Indonesia to send relief aid for Afghans

Indonesia to send relief aid for Afghans

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Jusuf
Kalla is scheduled to leave here for Peshawar, Pakistan, on
Saturday to hand over Indonesian relief aid worth Rp 1.5 billion
(US$150,000) to Afghan refugees.

The relief aid comprises wheat, cooking oil and medicines,
including antibiotics and analgesic drugs, some of which were
donated by pharmaceuticals company PT Kalbe Farma.

Minister of Health Achmad Sujudi said on Friday that the
government would also include five paramedics in Kalla's
entourage to assess the condition of the refugees before sending
a team of physicians, including surgeons.

Kalla's entourage will also include the Indonesian Ulemas
Council (MUI) co-chairman, Amidhan, and head of the House of
Representatives' Commission VI on people's welfare,
Taufikurrahman Saleh.

Kalla affirmed that the relief aid was not an attempt on the
government's part to subdue the anti-U.S. sentiment that arose in
the wake of the U.S. military attacks on Afghanistan, but had
been planned before the demonstrations started in the country. --
JP