Christian Aid calls for reversal of "dangerous drift" towards linking aid to fight against terror by BBC World News 3:35pm 10th May, 2004   10th May, 2004    Christian Aid calls for reversal of "dangerous drift" towards linking aid to fight against terror    BBC World News    Some of the world's poorest people are suffering as a result of the war on terror, a leading UK charity has said. Christian Aid says the UK Government must reverse a "dangerous drift" towards linking aid to the fight against terror. The charity is holding events and door-to-door collections aimed at raising over £14.3m for Christian Aid Week.    A report to mark the event cites Iraq, Afghanistan and Uganda as places where funds have been "wrongly diverted". The report's lead author, John Davison, told BBC News Online: "Some of the world's poorest people are already paying for the war on terror as the giving of aid by the world's richest countries is ruled by the rhetoric of 'with us or against us'. "This must not be allowed to continue. "The blurring of the line between humanitarian and development activity and military and security activity by donors' governments is dangerous."    He said that in October 2003, the government diverted aid to fund reconstruction in Iraq - a three-year commitment totalling £544m - resulting in less money for "middle-income countries". However, the term is a misnomer, Mr Davison said, as 140 million of the world's poorest people live in "middle-income countries".    Britain is unique in having legislation that states all aid must be targeted at poverty alleviation. The charity now wants the government to help halt and reverse the "dangerous international drift towards linking aid to the war on terror".    In its report, the charity cites two particular case studies - Afghanistan and Uganda. Afghanistan's $2.2bn in aid for 2004 is being diverted to military projects and emergency relief rather than long-term redevelopment, it said. Mr Davison said: "Afghanistan is all about the security situation. The priority on security is a US priority - the hunting down of the Taleban and al-Qaeda." He said aid workers are seen as agents of the US and are being killed. In recent months, at least 11 have died, including two during a targeted raid on their Kandahar office. Mr Davison said two-thirds of the country is now off-limits to UN staff and "reconstruction is just not happening".    Uganda, meanwhile, is heavily dependent on aid donations which make up more than 50 per cent of its budget. The country is the third-largest recipient of aid from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) - receiving £68.5m in 2002-03.    However, an 18-year-old war being fought between The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the country's government saw almost a quarter of the social services budget in 2002 being used to fund military operations. Fighting is predominantly in remote northern districts of the east African country and has resulted in hundreds of thousands of people being displaced. Villagers bear the brunt of the violence and in the worst recent attack, more than 200 civilians were burned, shot and hacked to death when the rebels attacked a refugee camp. "The Ugandan conflict needs to be resolved, but not through a military solution. Military operations have made the situation worse. In the midst of that, a lot of the budget went to defence," Mr Davison said."Abandon the military solution and re-establish peace talks. How do you implement an amnesty if you can't talk to them?"
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