Aj Committee Working with Other Groups to Muster Relief for Biafra War Victims

The American Jewish Committee voiced concern today for the safety and welfare of the civilian population in embattled Biafra and said it was working with other organizations on an inter-faith basis to muster the relief materials that will be desperately needed in the weeks ahead. The statement by AJ Committee president Philip E. Hoffman echoed the alarm expressed by the Vatican and other sources that a bloodbath would ensue as the Biafran civil war with Nigeria appeared to be nearing its end. Mr. Hoffman expressed the hope that the Nigerian Government, “as a signatory of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights.” would “safeguard the lives and human rights of all the people who inhabit the territory of Nigeria and Biafra.”

Mr. Hoffman noted that throughout the civil war, the AJ Committee had cooperated with other religious and humanitarian groups, through the Joint Church Aid, in sending food and medical supplies to Biafra. He said his organization still “stands ready to offer assistance in bringing whatever humanitarian aid is called for in this present difficult situation.” Mr. Hoffman said, “We share in the hope that the present hostilities will be replaced by reconciliation and that an end will be put shortly to needless starvation and bloodshed.”