Stop military strikes and ship in aid, doctors say

Roger Dobson Abergavenny

Medact, the UK pressure group of health professionals, has led calls for an end to military action in Afghanistan and for an international humanitarian aid programme. Several relief agencies have also urged an end to the attacks and called for food and medical supplies to be shipped in before the winter snow begins in mid-November.

The agencies point out that Afghanistan, the poorest country in Asia, was already facing the prospect of a winter of severe food shortages before the terrorist attacks on the United States and the military strikes by American and British forces. Agencies then estimated that the combination of three years of successively worsening drought, and the continuing war between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance, had put five million people at risk.

"Some 40000 tonnes of food aid alone are needed each month over this winter for the areas of Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban to stop five to seven million people starving to death. A total of 160000 is needed, and that is 16000 trucks," said Professor David Southall, medical director of Child Advocacy International.

Medact, which has 1600 members--including more than 1000 doctors--and which is committed to non-violent resolution of conflicts, said that the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September were terrible crimes against humanity.

"However, we fear that the bombing of Afghanistan will delay rather than promote bringing those responsible to justice. The attacks will claim more lives, and whether these are Taliban fighters or civilians, they will be regarded as martyrs and their deaths will result in more terrorism," it said in a statement on the conflict.

"We call for an immediate end to military action and a massive aid programme to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from cold and starvation. Afghanistan is on the verge of a massive humanitarian crisis. The attacks could turn this into a worse disaster."

Most of the concern has focused on getting humanitarian aid for the people of Afghanistan. Oxfam said: "We are gravely concerned by the vulnerability of Afghan civilians--men, women and children--who may be endangered by conflict in Afghanistan."

The president of the Royal College of Physicians, Professor George Alberti, also voiced concerns: "The attacks are an understandable response, but they will lead to human tragedy. People who will suffer will be the non-combatant public, and afterwards we will be dealing with more starvation, more disease, and more injuries in a country which was very poor to begin with. Leaders of extreme governments of any kind have an awful lot to answer for because they always end up damaging their own people."