Germany top tsunami donor after $680m pledge

Germany top tsunami donor after $680m pledge

Agencies, Berlin/Riyadh

Germany will increase its aid to nations hit by the Asian tsunami
to 500 million euros (US$680 million), Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder said on Wednesday, making it the world's top donor to
the ravaged region.

In a news conference following a special German cabinet
meeting on the tsunami disaster, Schroeder said the aid would be
offered over a three to five year period and go towards
supporting children and addressing health problems in the region.

Previously, Japan and the United States were the largest
donors with pledges of $500 million and $350 million,
respectively. Until Wednesday, Germany had pledged 20 million
euros.

"The question arose of what we could do in the long term,
because as important as the short-term aid is, it was not
enough," Schroeder said. "I tried to make clear from the
beginning that the solidarity that exists in Germany ... needed
to be translated into a medium and long-term program."

Alongside Sweden, Germany looks to have suffered the most
casualties of any country outside the devastated region, with 60
Germans confirmed dead and more than 1,000 still missing as of
Wednesday.

The disaster has dominated television broadcasts in Germany
since Dec. 26, when a 9.0-magnitude quake off the coast of the
Indonesian island of Sumatra sent massive waves across the Indian
Ocean.

Graphic pictures of dazed orphans, crying mothers and
devastated towns have stared out from the front pages of
Germany's top newspapers for over a week.

A flood of German private donations has gathered pace in
recent days, surging above the $200 million threshold on the back
of a 10 million euro contribution from Deutsche Bank and a 7.5
million euro pledge from German Formula One champion Michael
Schumacher.

"Aid readiness breaks all records," said German daily Die Welt
on Wednesday.

In contrast to Sweden, where the government has been
criticized for delays in sending help to hundreds of Swedes in
the region, Schroeder's swift response has been applauded.

The chancellor cut short a holiday on Tuesday last week,
returning to Berlin and vowing to press for a debt moratorium in
the Paris Club for tsunami-hit nations Indonesia and Somalia -- a
proposal that has been welcomed by leaders across the world.

On Wednesday he said Germany was confident the Group of Seven
rich countries would agree a debt relief deal for Indonesia and
Sri Lanka.

In his new year's address, Schroeder said he would propose to
the EU that bilateral partnerships be set up with tsunami-hit
nations, under which German cities, villages and schools would
take charge of the reconstruction of counterparts in Asia.

Germany has sent technical experts to the region to assess
requirements and has dispatched a navy hospital ship which is
expected to arrive in Sumatra early next week.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday that it was
increasing its aid to victims of the Asian tsunami disaster to
$30 million and would organize a telethon to raise more funds.

Given that the scale of the disaster and damage "has surpassed
all expectations, royal orders have been issued to increase Saudi
Arabia's aid to the victims from $10 million to 30 million," the
official SPA news agency reported.