BS: Burma

Subject: BS: Burma
From: irishenglish
Date: 06 May 08 - 10:16 AM

Not much to say, but since no one else has started a thread about the cyclone in Burma, I will just say how much my heart goes out to all involved. Woke up this morning to the death toll being possibly as high as 22,000. Very sad.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Emma B
Date: 06 May 08 - 12:32 PM

Difficult to imagine the devastation, it's almost beyond comprehension

'The official death toll from the cyclone stands at 22,000 with a further 41,000 people listed as missing. Most of the victims were killed in the Irrawaddy river delta, a remote but densely populated region of malarial swampland that is hard to reach at the best of times, experts say.'

'"Forty-eight hours before (tropical cyclone) Nargis struck, we indicated its point of crossing (landfall), its severity and all related issues to Myanmarese agencies," B.P. Yadav, an Indian Meteorological Department spokesman, said

The department is mandated by the United Nations' World Meteorological Organisation to track cyclones in the region. "Our job is to give warnings and in advance, and we take pride in saying that we gave warnings much, much in advance and there was enough time to take precautionary measures such as evacuation," Mr Yadav added.'

Times Online

International aid agencies are still waiting for permission to enter the country four days after the storm

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: open mike
Date: 06 May 08 - 04:56 PM

This is tragic. I hope the survivors will get the help they need to attend to the situation. Burma recently began to be called Myanmar.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3316016,00.html

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: GUEST,Chief Chaos
Date: 06 May 08 - 10:41 PM

Makes my blood boil! This is a Gov't that really could care less about it's people! It's not like this was a surprise! The people should have been warned and shelters set up. It sounds like they didn't bother letting them know what was coming.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: irishenglish
Date: 07 May 08 - 01:13 AM

You are right about the government, but part of the problem is that before this happened this was a remote area of the country as Emma pointed out. My understanding is that there would have been little way of getting so many people out of harms way.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Paul Burke
Date: 07 May 08 - 04:01 AM

We in the west might have played our part: Destruction of mangrove forests could have made the area more vulnerable. At least, the better- forested areas fared better in the tsunami.

Forest clearance makes way for prawn and fish farms, and tourist developments. So your lunchtime prawn sandwich, or my mate Martin's delicious king prawn tapas, could be part of the problem.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 07 May 08 - 07:24 AM

Latest figure is 22,000 dead, the 'missing' figure seems to be 'code' for dead...

Btw, since we don't have a Global Warming thread active, satellite photos show that the storm surge was about 4 metres. This is the REAL meaning of the problems caused by increased sea levels, not just the 'so many inches rise' ... The surge caused the major amount of damage, as can be seen of shots of fishing trawlers far inland... The increased turbulence is responsible for teh increased storm severity, which pushes higher surges...

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Mrrzy
Date: 07 May 08 - 09:04 AM

And let's not forget they were already smashed by the tsunami back when it was...

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 07 May 08 - 10:35 AM

Now talking about possibly 60,000.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 07 May 08 - 09:39 PM

I am not one to advocate the overthrown of a government (he said, shuffling his feet, looking at the ceiling and then the floor, whistling off-key the whole time). But with the scale of this disaster and the incompetence of the government of Burma make me think that the UN would be doing the Burmese people a favor if it just said, "Screw you guys, people need help!", did what needs to be done, and then handed the country back to the people.

This is NOT a single country problem. With this many dead and so much destroyed, diseases from cholera to typhoid to God Know What are going to start showing up and affecting Thailand, China, India and the other nations around there. This is a WORLD problem, and the sooner the WORLD deals with it the safer it will be for everyone.

Food, medical and other help is right there, waiting to be let in.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: katlaughing
Date: 07 May 08 - 11:27 PM

Sadly the death total is now up to 100,000. Hard to imagine such loss. I received an appeal to donate to the monasteries:

A million are homeless.

But what's happening in Burma is not just a natural disaster--it's also a catastrophe of bad leadership.

Burma's brutal and corrupt military junta failed to warn the people, failed to evacuate any areas, and suppressed freedom of communication so that Burmese people didn't know the storm was coming when the rest of the world did. Now the government is failing to respond to the disaster and obstructing international aid organizations.

