DATE=7/27/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RED CROSS / IRAQ (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-252210
BYLINE=LISA SCHLEIN
DATELINE=GENEVA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The International Committee of the Red Cross -
I-C-R-C - says the civilian population of Iraq is
continuing to suffer an alarming deterioration of its
living conditions as the country enters the 10th year
under the United Nations' embargo. Lisa Schlein in
Geneva reports that the Red Cross says it plans to
step up its humanitarian programs in the country
because of the problems.
TEXT: The Red Cross says U-N sanctions have taken a
heavy toll on the health and well-being of the people
of Iraq, and has put severe strains on the country's
social fabric. Nevertheless, the Red Cross stops
short of calling for an end of the embargo. The
organization explains that it is a neutral body and
the embargo is a matter for politicians to settle,
not for a humanitarian agency.
Michel Minnig headed a Red Cross mission that has just
returned from Iraq. He says the alarming condition in
which the Iraqi people are living is being aggravated
by the effects of severe drought, the worst to hit the
region since 1932. Mr. Minnig says this will have
serious consequences on agriculture and on supplies of
drinking water. He says U-N sanctions have caused
severe damage to much of Iraq's basic services. He
says the country's health, water, electricity and
communications systems are in a dire state.
///MINNIG ACT///
When we are talking about what's going on in the
hospitals, (is) that the beds are in very bad
condition, that X-ray machines are not working. The
roof is collapsing. This is something we have seen.
When you live in Baghdad, you have about 10 hours (of
electric) power cut a day. So this is something very
effective when you are living in this country. The
whole infrastructure, in terms of industry, is not
existing anymore.
///END ACT///
Mr. Minnig says people living in cities are under
constant and terrible stress. The Iraqi people, he
says, practically have no hope left that the conflict
with the United Nations will end. He says an estimated
one-thousand-600 people are still missing from Iraq's
last two wars, the Iran-Iraq border war, which lasted
eight years, and the 1990 Gulf War. He adds the Red
Cross is doing what it can to trace the missing
people.
In response to the growing crisis in Iraq, the Red
Cross is stepping up its activities there. Among its
projects, the Agency plans to repair 12 of the
country's main hospitals and 18 primary health
centers. It also plans to provide surgical equipment
to many of the country's hospitals and improve water
treatment plants. (Signed)
NEB/LS/GE/KL
27-Jul-1999 13:50 PM LOC (27-Jul-1999 1750 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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