* Kellenberger to hold talks on humanitarian ceasefire
* Visit aims to expand ICRC aid activities, prison visits
* ICRC gained greater access to hard-hit areas in recent
weeks
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, April 2 (Reuters) – The president of the
International Committee of the Red Cross arrived in Damascus on
Monday for talks aimed at expanding aid operations and gaining
access to all detainees, the agency said.
Jakob Kellenberger, who will be in Syria until Wednesday,
will push the ICRC’s proposal made in February for a daily
two-hour ceasefire to evacuate wounded and deliver life-saving
supplies to civilians.
“I am determined to see the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red
Crescent expand their presence, range and scope of activities to
address the needs of vulnerable people,” he said in a statement.
“This will be a key element of my talks with the Syrian
officials.”
Syrian government forces bombarded opposition targets in the
city of Homs on Monday despite President Bashar al-Assad’s
promise to international peace envoy Kofi Annan to cease fire
and withdraw his tanks and artillery.
Kellenberger, making his third trip to Syria since June, is
to hold talks with senior officials, including Foreign Minister
Walid al-Moualem, Interior Minister Major-General Mohamad
al-Shaar and Health Minister Dr. Wael al-Halki.
He is due to visit areas affected by the fighting, including
the rural area of the southern city of Deraa, accompanied by
ICRC and Syrian Red Crescent officials.
The ICRC is the only international agency to deploy aid
workers in Syria, where the United Nations has been largely shut
out and is still trying to gain meaningful access to the needy.
STALLED PRISON VISITS
After Kellenberger’s talks with Assad in September, Syria
opened its prisons for the first time to the ICRC whose
officials visited detainees in the central prison of Damascus.
But visits have since stalled, with the ICRC insisting that
its traditional terms, which include the right to interview
prisoners in private and make follow-up visits, be respected.
More than 18,000 people were detained in Syria as of Feb. 15
in connection with the uprising, U.N. human rights investigators
said in a report issued that month that accused top Syrian
officials of ordering crimes against humanity including murder
and torture.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said
last week that children in detention were being tortured. Youth
had been shot in the knees, denied medical treatment for
injuries and held together with adults in inhumane conditions.
“I will be raising the issue of access to all places of
detention. Visiting people who have been detained remains a
priority for us,” Kellenberger said in Monday’s statement.
“I will also further discuss practical measures for
implementing our initiative for a daily two-hour cessation of
fighting. A daily pause in the hostilities is essential in order
to evacuate wounded people and deliver aid if and when the
fighting intensifies,” he said.
The ICRC said that in recent weeks it had obtained greater
access to many areas affected by the fighting and is now able to
stay longer in each place to assess needs.
More than 9,000 people have been killed by Assad’s forces
during the year-old revolt, according to the United Nations,
while Damascus says 3,000 soldiers and police have been killed.