Humanitarian relief is urgently needed, but Burma's government could easily delay, divert or misuse any aid. Today the International Burmese Monks Organization, including many leaders of the democracy protests last fall, launched a new effort to provide relief through Burma's powerful grass roots network of monasteries--the most trusted institutions in the country and currently the only source of housing and support in many devastated communities. Click below to help the Burmese people with a donation and see a video appeal to Avaaz from a leader of the monks:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/7.php?cl=86676030

Giving to the monks is a smart, fast way to get aid directly to Burma's people. Governments and international aid organizations are important, but face challenges--they may not be allowed into Burma, or they may be forced to provide aid according to the junta's rules. And most will have to spend large amounts of money just setting up operations in the country. The monks are already on the front lines of the aid effort--housing, feeding, and supporting the victims of the cyclone since the day it struck. The International Burmese Monks Organization will send money directly to each monastery through their own networks, bypassing regime controls.

Last year, more than 800,000 of us around the world stood with the Burmese people as they rose up against the military dictatorship. The government lost no time then in dispatching its armies to ruthlessly crush the nonviolent democracy movement--but now, as tens of thousands die, the junta's response is slow and threatens to divert precious aid into the corrupt regime's pockets.

The monks are unlikely to receive aid from governments or large humanitarian organizations, but they have a stronger presence and trust among the Burmese people than both. If we all chip in a little bit, we can help them to make a big difference.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please help if you are able.

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: GUEST,dianavan
Date: 08 May 08 - 12:40 PM

thanks for that kat.

My biggest concern is that the corrupt govt. of Burma will intervene in the process of getting aid to the people. They will divert any funds sent to Burma and the food and other goods will soon find their way to the blackmarket. I'm also afraid that once assistance begins to funnel through to the monks, the govt. will begin to target the monasteries.

When 100,000 people die and thousands are left unable to protect themselves from famine and disease, its time for the world to step in. Damn their so-called govt.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: PoppaGator
Date: 08 May 08 - 01:34 PM

It's perfectly right that we all should be expressing shock and disapproval that the evil military dictatorship ruling Myanmar/Burma has been turning away US (and other) ships arriving with humanitarian-aid supplies and personnel.

Does anyone need to be reminded that our own president turned down Cuba's offer of much-needed medical aid to the US Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent levee failures?

More shocking and more idiotic, of course, was the well-documented fact that, during those very critical first few days after Katrina, while people were suffering and dying on national television, FEMA and other federal personnel turned away American citizens trying to bring help, manning barricades strategically placed on all major-highway approaches to the Gulf South region.

Private individuals ~ including doctors ~ and representatives of churches and other non-governmental organizations were admirably quick to respond with drinking water, food, medicine, etc., but the dunderheaded bureaucrats who had "taken charge" [sic] of our plight would not allow "unapproved" individuals to try anything over which they had no control.

You might argue back that "there's no comparison" because the current disaster in Southeast Asia is even greater in scale than what happened here at home three years ago, and the area hit last week was much more "primitive" than the south coast of the US has been in centuries, and there might indeed be some merit to such objections.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of parallels and similarities between the two disaters and the responses to them. Certainly, in both cases, rampant corporate destruction of "undeveloped" natural barriers ~ wetlands ~ made a bad situation much worse, opening the way for higher storm surge and more widespread flooding than would have occurred otherwise. And of course global warming has to be considered as a factor in both events. But most significantly, the shameful performance of governmental leaders and bureaucrats primarily interested in their own agendas, at the expense of the urgent needs of victims, cannot be denied either.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 May 08 - 03:23 PM

Knowing you are one who lived it, Poppagator, I take your words to heart and thank you for pointing that out.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 08 May 08 - 04:17 PM

There are dead, dying, sick, hurt, homeless, and starving people. Men, women, children. It is a medical and humanitarian crisis of stunning and unprecedented proportions, exacerbated by an inept, incompetent, and corrupt government.

I think that what needs to be done should be done. Screw visas -- people, a lot of people, need help.

