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30 May 1995
Annual
report 1994 |
Malaysia
In 1994 the ICRC focused on visits to
detainees, spreading knowledge of international
humanitarian law and the ICRC's activities and training
National Society staff in order to involve them in
international operations.
In April the ICRC completed its round
of prison visits to detainees held under the Internal
Security Act. Between November 1993 and April 1994
delegates visited 49 detainees throughout Malaysia.
The ICRC, together with the
Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS), organized a
workshop on international humanitarian law in Kuala
Lumpur for 40 military instructors. An information day
was held for 80 officers of the armed forces' medical
corps. In addition, the regional delegation and the
National Society prepared a five-day workshop for 35
directors of provincial branches of the MRCS. This
focused on international humanitarian law and the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. At the
end of the year a similar workshop was held in Bintulu,
Sarawak province, for 34 Red Crescent representatives.
In October the ICRC Vice-President
visited Malaysia to hold talks with National Society
leaders. The matters discussed included dissemination
programmes, preparations for the 26th International
Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and ways of
strengthening the ICRC's working relations with the MRCS.
Talks with government officials centred on the promotion
of international humanitarian law.
See also Jakarta regional
delegation
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30 May 1995
Annual
report 1994 |
Jakarta
Regional delegation (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia/East
Timor, Malaysia, Singapore)
BRUNEI
DARUSSALAM
INDONESIA
EAST
TIMOR
MALAYSIA
SINGAPORE
BRUNEI
DARUSSALAM
During a visit to Brunei in June the
regional delegate established contacts with the emerging
Brunei Red Crescent Society with the aim of preparing for
its admission to the International Red Cross and Red
Crescent Movement.
INDONESIA
As in previous years, the ICRC's
activities in Indonesia focused on visits to all
categories of security detainees. In the light of the
persistent tension in Aceh, the ICRC developed its
presence in the area. Through regular missions to this
northern Sumatran province, delegates were able to extend
the scope of their activities for the civilian
population. However, the institution's permanent presence
in the province remained subject to approval.
Contacts with the Indonesian armed
forces regarding the promotion of international
humanitarian law among the troops made gradual progress.
Ties with the National Society were also strengthened.
In November a Hercules aircraft was
made available to the ICRC by the Indonesian government
for an emergency airlift to Afghanistan. Medical supplies
were flown into Kabul, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif.
Activities
for detainees
In October the ICRC began its annual
round of visits to security detainees held in Sulawesi,
Kalimantan, central Java and Irian Jaya. All categories
of security detainees were visited, including those
suspected of having links to the extreme right and people
held in connection with the 1965 communist coup attempt.
At regular intervals delegates went to
military and civilian places of detention in Aceh,
visiting some 139 detainees, of whom 80 were newly
registered. They also visited ex-detainees in their homes
and saw families of detainees who were still anxious
about their relatives' whereabouts. The ICRC subsequently
made the necessary arrangements for family visits to
security prisoners.
In Irian Jaya the ICRC developed
its contacts in connection with detention matters. It
organized two series of family visits for detainees
serving sentences in Java, far from their homes, although
ideally the Indonesian authorities should consider
transferring these people back to places of detention in
Irian Jaya.
In all places visited delegates
monitored the conditions of detention, provided material
and medical assistance when necessary and offered the
detainees the opportunity to write Red Cross messages to
their families. In 1994 the ICRC visited a total of 208
detainees held in 30 places of detention throughout
Indonesia. Around 113 prisoners benefited from the family
visits programme.
Activities
for the civilian population
The ICRC carried out several missions
to Irian Jaya to assess the situation of returnees from
UNHCR refugee camps in Papua New Guinea. Delegates
regularly contacted the local authorities in the area and
visited villages along the border and transit camps in
order to monitor living standards and the conditions in
which the Irianese were transferred to their places of
origin. In September the ICRC visited UNHCR border camps
in Papua New Guinea, which still harboured approximately
3,500 Irianese refugees, and facilitated the exchange of
news between separated family members through Red Cross
messages.
ICRC delegates carried out regular
missions to Aceh. Their activities focused on
humanitarian problems encountered by the civilian
population. Where necessary, the ICRC informed the
relevant authorities.
In Irian Jaya the ICRC worked in
cooperation with the Indonesian Red Cross Society, which
provided logistic support, liaised with the civilian
population and helped to organize family visits to
security detainees.
Tracing
activities
The ICRC's tracing service in Jakarta
provided support for the delegation's detention-related
activities. In 1994 it concentrated its efforts on
responding to a number of tracing requests from the
civilian population in Aceh and Irian Jaya by collecting
statements and allegations of disappearances and family
separations.
Dissemination
As in previous years, the main focus
was dissemination of international humanitarian law to
the Indonesian armed forces. The ICRC initiated a
dialogue with the Indonesian armed forces regarding the
incorporation of dissemination courses in military
training programmes. Meetings with the decision-making
level of the military were held at the headquarters of
the armed forces in Cilacap and Bandung.
