Brussels, 27/08/2008 (Agence Europe) - Although European humanitarian aid is getting through to Georgia, Russian authorities are still denying access to the victims of the fighting in the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which have since been declared independent. This is despite contact made with the Russians in Tbilisi and through the Russian Embassy in Brussels, calling for the removal of all obstacles to international humanitarian law, a scenario close to that in Chechnya.
The European Commission said as much to journalists in Brussels on Wednesday 27 August as it took stock of the situation, a few days before the extraordinary European Council on 1 September.
According to Jean-Claude Heyraud, from ECHO, the Commission's humanitarian aid department, the €6 million in emergency humanitarian aid made available by the Commission (€1 million on 10 August and €5 million on 22 August -see EUROPE 9724) and the aid provided by other donors - with member states providing €8 million - should be sufficient. “But we are monitoring the situation on the ground, and, new needs arise, additional aid will be considered,” he stated, referring to the groups which are difficult to reach in South Ossetia (in particular, there are still several thousand Georgians who are without any protection). “Despite all our efforts, neither we nor any of our partners have been able to reach the people who need help in South Ossetia. Only the International Committee of the Red Cross and the NGO Human Rights Watch have been able to get in. The Southern Area (to the north of Gori), which is the most badly affected, is very difficult to reach. The World Food Programme has managed to reach a few villages. Part of the population had fled. According to International Committee of the Red Cross press releases, needs are not that great. We have not gone into Abkhazia either, but we will try to do so,” Heyraud said.
The argument put forward by Moscow for not allowing European aid to pass is simple: “If you have the aid, give it to us”, is, in short, what the Russian Ministry for Extraordinary Situations (EMERCOM) is saying. “That is not good enough for us. The work done by EMRCOM is quite impressive, but we insist that the Russian authorities allow us access,” the European expert said, adding, “ECHO does not want to be escorted by Russian authorities, so that the local people don't associate us with one of the sides in the conflict and, thus, make the aid acceptable”. Drawing parallels with the difficulties encountered in gaining access in Chechnya, he was hopeful that, through its partners, the Commission would manage to get the Russians to allow access.
When asked, the expert said that the Commission was not considering becoming involved in possible civil monitoring operations, and he pointed out that humanitarian aid should not be confused with military operations. “Our aid is neutral, impartial and independent. Sometimes we have to coordinate with the military, but, usually, we work independently,” he said. Of the 30,000 displaced persons in the north of Georgia, 20,000 have returned to their homes and are being looked after by Russia. Of the 100,000 displaced persons in the south (20,000 in South Ossetia and 80,000 in Gori), a large percentage is on the move back home. Those who are prevented from returning to South Ossetia or anywhere else in the country will continue to receive aid. (A.N./transl.rt)