Asia-Pacific Daily Report August 7, 2003

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1 PACIFIC DISASTER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION NETWORK (PDMIN) 1 Jarrett White Road MCPA-DM, Tripler AMC, HI Telephone: PDMIN@coe-dmha.org Afghanistan Asia-Pacific Daily Report August 7, 2003 UN-backed security commission to meet to discuss disarmament plan in northern Afghanistan David Singh, spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) today said that the UN-backed Mazar Security Commission is scheduled to meet on Saturday (August 9) to finalize a disarmament plan for the northern region that has been a flashpoint for tensions between rival militias. Singh said at a Security Commission meeting yesterday, that all factions that have agreed to disarm in five areas should be identified in the lower Dar-i-Suf sector. He added that representatives of local commanders from the Uzbek-dominated Jumbesh-i-Milli and rival Tajik-dominated Jamiat-i- Islami factions would meet over the weekend in the northern city of Mazar-i- Sharif to discuss when and where the disarmament campaign should take place in Sholgara district. Singh said the commanders have also agreed not to return to Sholgara until disarmament had been completed. The Jumbesh and Jamiat factions have been fighting to seize control of Mazar-i-Sharif and the north since the collapse of the hardline Taliban regime in Previous efforts to disarm rival factions have failed miserably due to the lack of trust and absence of a neutral third party with the authority to enforce the disarmament. However, Afghan Defense Ministry reforms aimed at creating an ethnic balance in the Afghan government are giving renewed hopes to a UN-backed nationwide Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) campaign. t Suspected Taliban fighters kill six Afghan soldiers and a local aid worker in southern Afghanistan Six Afghan soldiers and an Afghan driver working for the US-based aid organization Mercy Corps (MC) were killed in an attack by suspected Taliban fighters in the southern province of Helmand today. According to Dad Mohammed Khan, a professional intelligence chief, the attack took place around 04:00 a.m. local standard time in Deshu district, some 110 miles (177 kilometers) south of provincial capital Lashkargah. Khan said some 40 suspected Taliban fighters drove up in four vehicles, entered government offices and opened fire killing six Afghan soldiers and one local aid worker. The victims were reportedly sleeping in the same room. Rod Volway, head of the Mercy Corps office in the neighboring province of Kandahar, said three Afghan employees of the agency were on an agricultural assessment mission in Deshu. He said he received reports that one MC employee had been killed but he was not able to confirm the

2 reports. Lashkargah is some 90 miles (144 kilometers) northwest of the southern province of Kandahar, a stronghold of the ousted Taliban regime. Mohammed Ayoub, deputy police chief of Helmand, alleged that today s attack had been organized in neighboring Pakistan where the attackers presumably returned after the attack. The southern region of Afghanistan has been the scene of frequent attacks by the remnants of the Taliban in which more than 100 government soldiers and civilians have been killed or wounded this year. Pakistan denies Afghan allegations saying that it is doing all it can to stop insurgents from crossing its long porous borders to and from Afghanistan. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained since the opposition Northern Alliance, with the help of the United States, ousted the hardline Taliban regime in The Tajik-dominated Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai remains wary of Pakistan, which once supported the Taliban India World Vision launches relief distribution in Assam; Floods continue in Bihar According to a World Vision press release today, the NGO has launched its first major food distribution for flood relief in worst-hit Dhemaji district in India s worst-hit northeastern state of Assam. World Vision has also reportedly provided sanitation facilities and clean water to 7,554 people in 17 relief camps. In addition, 3 health camps have been set up to counter the spread of waterborne diseases, and veterinary services were provided for livestock, which forms a major part of the livelihoods of many flood-affected villagers. According to the release, World Vision plans to distribute food to 20,000 people in the coming weeks. In addition, the Singapore-funded Dhemaji Area Development Project plans to help develop agriculture and raise earth platforms to counter floods in the future. Platforms raised by World Vision last year reportedly helped to provide a place of safety to stranded villagers this season. Meanwhile, Agence-France Presse (AFP) reported today that floods have killed

