From: barnhart@netcom.com (Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:SOMALIA: IRISH MINISTER PLEA FOR DO
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 92 22:19:24 GMT
Organization: Netcom
Reply-To: barnhart@netcom.com

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

Area: Africa, southern
Reference: Europe, western; Agriculture
Title: SOMALIA: IRISH MINISTER PLEA FOR DOUBLING OF RELIEF EFFORT


nairobi, aug 13 (ips/horace awori) -- irish foreign minister,
david andrews, made an impassioned plea here wednesday night
for the doubling of food supplies to somalia immediately, after
a three-day tour of the war-torn horn of african country.

''i am traumatised by what i saw and believe that the
immediate doubling of food supplies from the current 25,000
tonnes to 50,000 is the answer to the problem'', he declared.

according to the minister, the death toll is 2,000 to 3,000
daily, as a consequence of the civil war and conflict induced
starvation.

like the french health and humanitarian affairs minister,
bernard kuchnear, who was in somalia last week, andrews said,
''although i had been warned, i did not anticipate the situation
i was confronted with. i saw the dead and the dying and i was
appaled''.

''somalia is a land so devasted that it looks as if god
himself has abandoned it'', said the irish minister, ''i felt
as if an a-bomb had been dropped on somalia because of the
extent of the devastation''.

he pledged to urge the european community to redouble its aid
to somalia. '' i will be talking to my british counterpart and
current eec commission president douglas hurd tomorrow on my
arrival in london,'' said andrews.

andrews visit, as with kuchnear's, is seen here as an
important step to focus international attention on a situation
in which particularly the u.n., has been criticised for not
getting involved early enough.

''i know that my colleagues in the commission are as
concerned as i am and that action will be taken soon to help the
people of somalia'', he said.

andrews however paid glowing tribute to u.n. special envoy to
somlaia, mohamed sahnoun, for negotiating an accord with
warlord gen. farah aideed for 500 u.n. security guards to
protect food distribution, ensuring it goes to the people in
need rather than the merchants and combatants.

the proposed blue beret contingent is ''small but it is a
beginning and it is to the credit of sahnoun that even this
small number has now been accepted''.

pakistan, indonesia, canada and zimbabwe have already placed
soldiers on stand-by for the operation. (more/ips)


somalia: irish (2)

but andrews said that troops are only part of the answer.
''those who call for troops for somalia should tread lightly'',
advised andrew who added that sahnoun should have the final
say in the matter.

sahoun has resisited demands within the u.n. secretary
general's office that a much larger military intervention force
should be sent, without the agreement of aideed who until
wednesday had resisted any deployment and threatened to shell
any u.n. troops that landed.

carlton james of the u.n. somali mission told ips that
following aideed's acceptance, the 500 blue berets ''should
be in place in two to three weeks and will help improve food
distribution and the general security situation''.

earlier the world food programme wfp executive director,
catherine bertine, had assured that with security, food
deliveries could be quickly increased.

in a despatch received here wednesday the wfp boss said ''the
actual shipment of food to somalia has not been a problem but
the transportation and distribution of food to those most in
need has been adversely affected by the almost total lack of
security in all areas of the country''.

since the toppling of somali dictator siad barre in february
1991, somalia has been plunged into chaos. the northern-region,
which endured a brutal military campaign by barre's forces
secceeded, the south is in violent clan-based turmoil, and
mogadishu is divided between aideed and the interim-president
mohamed ali mahdi.

out of a population of 7.3 million, more than 1.8 million
people are in immediate danger of starvation and 4.5 million in
need of food relief. the countryside is the worst affected area
ravaged by insecurity, a two-year drought which has forced the
sale of livestock, the consumption of seed grain, and the
migration of those that can move to the towns.

wfp has this week delivered 10,000 tonnes of food to
mogadishu and another 3,000 tonnes to the southern port of
kismayo for onward distribution to the smaller towns of afmadou,
bulala, jilib, jamama.  bertini said a second shipment of 2,000
tonnes of wheat and 350 tonnes of beans is due in kismayo on
aug. 25.

according to wfp executive director the security situation is
relatively calm in kismayu and ''no time will be lost in
delivering supplies to the adjoining areas''.

however there is still factional fighting going on in south-
east somalia as in the rest of the country which has caused
displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.  the population
of kismayo itself has doubled to more than 100,000.
(end/ips/ha/oa/92)

-- 
Aaron (Barnhart@netcom.com) -- posting from Evanston, Illinois
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african