The regional delegation organized
sessions for the police, university students and Red
Cross members and personnel. The regional delegation
financed and took part in one-day workshops on the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement for the
management level of Red Cross branches in Sumatra, South
Sulawesi, Flores and East Timor.
EAST TIMOR
The situation in East Timor remained
uncertain in 1994. The ICRC kept a close watch on all
major incidents which occurred during the year, helping
to ease tension by acting as a neutral intermediary
between the authorities and the civilian population and
by monitoring respect for international humanitarian law.
In July demonstrations in and around the university
campus in Dili resulted in a number of arrests. The ICRC
did its utmost to promote a dialogue between the
demonstrators and the authorities and helped maintain
contact between those arrested and their families. In
addition, delegates gave first aid to a number of
students involved in the demonstration and evacuated one
person to Dili's civilian hospital. Some 20 demonstrators
were arrested and the ICRC was immediately granted access
to them in police stations and military camps. They were
all subsequently released.
When a group of Timorese staged a
12-day sit-in at the United States embassy in Jakarta in
November, the ICRC was called upon to act as a neutral
intermediary by the parties concerned. After receiving
confirmation from all the Timorese involved in the sit-in
of their wish to leave, the ICRC facilitated their
departure for Portugal. The ICRC continued to follow the
cases of other Timorese in Jakarta, including those who
had been prevented from joining the group in the United
States embassy compound.
Sessions on international
humanitarian law and the fundamental Red Cross principles
were held on a regular basis for the security forces and
at Dili University.
Activities
for detainees
Delegates based in Dili frequently
visited security detainees in places of detention run by
the armed forces, the police and the Ministry of Justice.
The ICRC also visited Timorese detainees held in Java,
including the leader of the armed opposition detained in
a prison in Jakarta.
In all places of detention visited,
the ICRC checked on detainees' conditions of detention
and treatment, provided material and medical assistance
where necessary, gave detainees the opportunity to write
Red Cross messages to their relatives and organized and
financed two series of family visits for those being held
far from home.
Activities
for the civilian population
Since November 1993, ICRC delegates
have been able to move more freely in East Timor. In 1994
they had better access to the local population and their
activities focused on the protection of the civilian
population. Delegates recorded allegations of violations
and contacted the authorities on these matters whenever
necessary.
Tracing
activities
The tracing service offered support
for the ICRC's detention-related activities by collecting
and distributing Red Cross messages. It also dealt with
140 tracing enquiries, including cases concerning missing
persons, many of which were brought over from the
previous year. The ICRC repatriated 31\'81hardship cases
from East Timor to Portugal.
Water and
sanitation
The ICRC worked closely with the
Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) in East Timor in the field of
sanitation and public health. The water and sanitation
programme was launched in 1988 by the ICRC and the PMI,
in cooperation with the Ministry of Health in East Timor,
in order to give remote villages access to fresh drinking
water. Surveys were conducted by an ICRC water engineer,
maintenance work was carried out and four ICRC/PMI teams
dug wells or piped water from remote springs. In 1994
eight projects were completed, bringing the total over
the past seven years to 42.
An ICRC nurse trained two Timorese
nurses to carry out medical surveys and hygiene and
public health programmes. Together they conducted surveys
in some of the remotest parts of the island, providing
assistance where needed.
MALAYSIA
In 1994 the ICRC focused on visits to
detainees, spreading knowledge of international
humanitarian law and the ICRC's activities and training
National Society staff in order to involve them in
international operations.
In April the ICRC completed its round
of prison visits to detainees held under the Internal
Security Act. Between November 1993 and April 1994
delegates visited 49 detainees throughout Malaysia.
The ICRC, together with the
Malaysian Red Crescent Society (MRCS), organized a
workshop on international humanitarian law in Kuala
Lumpur for 40 military instructors. An information day
was held for 80 officers of the armed forces' medical
corps. In addition, the regional delegation and the
National Society prepared a five-day workshop for 35
directors of provincial branches of the MRCS. This
focused on international humanitarian law and the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. At the
end of the year a similar workshop was held in Bintulu,
Sarawak province, for 34 Red Crescent representatives.
In October the ICRC Vice-President
visited Malaysia to hold talks with National Society
leaders. The matters discussed included dissemination
programmes, preparations for the 26th International
Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and ways of
strengthening the ICRC's working relations with the MRCS.
Talks with government officials centred on the promotion
of international humanitarian law.
SINGAPORE
While in the Far East in October, the
ICRC Vice-President conducted a mission to Singapore with
the aim of establishing closer relations between the ICRC
and both the Singapore Red Cross Society and the
government. To this end, the Vice-President met
representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the
Ministry of Defence and the National Society. Topics
raised included the promotion of international
humanitarian law and the 26th International Conference of
the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
The ICRC remained in touch with the
National Society and the Ministry of Defence with a view
to organizing a training course on international
humanitarian law for military instructors in 1995.
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