Topic: Ukraine rebels oust several aid agencies (Read 257 times)

UN’s humanitarian aid chief expresses alarm over decision to banish 10 relief organisations from Luhansk for ‘grave violations of local laws’

Relief organisations have voiced outrage over a decision by Ukrainian separatists to banish 10 aid agencies for “grave violations of local laws”.

The pro-Russia eastern region of Luhansk has blacklisted international organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Czech Republic’s People in Need (PIN). But it spared the International Committee of the Red Cross, targeted earlier this month for allegedly breaching fire safety laws.

The agencies said it was difficult to fathom why they would be forced to leave one of Europe’s most devastated corners for apparent political reasons.

MSF denounced the move as unacceptable. “We have been one of the few organisations with significant medical activities in the area and we are therefore extremely surprised and disappointed about the events,” said its spokeswoman Corinne Baker. “There has been no physical threat of violence against MSF staff. However, the presence of armed men inside our office was certainly a way to try to intimidate our team, which we find unacceptable.”

PIN said it had been given no clear explanation as to why it was being shut down. “We are not aware of having violated any rules,” its spokesman Jan Flemr told Prague’s CTK news agency. “If 10 out of 11 organisations in the place have breached them at the same time, and the UN humanitarian coordination says it’s a serious breach of the international humanitarian law, the problem will rather be on the other side.”

Read more : http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/25/ukraine-rebels-oust-several-aid-agencies