Brussels, 09/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - On visit to Brussels, members of the delegation of Commander Massoud, leader of the resistance army against the Taliban regime, were received, on Friday, by Mrs Costanza Adinolfi, Director of the Community humanitarian office (ECHO). During the meeting, which covered the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and the ECHO humanitarian programme in this country, Mrs Adinolfi recalled the fundamental principals of humanitarian law that take precedence over the granting of humanitarian assistance and are imposed on all the parties in conflict, namely the need to guarantee the free access of humanitarian personnel to the people in need, and the safety and independence of the humanitarian actors in their mission. The ECHO Director also underlined that the financing decisions taken by the Commission are only based on the objective consideration of the humanitarian needs of the people, where ever they are located, in complete impartiality and without any discrimination.
Since 1993, ECHO has provided EUR 115 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. This aid was a considerable increased compared to last year due to the serious drought affecting the country, adding to the suffering of the people already seriously affected by the war. An action plan for a total of EUR 13 million is in the process of being adopted by the Commission, which will notably finance food security projects and assistance in terms of basic products for the displaced peoples.
Javier Solana feels that military means will not be able to resolve Afghan crisis
Following his meeting, the same day, with Commander Massoud (see EUROPE of 17 April, p.4), the Union High Representative for the CFSP, Javier Solana asserted that "military means cannot resolve the crisis in Afghanistan. The innocent civilian population has already suffered enough", he said when noting that a devastating war has added itself to a terrible drought. Also adding: "The parties to the conflict (Ed: Commander Massoud, supporter of moderate Islam, and the Talibans in Kabul) hold the key to the future of Afghanistan as a country, and I believe it is their joint responsibility to start a genuine dialogue leading to a peace process under the auspices of the United Nations". (also see EUROPE of 6 April, p.3, concerning visit by Commander Massoud to European Parliament).