I suspect that China, India, Thailand or even the US Marines could insure aid was available to those needing it.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Bill D
Date: 08 May 08 - 04:19 PM

To add to the scope of the disaster, the Irriwaddy delta is one of the world's largest rice producers....sea water has about ruined this crop, and rice was already a problem.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 08 May 08 - 04:41 PM

Well, there may be a silver lining (albeit minor in comparison) if the evil Burmese junta falls - but how would you have felt Rapaire if say China had invaded the USA to relieve the undoubted and undeserved suffering of the USA after Katrina?

THe urge to help and lift the reins of tyrants is noble - but when is it right for a foreign power to intervene by force?

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: PoppaGator
Date: 08 May 08 - 05:00 PM

I seriously doubt that any nation would "intervene by force" to bring humanitarian aid. If that were a serious possibility, it would be happening already; but the truth of the matter is that plenty of help is anchored offshore or poised on land in Bangkok, waiting for an invitation to move in.

Now, those power-crazed generals may well be paranoid enough to think that other countries will use the devastation as an excuse to oust them, but that's just their guilty consciences talking to them.

What it comes down to, is that the entrenched power structure there is more worried about being shown up by the governments of other nations better able to help the Burmese people than they are.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 08 May 08 - 09:19 PM

I know, and PoppaGator is correct. It just pisses me off to see people left to suffer and die because of a few paranoid generals.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 May 08 - 08:35 AM

And now the UN has halted aid shipments because the generals are not letting the aid be distributed!

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: beardedbruce
Date: 09 May 08 - 08:37 AM

UN halts aid to Myanmar after junta seizes supplies
Friday, May 09, 2008 7:55:27 AM

A U.N. official says the World Food Program is suspending cyclone aid to Myanmar because its government seized supplies flown into the country.

He says the WFP has no choice but to suspend the shipments until the matter is resolved.

WFP spokesman Paul Risley said Friday that all "the food aid and equipment that we managed to get in has been confiscated." The shipment included 38 tons of high-energy biscuits.

Risley said it is not clear why the material was seized.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- The United Nations blasted Myanmar's military government Friday, saying its refusal to let in foreign aid workers to help victims of a devastating cyclone was "unprecedented" in the history of humanitarian work.

While the junta dithered and appeared overwhelmed by last Saturday's disaster, more than 1 million homeless people waited for food, shelter and medicine. Many crammed into Buddhist monasteries or just camped out in the open.

Entire villages were submerged in the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta, with bodies floating in salty water and children ripped from their parents' arms. At least 62,000 people are dead or missing, state media reported, and aid groups warned that thousands of children may have been orphaned and the area is on the verge of a medical disaster.

On Friday, Japan said it will give aid worth $10 million through the U.N. to Myanmar, adding to the massive amounts of aid that has been pledged by foreign governments.

But while accepting international aid, the isolationist regime of this Southeast Asian nation has refused to grant visas to foreign aid workers who could assess the extent of the disaster and manage the logistics.

"The frustration caused by what appears to be a paperwork delay is unprecedented in modern humanitarian relief efforts," said Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program in Bangkok. "It's astonishing."

He said the WFP submitted 10 visa applications around the world, including six in Bangkok, but none has been approved.

"We strongly urge the government of Myanmar to process these visa applications as quickly as possible, including work over the weekend," he said.

The junta said in a statement Friday it was grateful to the international community for its assistance -- which has included 11 chartered planes loaded with aid supplies -- but the best way to help was just to send in material rather than personnel.

One relief flight was sent back after landing in Yangon on Thursday because it carried a search-and-rescue team and media representatives who had not received permission to enter the country, the junta said. It did not give details, but said the plane had flown in from Qatar, apparently referring to a U.N. flight.

The announcement came as critical aid and experts to go with it were poised in neighboring Thailand and elsewhere to rush into Myanmar, one of the world's poorest nations.

"Believe me the government will not allow outsiders to go into the devastated area. The government only cares about its own stability. They don't care about the plight of the people," said Yangon food shop owner Joseph Kyaw, one of many residents angry at the regime for doing little to help them recover from the storm's destruction.

Among those waiting in Thailand were members of the USAID Disaster Assistance Response Team. Air Force transport planes and helicopters packed with supplies also sat waiting for a green light to enter Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Myanmar allowed the first major international aid shipment Thursday -- four U.N. planes carrying high-energy biscuits, including one which was apparently turned back. On Friday, state-owned television showed a cargo plane from Italy with water containers, food and plastic sheets at Yangon international airport.

