Germany gives P70M for displaced, wounded in Mindanao

The German government has offered €1 million (roughly 70 million pesos) for the victims of conflict in Mindanao. German Ambassador to Manila Christian-Ludwig Weber-Lortsch said the money would be given to the International Committee of the Red Cross and would be directed to support the internally displaced persons seeking shelter in camps. The money will also be used to help the sick and wounded as a result of violent clashes. The fund is expected to last until the end of 2009. In an earlier interview with GMANews.TV, Weber-Lortsch said Germany is willing to help resolve the crisis in Mindanao. “If the government asks us we will consider," Weber-Lortsch said during the press launch of Mabuhay Germany last month. Local officials in Mindanao have earlier expressed the desire to have the German group Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Japan International Cooperation Agency to play key roles in support of peace talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The two outfits have, for many years, been actively helping in the uplift of impoverished Muslim communities in the southern Philippines through socio-economic interventions and capability-building programs. [See: Mindanaoans want 2 int’l groups in peace talks] (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/172674/mindanaoans-want-2-int39l-groups-in-peace-talks) - Joseph Holandes Ubalde, GMANews.TV