Posted on 12/29/2004 8:58:21 AM PST by My Favorite Headache
Sri Lanka accepts Israel's offer to send medical supplies, but not IDF delegation
By Haaretz Staff and Agencies
A 150-member Israeli aid delegation canceled its mission to Sri Lanka yesterday after the government in Colombo refused to accept the Israeli team, Israel Defense Forces officials said.
The plane was due to touch down in Colombo for a few hours and return directly to Israel. The Sri Lankan government, however, declined the offer, saying it only needed humanitarian supplies at this time.
The Sri Lankan president's military secretary sent a notice to his foreign and defense ministries yesterday expressing support for the arrival of a smaller 50-member Israeli delegation. "We are not opposed to a plane loaded with medical supplies, food and blankets that will be accompanied by a medical team comprised of 50 IDF people, as the Israeli Foreign Ministry requested in a letter," the military secretary said.
Israel is sending supplies at Sri Lanka's request, including 10,000 blankets contributed by the IDF, tents, nylon sheeting and water containers. The IDF Home Front Command is organizing aid preparations.
The Israeli humanitarian organization Latet ("To Give") sent a separate aid package yesterday, filling a jumbo jet with 18 tons of supplies worth $50,000, at Sri Lanka's request. The group is considering sending additional aid shortly.
The aid delegation that had been set to depart for Sri Lanka yesterday included medical teams and representatives of the IDF and Defense Ministry, who were planning to provide humanitarian assistance and participate in search-and-rescue operations.
The delegation was planning to assemble a medical facility comprised of specialist doctors, and set up emergency, internal medicine and pediatric departments, as well as laboratory and X-ray facilities in the southern part of Sri Lanka.
A far smaller team landed in Sri Lanka on Monday night, headed by four doctors from Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem in Jerusalem. The team was carrying medicine and baby food.
The doctors - who specialize in rescue operations, trauma and pediatrics - were also checking the viability of setting up a field hospital in the area, and advised Israel to send a larger team, such as the one Sri Lanka rejected.
"We will advise Israel and the Foreign Ministry... to send something more massive," said Dr. Avi Rivkind, director of Hadassah's trauma unit. "We will try to use our... broad experience in dealing with terror attacks and rescuing masses to help in this disaster as well."
Israel is considering sending similar delegations to Thailand, where more than 1,400 people have died, and to India, where more than 9,500 people have died or are feared dead, but has yet to make a final decision on the matter.
A Health Ministry contingent left for Thailand late Monday night to aid in the rescue efforts there after around 1,000 people, including tourists, were killed on the islands of Phuket and Phi Phi. The contingent includes doctors, nurses and four members of the IDF, Israel Radio reported.
Israel has also offered its assistance to India, passing on the offer to Indian authorities through Israel's military attache, Colonel Moshe Krawitz. The IDF offered aid of two kinds - a search-and-rescue team from the Home Front Command, as well as consignments of food and medicine.
A ZAKA rescue-and-recovery team left for the disaster areas Monday night. In addition, the police sent a team of forensic experts to Phuket.
Nope,I don't think they are taking sides.They have good ties with both & in the event of conflict between the 2,have traditionally tilted towards India.Their help or diplomatic support in anycase would be meaningless in any Indo-Pak conflict.Moreover,all 3 are members of a regional economic bloc,called SAARC,which is just starting to find it's feet after years of stagnation.It makes sense to take aid from everyone you can find(can't still figure out how the Israelis were left out).
I'd be more interested in how the commercial aircraft flies. Any direct flights between the two?
WOW!!you stole my thunder-i happened to look at the same site(it's too slow here).
I think a more relevant point is Aceh,which is closest to the Quake & to Sri Lanka.
They accepted aid from the Israelis, just not a sizeable force of troops.
It's great being a Superpower(the USA)We don't have to worried about the option of our "friends" in the world, small countries do.
No it doesn't, but do you think the IDF was going to Sri Lanka unarmed? Their security forces go nowhere unarmed.
Besides, whatever decision some country makes is really of no importance to me, I merely stated that I believe there would be a lot of FRs complaining if they saw foreign troops on US soil in a disaster area. That's just my opinion....which I doubt we'll ever have the chance or need to prove either way.
Sri Lankan Airlines is among the best run in the whole of Asia as it's partly owned by the Emirates airline in Dubai.I think they have had armed marshals for a few years now esp since the LTTE attacked Colombo airport 3 years ago.India started putting undercover marshals on it's flights( all International & certain "sensitive" domestic sectors) after the Kandahar hijacking of 1999.I think the Air India flight you are referring to was bombed in 1986-it was done by Sikh terrorists.
Not to my knowledge.For one there is nothing like a coherent & united Indonesia-the country is too fragmented politically since the last 10 years.Sri Lanka has had problems with Thailand though given the presence of LTTE supporters there.
And maybe Americans ahould not be allowed to set foot in any other country. Never know who is a spy....
The Pope didn't say this. Who is saying this? Some unnamed writer in the Vatican paper? Now that the Pope is in decline are we going to see every antisemitic troll come out from under a rock? I've never heard the Pope say things like this.
Are we not also known for the same thing?
Don't bother some with the facts.
MAYBE they would critic the way the goverments of these countries run things ,and heaven forbid we dont want to do that ,I was watching FOX this morning, and the people that were recieving the aid of workers were as skinny as rails, this did not happen in three days.
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