It is not clear how much of the aid is reaching the Irrawaddy delta. The U.N. estimates 1.5 million people have been "severely affected" and voiced "significant concern" about the disposal of dead bodies.

A Norway-based opposition news network, the Democratic Voice of Burma, provided graphic details of misery. In the village of Kongyangon, someone had written in Burmese, "We are all in trouble. Please come help us" on black asphalt, a video from the opposition group showed. A few feet away was another plea: "We're hungry," the words too small to be seen by air rescuers.

According to state media, 22,997 people died and 42,019 are missing from Cyclone Nargis, which hit the country's Irrawaddy delta on Saturday. Shari Villarosa, who heads the United States Embassy in Yangon, said the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because of illnesses.

Grim assessments about what lies ahead continued: The aid group Action Against Hunger noted that the delta region is known as the country's granary, and the cyclone hit before the harvest.

"If the harvest has been destroyed this will have a devastating impact on food security in Myanmar," the group said.

Anders Ladegaard, secretary-general of the Danish Red Cross, called the relief operation "a nightmare."

"There are problems to the aid inside (Myanmar) and there are problems to get the aid out to the delta area. There are almost no boats and no helicopters," Ladegaard said by satellite telephone to Danish broadcaster DR.

In Yangon itself, the price of increasingly scarce water shot up by more than 500 percent, and rice and oil jumped by 60 percent over the last three days, the group said.

Hardships in the country's largest city have prompted some embassies, including that of the U.S., to send diplomats' families out of the country.

Although the military regime had begun allowing in the first major international aid shipments, it snubbed a U.S. offer to help cyclone victims.

By doing so, the junta refused to take advantage of Washington's enormous ability to deliver aid quickly, which was evident during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen nations.

With roads in the Irrawaddy delta washed out and the infrastructure in shambles, large swaths of the region are accessible only by air, something few other countries are equipped to handle as well as the U.S.

Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej told reporters Friday that he will try to go to Myanmar on Sunday to persuade the junta to accept U.S. help.

But the junta told Samak his Myanmar counterpart is too busy to meet with him, said a Thai army general, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

But a Taiwanese Buddhist leader who just returned from Yangon said Friday that Myanmar had mobilized soldiers and civilians to transport aid to cyclone victims.

"They try to handle the relief work by themselves as much as possible because they don't have the time to deal with external criticism," Master Hsin Tao said.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 May 08 - 12:53 PM

From Al-Jazeera:

The UN's main humanitarian agency says that the Myanmar military government has seized all the food and equipment that the WFP had flown into country to assist the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

Paul Risley, a spokesman for the World Food Programme office in Bangkok, Thailand, said on Friday the WFP "has no choice" but to suspend further aid shipments until the matter is resolved.

"The food aid and equipment that we managed to get in has been confiscated," he said.

The shipment included 38 tonnes of high-energy biscuits.

Risley said it is not clear why the material was taken. It is also not clear if the shipment seized was the one that was flown in on Thursday or another one.

Mounting frustration

Underscoring mounting frustration over the military government's response to the cyclone crisis, Risley called Myanmar's refusal to grant visas to foreign aid teams "unprecedented in modern humanitarian relief efforts".

He said the organisation had submitted applications for visas with Myanmar diplomatic missions around the world, but all had been caught up in paperwork.

Earlier, Mark Canning, Britain's ambassador to Myanmar, told Al Jazeera that the relief operation for Myanmar is likely to be twice the size needed in Aceh province in Indonesia, after the 2004 tsunami.

"The scale of this catastrophe is becoming clearer all the time. The official death toll is around 23,000. But I'm afraid it's going to escalate dramatically in the coming days," he said.

"There are between one and one and a half million people who are thought to be vulnerable. The conditions are horrendous. So you're talking about an aid operation that is I think about twice the size of the Aceh relief operation. Some aid is getting through. Some UN and other flights, some World Food Programme convoys, are getting through. But they're not getting through fast enough, not in the volume that is needed."

Some relief supplies have been allowed to land in Myanmar, but many more tonnes of aid and dozens of expert foreign staff have not, leaving hundreds of thousands of survivors at risk of hunger and disease.

