From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:SOMALIA: POPULATION'S DIGNITY IS BEING TRAMPLED, NGO HEAD SAYS
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 13:59:45 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: SOMALIA: POPULATION'S DIGNITY IS BEING TRAMPLED, NGO HEAD SAYS


paris, dec 17 (ips/pablo azocar) -- the president of the
humanitarian organization ''medicins sans frontieres'' (msf -
doctors without borders) thursday criticized ''operation restore
hope'' in somalia, saying that ''the dignity of the somali people
is being trampled underfoot.''

''humanitarian action is meaningful when it is done (within
the framework of) respect for dignity. a donation is beautiful
when it is discreet,'' msf president rony brauman told ips in an
interview.

''from the time there is a 'mise en scene' like when the u.s.
troops landed in mogadishu at u.s. t.v. news time, the donation
is synonymous of humiliation,'' he argued.

brauman said that since the u.s.-led operation began a week
ago, humanitarian aid to the wartorn, drought-stricken african
country has been reduced by two-thirds to its lowest level in a
year.

''so far the operation has been basically military,'' he said,
referring to the arrival of thousands of u.s. and french troops
as part of the relief operation.

''humanitarian aid has been delayed more than one could have
imagined,'' he added.

brauman said an example of the mise en scene aspect of the
somalia operation was when italian actress sofia loren, and later
french singer patrick bruel, arrived in mogadishu ''with an
entire cortege of photographers.''

''there are limits to indecency,'' he pointed out, ''believing
that a 'star' will provoke generosity is taking people for fools.
it is deplorable for the image of sofia loren or any other star
to be interposed between us and a somali. we have to resist that
way of treating humanitarian issues.''

brauman, together with france's current minister for
humanitarian aid, bernard kouchner, created msf in 1971. since
then he has spent much of his time ''in the field,'' especially
in africa.

since 1982 he has presided over msf, the world's biggest
non-governmental organization (ngo), along with the international
red cross.

kouchner, whose idea it was to have singer bruel visit
mogadishu as part of a campaign through which school children
collected six tonnes of rice for somalia, said he felt
''personally attacked'' by brauman's criticisms.

the minister called a press conference thursday to defend his
idea that humanitarian aid ''needs the television.'' (more)
----


''without the communication media, the drama people face meets
with indifference,'' he explained.

brauman said he had no intention of ''becoming involved in a
polemic with the minister.''

he said that the preoccupation of ngo's in somalia was that,
''after the ostentatious military operation, aid finally reaches
those who should receive it.''

''we knew that the aid would not reach immediately, but we are
perplexed by the time it has taken. if the humanitarian operation
does not accompany the military one very quickly, everything
risks being spoilt,'' the msf head said.

he said that for over a year his organization had been issuing
repeated warnings about what was happening in somalia, but had
met with total indifference: ''had we been heeded, a small
surgical operation would have been enough and the situation would
have been resolved.''

''it is the same thing we are saying today about sudan, a
country where an authentic genocide, organized starvation, is
being carried out and where, since 1983, over 600,000 people have
died. nevertheless, there is no reaction,'' he continued.

for international humanitarian organizations like the red
cross or the msf, ''operation restore hope'' presents serious
problems, according to the msf head:

''it would be serious for us to be seen as elements of a
vanguard that might be paving the way for military actions,'' he
explained.

''our action is only meaningful to the extent that its
essentially humanitarian objectives are clear. when such action
is mixed with other diplomatic, political or strategic interests,
however legitimiate these might be, everything is perverted,'' he
added.

brauman urged that the population's needs be given first
priority. ''in this operation the united states has to take up
various military, security and communications commitments, which
are not necessarily compatible with humanitarian aid
commitments,'' he cautioned.

faced with a ''fait accompli'' the msf feels that the
distribution of the humanitarian aid should be decentralized.

''concentrating the population in a few centres where aid is
provided has to be avoided because that presents problems of
epidemics and security,'' he warned. (end/ips/trd/so/pa-da/kb/92)