3 another 4 people in nearby Bihar state, raising the death toll there to 37. The state government has reportedly opened 129 relief centers and used 1,812 boats for rescue operations. Flooding from Himalayan rivers in neighboring Nepal have continued as floodwater passes through Bihar to the Bay of Bengal. Grenade attack kills 2 soldiers in Indian-controlled Kashmir A grenade attack by suspected militants killed at least 2 soldiers in a vehicle today in the summer capital of Srinagar in Indian-controlled Kashmir (IcK). Six other soldiers were seriously injured. According to Indian media, this was the first terrorist attack in the city after several months. Most recent attacks have occurred either in the southern Jammu region or in districts bordering Pakistancontrolled Kashmir (PcK). Meanwhile, 1 militant was killed in an encounter in Budgam district. Militants also detonated a bomb at a passing army vehicle in southern Anantnag district, however the vehicle reportedly escaped the blast. Nepal Nepali rights group says both government and rebels have violated ceasefire According to a report released today by the leading Nepalese human rights group Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), more than 50 people have been killed since a January ceasefire was signed between Maoist rebels and the government. INSEC accuses both sides of violating the ceasefire and says that the casualties include many civilians. The group also says that although both rebels and security troops have died in clashes, the rebels are to blame for more killings than government troops. INSEC says that in the past week alone, rebels have killed 6 government troops. The ceasefire has largely held except for small skirmishes that have erupted form time-to-time across the country. The BBC reports that there have also been reports of abduction, arbitrary arrests, and extortion. INSEC is urging both the government and Maoists to immediately stop rights violations to create a better atmosphere for the next round of talks. Last week, the Maoists agreed to resume negotiations. Talks between the government and the rebels stalled in May and the rebels had set a deadline of July 31 for the government to respond to their demands. At least 7,000 people have died since the Maoists began their rebellion in

4 Pakistan Toll rises to 180 in floods in southern Pakistan According to an International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) report today, the death toll in the floods that have hit the southern Pakistan provinces of Sindh and Balochistan have been raised from 163 to 180 today. As waters have been receding in some places, people have started to return to Badin district in Sindh, which was hit by the worst floods in a decade. Camps in the district have dropped from 91 to 63. The Pakistan Red Crescent, which has been conducting relief operations since the start of the floods, has provided 3500 food packages in Sindh province, and another 3,500 is due to be distributed shortly. Funds from local businesses and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) will be providing shelter, relief and food supplies for another 25,000 people. In order to combat the threat of waterborne disease, the Pakistan Red Crescent has also dispatched 2 medical teams to Balochistan, while another 2 are due shortly. Although there have been no reports of major outbreaks, 1500 people have received treatment for malaria, typhoid and diarrhea, especially women and children. The UN has also warned of measles, hepatitis and skin diseases. This is only the beginning of the south-western monsoon and we need to be prepared for more, said Dr. M Fazil Moin, Secretary General of the Pakistan Red Crescent. These rains could last until September and therefore, the affected communities, who were already victims of five years of drought, will need immediate relief Pakistan to crackdown on illegal immigration; Pakistan minorities protest killing According to Indian and Pakistani news yesterday, Pakistan has decided to register cases against officials involved in the falsification of the immigrant documents for illegals in the country as part of a larger crackdown on illegal immigration. The measures were decided upon in a recent meeting that included the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) and the National Registration Authority (NARA). The effort would focus particularly on about 1.2 million Bengalis, who have settled mostly in Karachi and 200,000 Myanmarese believed to be all over the country. In the last year and a half, only 26,000 migrants, including Afghan refugees, have officially registered themselves. Meanwhile, the Times of India reported yesterday that hundreds of Pakistani Christians held demonstrations led by the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) in Lahore and Multan cities to protest the July 4 killing of a Christian priest, Father George Ibrahim. Ibrahim was killed after his church took over a school in Ranala Kot town, 120 miles (200 km) southwest of Lahore. Pakistani Christians were targeted along with Westerners in a spate of domestic terror attacks last year as part of a backlash against Pakistan s support for the US-led war on terror in Afghanistan

