Annan, Powell to visit RI, coordinate relief work
Annan, Powell to visit RI, coordinate relief work
Agencies, Washington/Manila
United Nations Secretary-General Koffi Annan and the United
States Secretary of State Colin Powell will come to Indonesia
this week to attend an aid conference and inspect the devastation
from last week's tsunamis which killed more than 80,000 people.
Annan told a U.S. television network on Saturday that he will
visit Indonesia on Thursday to coordinate international relief
for Asia's tsunami victims.
"I will go to Jakarta to launch the appeal from there and work
with the leaders of the region who are also determined to play a
role," Annan told ABC News. "And I think that's a very positive."
Major donors will convene on Thursday in Indonesia, which is
hosting a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) that will focus on the effects of the tsunami disaster.
"This is the largest disaster we have had to deal with," Annan
said. "The sheer complexity of it - 12 countries have been
affected ... And we are trying to operate in each of them and
give them assistance, help coordinate the national, regional and
international assistance as well as mobilize the resources and
the logistical requirements to go in and be effective."
U.S. officials said Powell, accompanied by Florida Governor
Jeb Bush, the brother of President George W. Bush, would travel
to Thailand and Indonesia to assess recovery needs in the
unprecedented disaster.
A senior State Department official, who asked not to be named,
said the itinerary was still being worked out. There was no word
whether the two would stop in Sri Lanka, the hardest hit nation
after Indonesia.
Nor had any decision been made whether Powell would stay for
an ASEAN donors' conference scheduled to be held on Thursday in
Jakarta, the same day Annan was expected to arrive and appeal for
aid.
The trip by the chief U.S. diplomat was announced by President
Bush on Thursday amid persistent criticism by the U.S. media that
the administration was slow to respond to the crisis.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Australian
counterpart John Howard already announced last week that they
would attend the international emergency summit.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who is cutting short
an overseas holiday, will also attend the summit.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will attend a
one-day summit in Indonesia this week aimed at coordinating the
massive international aid being marshaled to help Asian countries
recover from catastrophic tsunamis.
Indonesia announced on Friday that it would host the summit to
discuss tsunami devastation across Asia, to take stock and plan
how to overcome one of the world's worst natural disasters.