1971-06-09
By Alan McGregor
Page: 6
Geneva, June 8
With contributions from governments now past the £13m mark and the certainty of more to come, United Nations aid for East Pakistan refugees is steadily gathering momentum—being coordinated by what amounts to a disaster relief unit set up within the office in Geneva of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Officials are unable to estimate at the moment how much money may be needed altogether. On the basis of three million refugees, the Indian Government had earlier put forward a figure of approximately £70m.
For once, the United Nations had sidestepped its own red tape and gone ahead with establishing a "special body to organize disaster relief." This is being done by a planning team of six men, directed by Mr. Charles Mace, the Deputy High Commissioner. The team is backed by the considerable administrative resources of UNHCR headquarters.
The High Commissioner himself, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, has been in Pakistan since Sunday on what is undoubtedly the most difficult assignment of his career. His aim is twofold: to ensure "the humanitarian aspects" of relief, unhampered by political hitches: and in the longer term, to work out with the Pakistan Government a programme for repatriation of all the refugees.
Events have thrust on Prince Sadruddin the responsibility of ensuring the success of the largest humanitarian action ever undertaken by United Nations agencies.
One problem is obtaining the hundreds of thousands of tents needed to shelter the refugees during the monsoon. The slow-moving airlift of medical supplies by the World Health Organization will be given a boost tomorrow when an RAF Hercules will pick up nine tons at Geneva airport. The aircraft will already have a quantity of British supplies on board, including 14,000 litres of saline rehydration fluid--regarded by WHO as the most important item of all for saving the lives of persons already infected by the cholera vibrio.
An RAF VC10 will load 14 tons of supplies here on Thursday or Friday and American Air Force transports are expected within the next day or two. This will enable WHO to clear the backlog of supplies: only two and a half tons have gone out so far.
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Fred Emery writes from Washington: The United States today announced the grant of a further $15m of relief for Pakistani refugees in India, bringing its total contribution to $17.5m. Of the additional sum, $10m is being allocated for foodstuffs, and the rest donated in cash for medicines, building supplies and the cost of airlifting refugees away from congested frontier camps.
Mr Frank Kellogg, special assistant to the Secretary of State, who is coordinating American activities, said today that the planned American airlift of refugees, possibly into Assam, was not yet under way. However, he said, one American C 130 transport aircraft had arrived in India, but three additional aircraft were still awaiting clearance, and Mr Kellogg said he did not expect the airlift to begin for another 10 days.
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Our Canberra Correspondent writes : Australia has decided to double to $A1m (£465,000) its aid for relief. Mr McMahon, the Prime Minister, said tonight that $A240,000 worth of aid had already been committed.
A Qantas Boeing 707, chartered by the Government, left Melbourne tonight with a load of cholera vaccine.
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Moscow, June 8.—Mr Kosygin, the Soviet Prime Minister, discussed the problem of refugees from East Pakistan today with Mr Swaran Singh, the Indian Foreign Minister. Later the two countries issued a joint statement calling for "immediate measures to be taken in East Pakistan which would ensure the stoppage of the influx refugees from East Pakistan".—Reuter