Nancy Kassebaum: “Yesterday three Swiss Red Cross relief workers were killed in Burundi. I want to express my condolences to the…”

“Yesterday three Swiss Red Cross relief workers were killed in Burundi. I want to express my condolences to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the families of the deceased. The ICRC staff were attacked as they returned from a project providing humanitarian relief to the civilian Burundian population. ICRC is the largest humanitarian organization in Burundi, providing water to over 200,000 people, as well as cans, pots, and blankets. The Red Cross agricultural programs keeps 150,000 people alive. Over the years, when I have traveled in Africa, I have always been impressed with the courageous work of the ICRC. From Somalia to Rwanda, Angola to Liberia, the ICRC performs critical functions--often, as we saw yesterday, at great personal risk. In many of these crises, I simply do not know what we would do with the ICRC. The International Red Cross has long been identified as a neutral organization which meticulously avoids taking sides in armed conflicts. For that reason, the brutal attack on the relief officials--in a vehicle clearly marked with Red Cross emblems--is particularly outrageous. Mr. President, while much of the rest of the world--and even most of Africa--is moving forward into the 21st century, some countries continue to deteriorate into almost medieval levels of brutality with a total disregard for human life.”