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.