Solomon Islands World Vision reports on Solomons displaced World Vision International reported today that there are an estimated 1,214 internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering in various

5 Solomon Islands World Vision reports on Solomons displaced World Vision International reported today that there are an estimated 1,214 internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltering in various locations across Guadalcanal province due to recent conflict and lawlessness before the arrival of a 2,250-strong Australian led peacekeeping force. WVI reports that many families had walked long distances across the island, many times accompanied by small children. The Red Cross has registered some 263 families and it is expected that there will be more arriving over the next few months. IDPs first began trickling into the capital Honiara in early June after fleeing the Weathercoast area as the notorious militia leader Harold Keke s Guadalcanal Liberation Front (GLF) attacked their villages and reportedly began taking hostages. WVI says that there have been other reports of violence in the Weathercoast area but due to the security situation, reports could not be verified. WV Solomon Islands has begun helping with water and sanitation for some of the IDPs in the camps. The NGO is also part of the IDP Coordination Committee that was established in June to coordinate humanitarian aid. The committee also includes the Red Cross, Oxfam, ADRA, SICA, National Peace Council, National Disaster Council and the provincial government. WVI estimates that because the GLF is still present in the Weathercoast area, IDPs will have to remain in Honiara or other areas for another 3-6 months and that they will require food and other aid for at least another 9 months. It has been mostly peaceful since the arrival of the Australian-led intervention force arrived in the Solomons capital Honiara on July 24, and force leaders have convinced GLF s rival, the Malaitan Eagle Force (MEF) to turn in their arms. In its first major deployment outside of Honiara, the intervention force opened a police station at Avu Avu on the Weathercoast today, which is reportedly close to the stronghold of Keke. Sri Lanka Government says peace talks may resume next month Sri Lankan officials say that peace talks between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government could restart as early as September. It is our expectation that in the course of September these discussions will resume,

6 cabinet spokesperson G.L. Peiris told the media. He said that the LTTE was due to meet in Paris next week to come up with a response to a government proposal for an interim administration in the Tamil-dominated north and east made last month. Peiris says that after the LTTE came up with a response, a face-to-face meeting would be needed. Peace talks were stalled in April after the Tigers suspended negotiations. The proposal given to the LTTE proposes a Provincial Administrative Council that would have wide powers but would not control security, policing, revenue or land. The Council would consist of a majority of members nominated by the LTTE but also some members of the government and opposition. Meanwhile, US State Department Spokesman Philip T. Reeker yesterday called for the LTTE to resume peace talks with the government but also said that the rebels were undermining confidence in the peace process by maintaining a camp in Trincomalee that peace monitors claim is in violation of the ceasefire agreement. Reeker also said that the rebels were responsible for some 3 dozen political assassinations. The United States calls on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to renounce terrorism and cease terrorist acts, including political assassination, and to comply with the terms of the ceasefire agreement they signed, a statement from the US Embassy in Colombo said. Leading human rights groups Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) also criticized the LTTE today, accusing them of taking advantage of the ceasefire with the government to carry out political assassinations of opponents. The end of the fighting in Sri Lanka has not meant an end to the killing. Members of Tamil political parties are being gunned down and the available evidence points to the Tamil Tigers, says Brad Adams, executive director of HRW

Asia-Pacific Daily Report September 18, 2003

Asia-Pacific Daily Report September 18, 2003 PACIFIC DISASTER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION NETWORK (PDMIN) 1 Jarrett White Road MCPA-DM, Tripler AMC, HI 96859-5000 Telephone: 808.433.7035 PDMIN@coe-dmha.org http://www.coe-dmha.org Afghanistan Asia-Pacific