U.S. agrees to work under UN, disbands 'core group'
U.S. agrees to work under UN, disbands 'core group'
Peter Mackler, Agence France-Presse/Jakarta
The United States announced on Thursday it was dissolving the
"core group" of nations it formed to expedite aid for victims of
the Asian tsunami disaster and would work under the United
Nations.
Secretary of State Colin Powell also told an international
conference the United States would likely increase its commitment
of aid but announced no new figure beyond the current $350
million pledge.
Powell moved to end any lingering confusion from the U.S. move
last week to form a core group with India, Japan and Australia to
expedite relief efforts after the mammoth earthquake and tsunamis
that killed some 150,000 people.
"The core group helped to catalyze the international
response," he said in prepared remarks. "Now having served its
purpose, it will now fold itself into the broader coordination
efforts of the United Nations."
President George W. Bush's administration had taken the
initiative after early criticism that it was slow to react to the
Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunamis that hit 11 Indian Ocean
countries.
Some saw the four-nation group, later joined by Canada and the
Netherlands, as overlapping or competing with the United Nations,
which traditionally has taken the lead in coordinating
international responses to disasters.
After a high-level video conference between U.S. and UN
officials last Thursday, Washington acknowledged the umbrella
role of the world body and said its own initiatives were
"complementary."
Powell, who is on a three-nation tour of tsunami damage and
relief operations along with Bush's brother Jeb, did not
elaborate on the reasons for disbanding the group.
"We recognize that the governments of the affected nations
have the primary role in rebuilding their countries," said the
chief U.S. diplomat, who is due to step down in the coming weeks.
"But in the face of a disaster of this immensity,
international help and cooperation is crucial. The United States
welcomes the coordinating role of the United Nations."
He said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan "can count on our full
support. We look forward to participating in the UN Donors
Conference in Geneva on Jan. 11."
Leaders of the countries worst affected by the catastrophe,
including Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, had pressed at the
Jakarta conference for UN leadership of the reconstruction drive.
Hatsuhisa Takashima, spokesman for Japanese Foreign Minister
Nobutaka Machimura, said that in the face of such pressure, "the
role of the so-called core group is expected to be transferred to
the United Nations."
In Washington, a senior State Department official said the
intention had always been for the core group to coordinate
emergency aid work only in the immediate aftermath of the
tsunamis.
Speculation had mounted before the conference whether the
United States would raise its $350 million aid commitment after
moves by Australia to boost its pledge to $764 million and
Germany to over $600 million.
"In all likelihood our contribution will be revised upward as
the full effects of this massive tragedy can be better assessed,"
Powell told the afflicted nations.
"President Bush wants you to know that you will have the full
support of the United States as you go through the process of
relief, recovery, and reconstruction," he said.
But Powell announced no new figure for U.S. aid. He and other
U.S. officials have said that only $40 million of the $350
million pledged had actually been allocated and the challenge was
now to expedite delivery of relief goods.
The U.S. secretary of state told the conference that some $200
million in private donations had been raised in the United States
and he stressed the massive relief operation mounted by the U.S.
military.
He said more than 14,000 military personnel were dispatched to
the region, along with a carrier group, an amphibious group,
helicopters, supply and patrol planes and ships able to supply
tens of thousands of gallons of fresh water.