in the streets of all the major cities of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi, the ICRC has provided active support for the medical and relief activities of the Indonesian Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia).
COLOMBIA: FLYING OUT TO SAFETY: In an attack launched by armed elements on the village of Puerto Elvira, in Colombia's southern department of Meta on 4 May, some 20 people were killed and a number of shops and buildings destroyed or burnt down.
SIERRA LEONE: RACING AGAINST TIME TO SUPPLY SEED FOR PLANTING SEASON: The new outbreak of fighting in February, followed by looting and harassment of civilians, forced many people to leave their homes and their belongings. Thousands were reduced to struggling for the survival of their families.
AUSTRALIA: DISCUSSING THE FUTURE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: At the invitation of the ICRC, 21 States of the Asia-Pacific region took part in an international seminar held on 6 and 7 May in Canberra, Australia, entitled "The international criminal court, between New York and Rome".
MOZAMBIQUE: FOR A BETTER POLICE FORCE: From 20 to 23 April a training course on rules of international humanitarian law and human rights law for Mozambique's police and security forces took place in the capital, Maputo.
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INDONESIA RED CROSS RISES TO THE CHALLENGE
Since violence erupted in Indonesia, initially on several university campuses and subsequently in the streets of all the major cities of Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi, the ICRC has provided active support for the medical and relief activities of the Indonesian Red Cross (Palang Merah Indonesia). The volunteers and ambulances of the Indonesian National Society have been hard at work for the last ten days. They evacuated the first casualties among the students of Trisakti University in Jakarta, and managed to bring assistance to hundreds of people trapped and burned during the looting of a number of supermarkets in the capital.
Early last week, one tonne of medicines and other medical supplies was dispatched from ICRC headquarters in Geneva to the Indonesian capital and placed at disposal of the Indonesian Red Cross. The National Society has 16 ambulances, 40 trained volunteers, 100 first-aiders and 10instructors in Jakarta. Its present needs in terms of equipment (five radio handsets, five stretchers, Red Cross vests, 16 canisters of oxygen and the necessary first-aid material) will be met from ICRC stocks in the country. A recent outbreak of dengue fever which caused much concern and placed an added burden on the Indonesian Red Cross blood services seems to be on the decline.
Assistance has also been offered to several universities, and since 14 May the ICRC regional delegation in Jakarta has been in daily contact with the medical staff at Trisakti University.
Meanwhile, the ICRC is continuing its representations to the Indonesian authorities with a view to gaining access to all security detainees.
The ICRC has been working in Indonesia since the 1970s. Between 1974 and 1978 its delegates visited some 40,000 detainees (mainly communists) held in connection with the attempted coup d'etat of 1965. It established a presence in East Timor in 1974 and still maintains an office in Dili, acting as a neutral intermediary between the civilian population and the Indonesian authorities. The main thrust of the regional delegation's activities remains its protection work in Indonesia and East Timor and the medical and relief operation currently being conducted in the highlands of Irian Jaya.
The ICRC has 17 expatriates and more than 50 locally recruited employees in Indonesia.
Further information: Sri R. Wahyu Endah, ICRC Jakarta, tel. ++6221 720 7252 Joerg Stoecklin, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 4122 730 2906
COLOMBIA FLYING OUT TO SAFETY
In an attack launched by armed elements on the village of Puerto Elvira, in Colombia's southern department of Meta on 4 May, some 20 people were killed and a number of shops and buildings destroyed or burnt down.
The next day a joint ICRC/Colombian Red Cross team flew to Puerto Elvira on a DC-3 chartered by the ICRC. Several bodies, together with accompanying family members, were immediately taken to the town of Villavicencio. The operation was carried out by air because this is the only safe way in and out of the area concerned.
On 7 May the ICRC organized five more flights to bring supplies to the inhabitants and evacuate those who, fearing for their safety, had expressed the wish to leave Puerto Elvira. On arrival in Villavicencio the evacuees were assisted by the Colombian Red Cross and the Pastoral social, which provided them with emergency aid and temporary housing.
The operation continued until early last week, by which time a total of 450 people had been evacuated. Several hundred others have fled by road or by boat, so that at present no more than a fifth of the original population of 2,500 still remain in Puerto Elvira.
