The Hindu : 'ICRC scaling down operations in Sri Lanka'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 20, 2002

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'ICRC scaling down operations in Sri Lanka'

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI DEC. 19. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is pursuing the cases of 10,000 missing persons in Sri Lanka for which they have records since 1992.

In a brief chat, the ICRC Delegate-General for Asia and the Pacific, Reto Meister, said today that half of those missing were civilians while the other half comprised both Government soldiers and LTTE militants.

Mr. Meister, in India for the last couple of days, said the ICRC was scaling down its operations in Sri Lanka since the ceasefire in the war-torn island was holding. Progress had been made in the political negotiations in Sri Lanka and a conflict situation was now in a "period of transition". Internally-displaced persons had started returning to their homes and prisoners were being exchanged.

On the missing persons issue, he stressed the need to address the continuing concerns of families — this would allow them to get on with their lives.

Asked whether the ICRC was making any preparations to deal with a humanitarian situation if there was a war against Iraq, Mr. Meister said a political process was underway (in the United Nations) as of now. The ICRC has had a presence in Iraq since 1982, and even during Operation Desert Storm, the committee had stayed put there. And the ICRC had every intention to stay on, he added.

The ICRC had undertaken contingency planning, he said adding, "we will be present if the political process does not succeed''. In case of a conflict situation in Iraq, he felt that "life-saving operations" would be the ICRC's priority. The focus would be on the civilian population since armed forces usually had their own medical teams accompanying them in battle situations.

On the current situation in Nepal and the ICRC's role there, he said the committee's representatives visited detainees in prisons and police camps in the context of the Maoist insurgency. (The ICRC insists on having access to the same detainee on a continuing basis, but does not publicise its concerns). Interestingly, he said, the ICRC had also visited Army barracks and was hopeful of concluding a formal agreement on access to detainees with Nepal.

Mr. Meister said that in a situation of "internal armed conflict", the ICRC had a role to play. The Nepalese Government was a signatory to the Geneva Conventions and the Maoists had made a statement of intent relating to respect for the conventions. The ICRC was very keen to ensure that the sanctity of civilian lives should be respected in Nepal, he added.

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