Christina Fink, an author and expert on Myanmar, told Al Jazeera that the government is slowing aid deliveries, justified through a "security perspective".

She said: "They are under the impression that if they let international aid into the country, the world will see how they are violating the rights of their people, how they have grossly mismanaged funds and finance that should essentially go to the impoverished."

"This is a case of damage-control on the part of this government, and they are trying very hard to cover many things up."

Al Jazeera's correspondent, who is in the Irrawaddy delta, found 500 refugees crowded into a Catholic school, all of them with injuries sustained when the storm hit.

"Most of them arrived in the village naked, they had no food, they had no shelter," she said.

"Now the church is relying on local people in the community to give rice, to give clean water, to give clothes to these people."

Myanmar's government has said the confirmed toll stands at 22,980 with more than 42,000 others missing.

The UN has estimated that more than a million people have been made homeless.

US 'outraged'

On Thursday Zalmay Khalilzad, the US ambassador at the UN, expressed outrage at Myanmar's government for its foot-dragging on allowing in international relief teams in the wake of the Cyclone Nargis disaster.

Khalilzad said in New York that the US was "outraged by the slowness of the response of the government of Burma to welcome and accept assistance".

"It's clear that the government's ability to deal with the situation, which is catastrophic, is limited … and since it's not able to you would expect the government to welcome assistance from others," he said. "We're shocked by the behaviour of the government."

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, has called on the ruling generals to postpone a referendum due on Saturday on the country's constitution.

Myanmar's military government indicated on Friday that while it wanted relief supplies, foreign aid personnel were not being called for.

A foreign ministry statement said the government had given priority to receiving aid from abroad but using its own nationals to deliver it to stricken areas.

The government turned back aid workers and media who arrived on a flight from Qatar carrying emergency supplies on Thursday because they had not been given permission to enter the country, the ministry said.

The threat of disease and starvation looms large as aid is slow to arrive

An estimated one million people have been left homeless and 100,000 may have been killed by the cyclone, according to a US diplomat in the former capital, Yangon, but the government plans to press ahead with the referendum on a new constitution critics say is an attempt by the generals to entrench their rule.

The government allowed in the first major international aid shipment on Thursday but turned away American aid.

Four WFP aircraft carrying high-energy biscuits, medicine and other supplies reached Yangon on Thursday, UN officials said.

Relief supplies from Myanmar's neighbours China, India and Bangladesh have also landed.

However, two of four UN experts who flew in to assess the damage were turned back at the airport for unknown reasons, said John Holmes, the UN relief co-ordinator.

"I am disappointed that we have not had more results," Holmes told reporters on Thursday.

"We need to continue to urge the government to co-operate," he said.

'Increasingly desperate'

Many residents remain without food and shelter, while corpses rotting in the flood waters are creating a health hazard.

Describing the situation in Myanmar as "increasingly desperate on the ground", Holmes said Ban Ki-moon, the UN chief, was trying to talk to Than Shwe, Myanmar's military leader, to urge him to "strongly to facilitate access" for foreign relief workers.

"They have opened up to some extent. They have not refused entry [to foreign aid workers]. But they have not facilitated entry... It is not as open as it should be," he said.

But the UN official rejected criticism that he had not been more forceful in pressing Myanmar.

"I do not believe confrontation with the government is likely to result in more help" for the cyclone victims, Holmes said.

Holmes added that the authorities also agreed that customs charges and clearances should be waived for aid delivery, but said it was unclear if the policy had been implemented.

At least 40 visa applications from UN aid workers are pending and many others are waiting in Thailand to enter.

'Tragedy'

Among those stranded were 10 members of a USAID disaster response team.

Eric John, the US ambassador to Thailand, told reporters in Bangkok on Thursday that the US was "in a long line of nations who are ready, willing and able to help, but also, of course, in a long line of nations the Burmese don't trust". "It's more than frustrating. It's a tragedy," he said.

John said each day of delay meant "a lot more people suffering".

A clearer picture of the devastation will not be known for some time

A US state department official earlier hinted that it was considering dropping food aid over parts of the disaster zones, without Myanmar's approval.

But the Pentagon said it would not consider such a move without the Myanmar government's permission.

