ADDITIONAL TSUNAMI AID

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000059 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI(TROBERTS) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PGOV PREL AEMR CE ID MU SUBJECT: ADDITIONAL TSUNAMI AID REF: A. SECSTATE 959 ¶B. MUSCAT 025 ¶1. As reported in ref B, the government of Oman has offered to facilitate the delivery of private contributions to tsunami victims in the Indian Ocean region. Since an initial SIPDIS shipment of 41 tons of aid, the government of Oman has committed to shipping over 300 tons of relief supplies. The Oman Charitable Organization (OCO),a government-supervised charitable umbrella entity, has taken the lead in the collection effort on behalf of the government. In an effort to raise USD 3 million worth of aid, the OCO has also set up special accounts for monetary donations. To date, the OCO has delivered over 1,200 tons to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. According to the executive director of the OCO, Ali Ibrahim Shanoor, if the organization receives more money than expected, the OCO plans on constructing small houses in the affected countries. According to the Oman News Agency, a supervisory delegation organized by the OCO is departing for Indonesia on January 11 to help set up relief centers in Aceh and Sumatra. ¶2. Private contributions continue to grow as both organized NGOs and individuals have stepped in to serve as liaisons for private donations. Humanitarian Oman (an informal relief group in the Sultanate),The American International School of Muscat, and the British School of Muscat are organizing donation drives. Additional collection points have been established at the Muscat Rugby Club and the Muscat Intercontinental Hotel. To mobilize support from the large Indian expatriate community, the Indian Embassy and the State Bank of India in Muscat have issued notifications with bank account numbers for contributions to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund. The Art of Living Foundation in association with International Association for Human Values (AOL) has also organized volunteers in Oman and are collecting funds. BALTIMORE