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**Bush quake aid group to dissolve
**By Victor Mallet in Jakarta, Hugh Williamson in Berlin and Dan Dombey in Brussels
Published: January 5 2005 11:13 | Last updated: January 6 2005 00:33
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http://news.ft.com/cms/b760c8f4-5f0e-11d9-8cca-00000e2511c8.jpgThe “core group” of nations announced by US President George W. Bush to channel aid to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami will be dissolved on Thursday after just eight days as the United Nations takes control of the relief effort, delegates to a donors summit said on Wednesday.
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Mr Bush’s initiative on December 29 which initially also involved only India, Japan and Australia appeared to have been prompted by an accusation from Jan Egeland, UN emergency relief co-ordinator, that wealthy countries had been “stingy”.
http://news.ft.com/pql.gifTop 20 tsunami aid donors
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The UN was included the next day after Mr Bush was criticised for sidelining the organisation. Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, is to appeal on Thursday for aid to cover the next six months at a summit in Jakarta. He is expected to seek an additional $977m.
Those due to attend the summit include Colin Powell, US secretary of state; Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese prime minister and Jos´e Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission. Mr Powell, embarking on a trip to the region at the weekend, recognised there had been “controversy” over the president’s decision to set up the core group. But Mr Powell insisted that the UN had not opposed it.
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Koji Tsuruoka, a senior official at the Japanese foreign ministry, said the core group would “cease to exist” after the Jakarta summit. “Having accomplished the task they imposed on themselves, it will just evaporate and become part of the overall international effort,” he said. UN officials and Washington’s allies have tried to avoid public criticism of the core group. Mr Tsuruoka insisted it had been “innovative” and “effective” in mobilising aid.
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**By Victor Mallet in Jakarta, Hugh Williamson in Berlin and Dan Dombey in Brussels
Published: January 5 2005 11:13 | Last updated: January 6 2005 00:33
http://news.ft.com/c.gif
http://news.ft.com/cms/b760c8f4-5f0e-11d9-8cca-00000e2511c8.jpgThe “core group” of nations announced by US President George W. Bush to channel aid to victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami will be dissolved on Thursday after just eight days as the United Nations takes control of the relief effort, delegates to a donors summit said on Wednesday.
//
Mr Bush’s initiative on December 29 which initially also involved only India, Japan and Australia appeared to have been prompted by an accusation from Jan Egeland, UN emergency relief co-ordinator, that wealthy countries had been “stingy”.
http://news.ft.com/pql.gifTop 20 tsunami aid donors
Click herehttp://news.ft.com/pql.gif
The UN was included the next day after Mr Bush was criticised for sidelining the organisation. Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, is to appeal on Thursday for aid to cover the next six months at a summit in Jakarta. He is expected to seek an additional $977m.
Those due to attend the summit include Colin Powell, US secretary of state; Junichiro Koizumi, Japanese prime minister and Jos´e Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission. Mr Powell, embarking on a trip to the region at the weekend, recognised there had been “controversy” over the president’s decision to set up the core group. But Mr Powell insisted that the UN had not opposed it.
//
Koji Tsuruoka, a senior official at the Japanese foreign ministry, said the core group would “cease to exist” after the Jakarta summit. “Having accomplished the task they imposed on themselves, it will just evaporate and become part of the overall international effort,” he said. UN officials and Washington’s allies have tried to avoid public criticism of the core group. Mr Tsuruoka insisted it had been “innovative” and “effective” in mobilising aid.
More…