But according to Mr. Kumar, there's been a positive side to the current political crisis. On the positive side, I must add though that the Haitian National Police which has been the focus of so many international efforts in the past two or three years, has managed to remain by and large neutral in this political dispute, which I must say is something significant and relatively new in Haiti that an armed force stays neutral in a political dispute of this magnitude and that's something to be commended. As examples he cited conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan with civilians as the preferred targets, the propagation of terror as the premeditated tactic, and the physical elimination or mass displacement of certain categories of populations as the overarching strategy. They have become the means to achieve a strategic goal. As a result, even low intensity conflicts generate enormous human suffering.
Humanitarian needs are disproportionate in fact to the scale of military conflict.
That ends this edition of the World In Review. The programme was produced by the international staff of United Nations Radio. Production Assistance was by Stan Reynolds, our engineer Peter Kurisko. I'm Donn Bobb.