Aside from violating Myanmar's airspace, the US authorities worry that such an unauthorised operation might fail to deliver the airdropped supplies to those most in need.

Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said the US needed permission from the government but US air force transport aircraft packed with supplies and US navy ships in the area are all ready to enter if permission is granted.

With the Irrawaddy delta's roads washed out and the infrastructure in shambles, large areas are accessible only by air.

Tim Costello, chief executive of World Vision Australia, said that "it's certainly the case that the Americans, as they showed in the tsunami, have extraordinary capacity".

During the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, US helicopters from the USS Abraham Lincoln flew missions to isolated communities along the Indonesian coast in the biggest US military operation in South-East Asia since the Vietnam War.

Samak Sundaravej, Thailand's prime minister, has offered to negotiate on Washington's behalf to persuade Myanmar's government to accept US assistance.

Intervention urged

France is arguing that the UN has the power to intervene without the Myanmar government's approval to help civilians under a 2005 agreement that the world body has a "responsibility to protect" people when governments fail to do it.

That agreement did not mention natural disasters.

The foreign ministers of France, Britain and Germany have urged Myanmar's leaders to let foreign aid into the country.

In a joint letter in Le Monde newspaper, Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, and David Miliband, his British counterpart, urged Myanmar's leaders to "lift all restrictions on the distribution of aid".

Aid commitments to Myanmar

Organisations

United Nations: Will release a minimum of $10m, launching a "flash appeal" to raise much more money.

International Red Cross: $189,000. Relief workers distributing drinking water, clothing, food, plastic tarpaulins and hygiene kits.

Myanmar Red Cross: 5 billion kyats ($4.5m) for relief and resettlement work. Distributing insecticide-treated bed nets and water purification tablets.

Australian World Vision: $2.8m for first month of relief operations.

Countries

European Commission: $3m for fast-track humanitarian aid.

US: $3m, up from initial $250,000 immediate emergency aid.

China: $500,000 in cash; materials including tents, blankets and biscuits worth a further $500,000.

India: Two naval ships loaded with food, tents, blankets, clothing and medicines sent to Yangon.

Japan: $267,570 worth of emergency aid in tents, power generators and other supplies.

Australia: Initial $2.8m in emergency aid, with $1m going to aid agencies to help provide shelter, water purification and food.

Thailand: Transport plane loaded with food and medicine sent to Yangon.

(All figures in US$)


Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Chief Chaos
Date: 09 May 08 - 01:25 PM

Time for some real intervention, Berlin air lift style!

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: PoppaGator
Date: 09 May 08 - 01:55 PM

Wow, what awful news.

Perhaps the only way to get aid to the striken population in the delta will be to just copter supplies and medical personnel straight in, in defiance of the government. Those asshole generals would undoubedly regard such an effort as an "invasion"; it might be a first in human history ~ an act of non-violent humanitarian "warfare."

No individual nation could or should initiate such an attempt, but a united UN could do it, and doing so might make the demise of the current regime inevitable.

There will be a tremendous amount of human suffering no matter how this plays out. Let's just all hope and pray that things don't become even worse than they have to be.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Emma B
Date: 09 May 08 - 02:03 PM

'Ed Luck, a special adviser to the UN Secretary General, has argued that linking the "responsibility to protect" to the situation in Burma is a misapplication of the doctrine.

The World Summit in 2005, he says, saw this responsibility being applied in four very specific cases - genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.

The US and France still seem to be hinting at the possibility of some kind of forced delivery of aid if all else fails, and the Burmese government continues to refuse to grant humanitarian access.

But quite apart from the political implications of such a step, there would be huge practical problems, too.

Such an approach might have to rely upon air-drops of food and emergency supplies to the flood-hit areas.

Without proper co-ordination on the ground this might be a gesture, at best.

By Jonathan Marcus
Diplomatic Correspondent, BBC News

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: PoppaGator
Date: 09 May 08 - 05:06 PM

I'd agree that air-drops of supplies without personnel to distribute them would be futile.

