Malaysia should be in the very  forefront in the United Nations to call for a halt to the US-led bombings in Afghanistan to allow time for huge relief operations to avert a human catastrophe


Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang
 

(Petaling Jaya, Monday): The Shanghai declaration of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Summit is disappointing in failing to advert to the humanitarian crisis and disaster among millions of innocent Afghans although  its strong condemnation of the September 11  terrorist attacks on the United States and the vow for collective resolve to counter terrorism is lauded by all right-thinking people in the world.

DAP calls on the Malaysian government to be in the very forefront in the United Nations to call for a halt to the US-led bombing in Afghanistan to allow time for huge relief operations to avert the looming humanitarian catastrophe among millions of innocent Afghan civilians.

It has been reported in the international media that moves are afoot in the United Nations to issue an unprecedented appeal to the United States and its coalition allies to halt the war on Afghanistan and allow time for a huge relief operation.

UN sources in Pakistan said growing concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country - in part, they say, caused by the relentless bombing campaign - has forced them to take the radical step. Aid officials estimate that up to 7.5 million Afghans might be threatened with starvation.

One UN source said: “The situation is completely untenable inside Afghanistan. We really need to get our point across here and have to be very bold in doing it. Unless the (US air) strikes stop, there will be a huge number of deaths.”

Various aid  agencies have confirmed that the sick, the young and the old are already dying in refugee camps around the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

The World Food Program has calculated that 52,000 tons of wheat must be distributed in Afghanistan each month to stave off mass starvation. Since the aid program was restarted - on 25 September - only 20,000 tons have been supplied and 15,000 distributed. The concern is that the coming winter will make relief efforts more difficult. The first snows have already fallen on the Hindu Kush mountains and the isolated highlands of Hazarajat.

But though the WFP is accelerating the supply of food, it says it is unlikely to be able to bring in more than two-thirds of what is required. And it is clear that little aid is reaching the most remote areas where the need is greatest.

(22/10/2001)



*Lim Kit Siang - DAP National Chairman