More organizations pledge to send aids to Iraqis
More organizations pledge to send aids to Iraqis
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Religious organizations, political parties and others have begun
gathering humanitarian aid for Iraqis who are suffering the
consequences of war.
The Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),
the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) have all expressed a pledge to
assist the Iraqis with help from the Indonesian government.
The government, meanwhile, said Sunday that it would send the
first batch of aid to Iraq sometime this week.
Minister of Social Affairs Bachtiar Chamsyah said on Sunday
that the aid would be in the form of medicine and canned food.
"Although we are in our own crisis, that does not mean we
cannot express our solidarity with the Iraqis. We will not send
any volunteers, but we will send food and medicine," Bachtiar was
quoted by Antara as saying on Sunday.
Meanwhile, MUI's Yogyakarta branch has asked all mosques in
the province to gather donations from their congregations for the
Iraqis.
MUI's Yogyakarta branch chairman Thoha Abdurrahman said on
Saturday that cash donations would be collected during Friday's
prayers and put into an account to be opened by MUI.
The donations collected by each mosque would then be collected
by the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), which would then submit
the funds to MUI. MUI will then transfer the aid to the
government.
PDI Perjuangan, the country's largest political party, also
disclosed its plan to send humanitarian aid to Iraq.
"We will send medicine and food supplies to the Iraqis, and we
will do it through the government," the party's deputy chairman
Roy B.B. Janis said Sunday.
NU -- the country's largest Muslim organization -- and the
Muslim-based PKS party also expressed their intention to provide
humanitarian aid for the Iraqis.
Earlier, some 400 members of NU's youth wing Ansor, drove to
the UN office with two minibuses full of rice. They forced the UN
office to accept their donation of 2.5 tons of rice for the
Iraqis.
An interfaith group, comprising leaders from different
religions, also has plans to support humanitarian assistance for
the Iraqis.
All the aid packages would be channeled through the
government.
The government said that it would then be distributed using
the Red Crescent network in Iraq, Jordan and other countries in
the region in cooperation with the Indonesian Red Cross.
As the bombardment of Iraq by the U.S. and its allies
continues, more and more Iraqis have been deprived of basic
supplies, such as food and water.
In addition, around 300,000 were reported to be stranded in
border areas.
Indonesia has strongly criticized the U.S.-led invasion of
Iraq, calling it a breach of international law that would likely
spark a humanitarian crisis.