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EAST TIMOR: ICRC RELIEF SENT TO DILI: In an effort to deal with any contingency following the UN-sponsored ballot held in East Timor on 30 August, the ICRC's Jakarta delegation has dispatched a shipload of food and other relief supplies to the territory.
BALKAN CRISIS: SOWING THE SEEDS OF THE FUTURE: Kosovo farmers anxious to till the fields they were forced to abandon during the conflict are to receive support from the ICRC as part of an approach aimed at helping residents of the province regain self-sufficiency.
NAMIBIA: SECURITY DETAINEES VISITED IN THE CAPRIVI STRIP: The ICRC has completed an initial series of visits to security detainees arrested by the Namibian authorities in early August under a state of emergency which has since been lifted.
INDONESIA: AID FOR 11,000 DISPLACED PEOPLE: In the aftermath of inter-ethnic clashes in Sambas, West Kalimantan earlier this year, the ICRC worked in conjunction with the local branch of the Indonesian Red Cross to distribute relief supplies to people forced to flee their homes.
** STORIES IN FULL...
EAST TIMOR ICRC RELIEF SENT TO DILI
In an effort to deal with any contingency following the UN-sponsored ballot held in East Timor on 30 August, the ICRC's Jakarta delegation has dispatched a shipload of food and other relief supplies to the territory. The consignment contains blankets, sarongs, water containers, plastic sheeting, tarpaulins, cooking utensils and other household and personal hygiene items for around 50,000 persons. The food (sugar, rice, salt, green beans and cooking oil) is enough to feed 10,000 people for two weeks.
Following the vote, the ICRC facilitated the transfer to Catholic missions of several hundred newly displaced people from the police stations to which they had fled. Delegates provided them with food and other aid. It is estimated that the events in the run-up to the vote forced over 1,200 people to flee into West Timor. Since the beginning of this year, the ICRC has supplied 10,000 displaced persons with non-food relief. Some 20,000 people have received basic medical care.
The ICRC currently has 11 delegates in East Timor and another in West Timor, who is part of a rapid response team operated jointly by the Geneva-based organization and the Indonesian Red Cross Society.
Further information: Corinne Adam, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 41 22 730 22 24 Sri R. Wahyu Endah, ICRC Jakarta, tel. ++ 9111 469 83 85
BALKAN CRISIS SOWING THE SEEDS OF THE FUTURE
Kosovo farmers anxious to till the fields they were forced to abandon during the conflict are to receive support from the ICRC as part of an approach aimed at helping residents of the province regain self-sufficiency.
Many farmers returned to their homes to find buildings, equipment and supplies destroyed or stolen, making it impossible for them to cultivate their land. Starting this week, farmers in six districts will receive fertilizer and seed with which to plant a winter-wheat crop for harvest next summer. Eventually, some 15,000 will benefit from the ICRC programme, which is being run in conjunction with other agencies.
Agricultural expert Matthias Mollet explained how the programme came about. "At the moment many farming families are dependent on food aid. We asked them what they want and they told us they want to grow their own food on their own land. So we are helping them do just that." At the same time every effort must be made to ensure that landmines and unexploded ordnance are cleared from agricultural land and to make farmers aware of the risks before they return to work.
"Of course, not every farmer will have the equipment he needs to plant a crop this year", Mollet pointed out. "In addition to supplying seed and fertilizer, the Red Cross is also planning a programme to provide both tractors and spare parts."
Further information: Daloni Carlisle, ICRC Pristina, tel. ++ 381 63 344 164 Amanda Williamson, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 41 22 730 26 78
NAMIBIA SECURITY DETAINEES VISITED IN THE CAPRIVI STRIP
The ICRC has completed an initial series of visits to security detainees arrested by the Namibian authorities in early August under a state of emergency which has since been lifted. The arrests took place in the wake of secessionist activities in the Caprivi Strip, a narrow piece of land lying between Angola and Botswana.
The Ministry of Defence authorized the ICRC to visit the security detainees on 17 August. The same day a team of three delegates, including a doctor, went to the police station in Katima Mulilo. Visits continued on 20 August at the Grootfontein military base and prison and were completed on 25 August when delegates saw one detainee at the civilian hospital in Windhoek. A total of 112 detainees was registered by the ICRC and 77 Red Cross messages were collected which will shortly be distributed to the families of the detained.
The visits were carried out in accordance with standard ICRC procedures, including private interviews with the detainees. In addition, the ICRC, which has been present in Katima Mulilo since the clashes started, assessed the situation in humanitarian terms and provided the town's hospital with emergency medical supplies furnished by the Namibia Red Cross.
Further information: Urs Boegli, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++41 22 730 730 23 89
INDONESIA AID FOR 11,000 DISPLACED PEOPLE
In the aftermath of inter-ethnic clashes in Sambas, West Kalimantan earlier this year, the ICRC worked in conjunction with the local branch of the Indonesian Red Cross to distribute relief supplies to people forced to flee their homes. Between March and May, 58,000 non-food items (mattresses, personal hygiene items and packs of detergent) were delivered to people who had sought refuge in camps in Pontianak and Singkawang.
In June, the ICRC learned that the food situation had dramatically deteriorated in the camps. Together with the local Red Cross it decided to organize a two-month distribution, from July to September, to supplement the rice provided by the Indonesian authorities. The Red Cross programme supplied some 46 tonnes of beans, 40 tonnes of cooking oil, 40 tonnes of dried fish, 13 tonnes of sugar and three tonnes of salt to around 11,000 displaced people. The ICRC also supported a supplementary feeding programme run by the local department of health for children under five years of age, providing among other things two tonnes of oil and 1.5 tonnes of sugar. Malnutrition has since diminished. The ICRC will be phasing out its support following assurances by the authorities that they will continue the programme.
Further information: Corinne Adam, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++ 41 22 730 22 24 Sri R. Wahyu Endah, ICRC Jakarta, tel. ++ 9111 469 83 85
Medal commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, a limited number of commemorative medals were struck in silver and gold by the ICRC in conjunction with the Intermunzen company of Bettlach, Switzerland. On 12 August, the anniversary date, ICRC President Cornelio Sommaruga awarded a gold medal to each of the 12 signatories of the Solemn Appeal made on that occasion.
The medals can be viewed and ordered on the following Websites: http://www.helpcicr.org and http://www.intermuenzen.ch. Those made of gold are numbered. All purchasers will receive a certificate of authenticity signed by President Sommaruga.
During the weekend of 4 - 5 September 1999, for all information please call the press officer on duty Chris Bowers, on ++ 41 22 779 33 22 or ++ 41 79 217 32 31