|
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
News Search
|
|
31-12-2004 Scotsman Blair says 'No' to plea for G8 emergency summit as the death toll passes 125,000 By Diplomatic Correspondent Gethin Chamberlain AS THE death toll from the Asian tsunami passed 125,000 last night and the British government increased its aid pledge to GBP 50 million, Tony Blair rejected a call from the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, to convene an emergency meeting of the G8 group of the world's wealthiest nations. The development came as it was revealed that members of the British public have given more than GBP 25 million in just two days to the Disasters Emergency Committee, an umbrella organisation for a number of leading charities. Mr Berlusconi had asked Mr Blair to call the rich nations together to discuss their response to the disaster, but Mr Blair said the United Nations, rather than the G8, should continue to play the lead role. Britain takes over the G8 presidency tomorrow. The twomen spoke by telephone last night. Later, a Downing Street spokesman said: "In his discussions with Mr Berlusconi this evening, the Prime Minister said he will contact the other G8 members about assistance that we might be able to give to the UN. But we are confident that G8 members will agree that it is right that the UN should continue to take the lead role in co-ordinating the relief effort." The United States currently chairs the G8, made up of the US, Britain, Russia, Italy, Canada, France, Japan and Germany. Mr Blair has also faced calls from the Conservatives to cut short his holiday in Egypt to take charge of Britain's response to the crisis, but Downing Street has insisted that he is in regular contact with Cabinet colleagues who are leading Britain's actions. The British government has now promised a further GBP 35 million, taking its total to GBP 50 million, while the World Bank pledged GBP 130 million after the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, met heads of UN agencies and leaders of non-governmental organisations. The Disasters Emergency Committee said it had been overwhelmed by the generosity of the British public. "The money being pledged is already making a difference, but this is a long-term crisis and we would urge people to continue in their generosity," a spokeswoman for the committee said. It has emerged that the Scottish Executive is looking at seconding employees to aid organisations helping with the aftermath in Asia. The tourism minister, Patricia Ferguson, revealed the plans after meeting international aid organisations. She said: "We discussed how Scottish Executive employees with specialist skills might be seconded to aid organisations, and we will be taking forward this initiative immediately." By last night, the number of people confirmed dead had reached 125,000, although the countries affected indicated that the figure was still expected to rise further. Hundreds of Britons are now feared to be among the toll, although the official total remained at 29 last night. As the numbers of dead rise, aid agencies fear a growing threat from hunger and disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that up to five million people in the Indian Ocean region were unable to get the basic requirements they needed to stay alive, while the UN World Food Programme said it needed more than GBP 50 million to provide food to two million people. Some survivors have received no help since the tsunami struck on Sunday. Aid started pouring in to Indonesia only to stop at the airport because of a lack of fuel for lorries. Rescue workers were still struggling to reach some remote areas, and many have been too busy recovering thousands of disfigured and bloated corpses to help to deliver aid. The UN admitted that only a fraction of aid was getting to where it was needed. "We are doing very little at the moment," said Jan Egeland, the UN emergency relief co-ordinator. "It will take 48 to 72 hours more to be able to respond to the tens of thousands of people who would like to have assistance today - or yesterday, rather. I believe the frustration will be growing in the days and the weeks ahead." While the financial pledges from individuals and companies continued to mount, politicians debated how best to tackle the disaster. The US president, George Bush, said the US, India, Australia and Japan had formed an international coalition to co-ordinate worldwide relief and reconstruction efforts. But the Italian prime minister indicated that more would need to be done if the region was to recover from what he described as "the worst cataclysm of the modern era". "All the world is sending aid and Europe must be a protagonist. It must make its existence felt by responding together and globally," said Mr Berlusconi. The European Commission has proposed holding an international donors' conference. Luxembourg, which takes over the presidency of the European Union in January, is considering holding an extraordinary EU aid ministers' meeting. The Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, said he favoured having leading creditor nations cancel the debt owed to them by countries struggling to recover from the tsunami. France and Germany have already voiced support for the idea of debt relief. Health officials warned that sewage-contaminated water posed a serious risk in the spread of cholera, malaria and dengue fever. The WHO warned that the death toll could double if epidemics broke out in the affected countries. A US aircraft-carrier group is heading for Indonesia's Aceh province to offer help, and several other US military ships are on course to the Bay of Bengal. A number of the ships are capable of producing fresh water.
|
|
||||
|
................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
|||||||
