Sudan cancels licences granted to humanitarian organisations
march, 2009 | worldportalnews | Based on NFA
The World Food Programme — (WFP) has announced that there is a risk that the increasing level of violence in the violence-stricken Darfur (Sudan) as well as the running out financial resources will make provision of humanitarian assistance impossible. Kenro Oshidari, a WFP representative in Sudan, said that “ Lack of money may force us to cease provision of humanitarian assistance by air now that our helicopters and aeroplanes are particularly needed in the regions where violence and hunger are more and more prevailing from day to day”.
The WFP informs that at present (information from the end of 2008) Darfur ought to be provided with twice as much food as it is now; also, time of aid provision to the destination has extended as the few carriers who have been providing the aid are resigning and the others are avoiding shorter routes for safety reasons because brutal assaults frequently occur along them. Since the beginning of the year, the WFP Humanitarian Air Service (WFP-HAS) has not obtained acknowledgement of being granted any funds; if the money is not transferred to the WFP accounts, it will not be possible to provide further assistance the monthly cost of which amounts to approximately 6 million dollars.
Eight thousand volunteers take advantage of the WFP-HAS financial resources; three thousand of them provide assistance with the use of helicopters and aeroplanes. “ The entire volunteer community depends on the WFP-HAS. Now that danger on roads and in the air is increasing (aeroplanes are shot down), banditism is prevailing and safety has long been impossible to be certain of the aid provided by air has been most required”, appeals Oshidari. “BVC” kenyan air transportation lines have responded to Oshidari´s appeal. At the end of March, Barthe Cortes, the owner of BVC, managed to negotiate with representatives of the official Sudanese authorities a permission to fly within the prohibited flight zone over Darfur. Details of the contract remain unknown. Anyway, it is known that the lines “BVC” has undertaken towards the WFP to deliver humanitarian aid to the regions on its aeroplanes free of charge. The situation in Sudan has been aggravating year by year. Recently, there has been issued an international warrant of apprehension of the President of Sudan. In retaliation, Omar al-Bashir expelled ten humanitarian organisations from the war-stricken Darfur. They were providing aid to nearly 2.7 million inhabitants of the province; the expelled ones included „Doctors Without Borders” as well as „Oxfam” and „Save the Children”. Humanitarian workers had 24 hours to leave Sudan because, as explained by Vice-President of Sudan, Ali Osman Taha, Western organisations „ were breaking Sudanese law ” and their „ actual” objectives were of political nature. Violence in Sudan is uncontrollable. The government acquiesces to the continuing ethnic cleansing. It is estimated that in the current fights as well as a result of the cleansing there have died approx. 200 thousand people and nearly two and a half million have been dislodged. Currently, this is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Based on: NFA.biz.nf (News From Africa).
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