Organizations plan to send aid to Iraq<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Religious organizations are planning to send humanitarian aid to
\nIraq to ease people's suffering from the attack launched by the
\nUnited States and its allies.<\/p>\n
Solahuddin Wahid, the deputy chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama
\n(NU), the country's largest Muslim group, said on Friday that the
\norganization had started to collect donations from its members
\nacross the country.<\/p>\n
\"We will send aid in the form of medicine, which must be badly
\nneeded by Iraqis, and canned food. We will probably dispatch
\nmedical volunteers there also,\" Solahuddin said.<\/p>\n
The NU has yet to decide on whether to send the aid through
\nthe United Nations, the Red Cross or other organizations.<\/p>\n
\"We will discuss it during an interfaith group meeting on
\nMonday,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Dien Syamsuddin, the secretary-general of the Indonesian
\nCouncil of Ulemas (MUI) who is also the deputy chairman of
\nMuhammadiyah, said that the religious body was also planning to
\ncollect donations and send humanitarian aid to the Iraqis.<\/p>\n
\"The aid will be disbursed in the form of goods and cash
\nwithin the next one or two months,\" he said.<\/p>\n
MUI conducted the same humanitarian mission for Afghanistan,
\nPalestine and Bosnia Herzegovina.<\/p>\n
Separately, Rev. A.A. Yewangoe of the Indonesian Communion of
\nChurches (PGI) said that the organization was still considering
\nwhether to dispatch humanitarian aid to Iraq.<\/p>\n
\"We are currently focusing on our commitment to urge the
\nUnited Nations to stop the war in Iraq. We will later send
\nhumanitarian assistance to Iraq, although it will not be easy to
\ndo that,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Several organizations, including the Prosperous Justice Party
\n(PKS) and the Indonesian Red Cross, are also planning to send
\nmedical assistance and other relief to Iraq.<\/p>\n
In the East Java capital of Surabaya, Navy Chief Adm. Bernard
\nKent Sondakh said the Navy had opened the possibility of
\ndeploying its warships to carry humanitarian relief to Iraq.<\/p>\n
\"But it depends on military headquarters. So far, we have not
\nreceived an order to carry out a humanitarian mission,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda said that the
\ngovernment would provide assistance to organizations that
\nintended to send humanitarian aid to Iraq.<\/p>\n
The government will most likely send the aid through the
\nIndonesian Red Cross (PMI) and the International Committee of the
\nRed Cross (ICRC), which has access to Iraq and its neighboring
\ncountries of Jordan and Kuwait.<\/p>\n
The government earlier said it had no plans to provide
\nhumanitarian assistance for the people of Iraq, saying that it
\nwas the responsibility of the U.S., which initiated the war.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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