OIC to protect tsunami orphans

OIC to protect tsunami orphans

KUALA LUMPUR: The world's biggest grouping of Islamic nations, the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), has established an alliance to rescue children orphaned by the recent tsunamis from foreign influences, local media said on Saturday.

The OIC Alliance to Rescue Child Victims of Tsunami aims to protect the orphans from "illegal foreign elements", said OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

"We want these girls and boys to be well looked after in their land within their own cultural and social environments," he was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

Reports emerged earlier this month that missionary groups would place Acehnese tsunami orphans in Christian children's homes, drawing protests from the world's largest Muslim country.

"The government has, from the beginning, been wary of attempts by certain groups to subvert orphans in Aceh under the pretext of humanitarian aid. There are regulations against such practices," foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa had said.

Ihsanoglu said the OIC would also launch another campaign to collect donations and hoped to mobilise people to go to Aceh and assist victims in rebuilding their mosques and homes. -- AFP