Further information: Rolin Wavre, ICRC Bogota, tel. ++571 636 7094 Francois Musy, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 22 26
SIERRA LEONE RACING AGAINST TIME TO SUPPLY SEED FOR PLANTING SEASON
The new outbreak of fighting in February, followed by looting and harassment of civilians, forced many people to leave their homes and their belongings. Thousands were reduced to struggling for the survival of their families.
The ICRC and the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society are conducting a joint operation to distribute some 180 tonnes of upland rice seed to 60,000 people in seven chiefdoms in the Tonkolili and Kenema districts. Distributions are due to begin on 20 May. Each beneficiary will also receive a food ration to ensure proper use of the seeds.
"Thanks to the good results achieved with last year's agricultural programmes, many farming families can still live on their reserves, provided they were able to save them from looters", said Helene Cunat, ICRC relief coordinator in Freetown. "But if the seed is not planted now, there could be serious food shortages in the second half of this year."
The seed was purchased locally to ensure optimum results and to help the economy recover. The ICRC and the Sierra Leone Red Cross cooperate closely in all phases of the programme, seeking to reach vulnerable families and displaced persons who have returned to work on the land in areas where there are still many security problems.
A distribution of swamp rice seed to 170,000 people in Tonkolili, Kenema, Kailahun and Pujehun districts is currently being planned and is scheduled to start in late June.
Further information: Jean-Luc Metzker, ICRC Freetown, tel. ++232 22 241 438
AUSTRALIA DISCUSSING THE FUTURE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
At the invitation of the ICRC, 21 States of the Asia-Pacific region took part in an international seminar held on 6 and 7 May in Canberra, Australia, entitled "The international criminal court, between New York and Rome". The gathering, which was organized in cooperation with the Australian government and the country's National Red Cross Society, provided many governmental experts with the opportunity of having informal talks on complex issues raised by the planned establishment of a permanent international criminal court. If such a court were to be set up by the conference scheduled to take place in Rome next month, it would have permanent jurisdiction in cases involving war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
Seminar participants included Ms Louise Arbour, prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, and judges and legal experts from China and Australia involved in the tribunals' work. During the meeting there were constructive exchanges of views between legal practitioners and scholars concerning the competence and attributions of the future court.
In addition to the host country, the following States were represented at the seminar: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Further information: Paul Bonard, ICRC Manila, tel. ++632 892 8901
MOZAMBIQUE FOR A BETTER POLICE FORCE
>From 20 to 23 April a training course on rules of international humanitarian law and human rights law for Mozambique's police and security forces took place in the capital, Maputo. The course was organized by the ICRC regional delegation in Harare, Zimbabwe, in cooperation with the Mozambique Red Cross Society. It was held in three police schools and attended by cadets and senior officers of the country's police force.
As part of the reorganization of the national police force being carried out with support from the UNDP, in 1997 the Mozambican authorities set up a major training and reorientation programme, conducted by a detachment of the Spanish Guardia civil. This year the programme should enable some 2,000 police staff to receive professional training in line with the requirements of a democratic State.
"It was a great experience", said Lt.-Col. Joao Raimundo de S. Amorim, Commander of the Military Police College of Trapiche (northern Brazil), who conducted the course on behalf of the ICRC. "It was highly motivating to see how enthusiastic the cadets were, and how keen to learn. After years of civil war everyone is eager to absorb new ideas and the principles of modern democracy. I'll be glad to come back!"
In addition to the teaching provided by Police Academy staff, the Mozambique Red Cross will, with ICRC backing, give a 15-hour course on first aid and the basic principles of international humanitarian law to the 50 classes which will receive instruction in this training centre by the end of 1998.
Further information: Frank Schmidt, ICRC Harare, tel. ++2634 790 268 Patrick L'Hote, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2522
New on the ICRC Public Server - http://www.icrc.org : - Update No 98/01 on ICRC activities in Tajikistan, dated 15.05.98
For any information you may need on Thursday 21 May (national holiday) please call Philippe Lazzarini, duty press officer, on: 41 79 333 20 46 (mobile) and the weekend of 23-24 May please call Kim Gordon-Bates, duty press officer, on: 41 79 357 50 03 (mobile)