Brussels, 08/10/2004 (Agence Europe) - With the Russian authorities having apparently signalled an end to the conflict in Chechnya, the EU's humanitarian aid office (ECHO) continues to respond to the humanitarian needs of the civil population. According to the head of the ECHO office for north Caucasus, Philippe Royan, "the time has come to get things back to normal and rebuild, because the conflict is officially over, according to the Russian authorities". On the ground, however, the ECHO expert states that "we haven't seen an absence of conflict for five years". A climate of impunity, marked by many kidnappings, still rules in Chechnya, which seriously hinders humanitarian missions' work.
ECHO is doing all it can to help NGOs and international agencies, and also takes care of the legal and physical protection of refugees and internally displaced persons. Nonetheless, if the EU is trying to bring about better working conditions, the Russian psyche still seems to feel, as Philippe Royan told a few journalists last week in Brussels, "that the troubles come from the outside, because we westerners support terrorists"; Behind the official speech, however, the expert said that locally, purchases of material to cleanse water, for example, or refurbish health centres are "welcome". At the same time as its protective actions, the ECHO mission is also concentrating on food aid and healthcare needs. Mass movements of populations fleeing war have greatly restricted access to food in Chechnya, and the situation is particularly bad in the devastated capital Grozny and the south of the country. ECHO is also spending a considerable amount on educational and psycho-social support and awareness-raising projects on the dangers of land-mines, aimed especially at children.