Parachuting uninvited persons in along with with the supplies would, I'm pretty sure, be unprecedented.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 May 08 - 05:21 PM

And I doubt that the current Burmese government will just roll over and play dead. There would be violence. In fact, I think that there WILL be violence, by the Burmese themselves. It's easier to face the machine guns when you're without hope.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: GUEST,lox
Date: 09 May 08 - 05:50 PM

This is the only time in my life that I have ever found myself thinking that an invasion is well nd truly justified.

Aid should be brought in under the protection of a UN backed force and distributed to the people of Burma and the military Junta should be arrested for crimes against humanity and held in Guantanamo until their trial, after which they should be given community service for the remainder of their lives involving burying the dead, in much the same way as german soldiers wee forced to in concentration camps after the second world war, and when that iis finished they should be employed as labourers by Burmese farmers shovelling dung and irrigating fields on demand.

Not that I'm judgemental or anything ...

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: GUEST,dianavan
Date: 10 May 08 - 02:54 AM

Canada has sent the DART team (200 members of Canadian Forces)to provide medical aid and drinking water in disaster areas but they were counting on the U.N. to provide safe passage. I think they have now set up in Thailand, waiting to find out what's next.

As far as I'm concerned, this is a case of govt. genocide against its own people. Poppagator is right, its not much different than what happened after Katrina. In the U.S., however, it was largely due to incompetence. In Myanmar, its deliberate. In both cases politicians can be blamed.

Governments are supposed to help their people. Instead they are more concerned with holding on to power and the financial rewards that follow. I'm beginning to think that politicians should take a vow of poverty if they truly want to serve the people.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 10 May 08 - 06:17 AM

What is the problem? Just let them get on with it.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: bankley
Date: 10 May 08 - 10:54 AM

the Junta likely sees it as 100,000 less people to surpress...

not surprising that these folks shoot Buddhists

tragic

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 10 May 08 - 11:24 AM

The Associate Press is reporting that the government of Burma is now distributing the UN-supplied aid boxes. The boxes are supposed to be rather crudely relabeled with the names of the Generals in power. And gee, today is the Constitutional Election -- how many people do you think are going to be able to vote? Seems like the Junta kept the May 10 date even though other governments world-wide called upon them to postpone it....

I'd call these Generals sons-of-bitches but that would insult all the other SOBs I know, as well as some very nice dogs. Heartless, brutal, power-hungry, greedy, uncaring, true fascists....

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: bankley
Date: 10 May 08 - 11:45 AM

you nailed that one, Rap.

I meant to say 'suppress'....not 'surpress'..but it was early... and sounds like a word GWB would use.... oh oh...

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Penny S.
Date: 10 May 08 - 01:19 PM

Hovercraft, those swamp boats with big fans, helicopters flying in off the sea. The army isn't in the delta, so the aid could be delivered exactly where it is needed.
But it won't happen.

Penny

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 10 May 08 - 03:23 PM

You bet it won't happen, because it would be an "invasion", a violation of "national sovereignty." The US Navy, Marines, and Army have the means to distribute aid in the Delta region, as do many other countries.

I say, Stop talking about it and go do it; sort the pieces out later.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: GUEST,Chief Chaos
Date: 10 May 08 - 06:49 PM

Unfortunately that's the kind of thinking that got us into the current war in the first place. At least the need and reasons for doing it are quite real this time. But just like Darfur it's not going to happen, at least not without the UN coming together to sanction such action.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 10 May 08 - 11:05 PM

A friend sent this and knows the sender; it is legitimate. A way has been set up to send money and if you are interested PM me.


> Hey all....
> Update from Burma
> Things are normalizing in the city of Yangon . The streets are cleared
> and food and water does not seem to be scarce yet - though prices are
> very high.
>
> What is happening down south, where the worst damage occurred, is
> harder to assess.
> The NGOs and the govt. here are playing a PR game and it seems a mess.
>
> Anyway, many people have written me and asked what they could do. Who
> could they donate to? No easy answer. The NGOs and UN are limited in
> what they can actually get done here.
>
> Here is the best I can offer - we've canceled our school year and many
> of us are sitting around trying to get packed and get out. The other
> day we collected over $700 in about an hour. We then commandeered our
> school bus and went and bought large bags of rice - nearly 3 tons -
> the bus was loaded to the windows with enough rice to make a ski hill.
> We have since loaded it on a southbound boat heading down where it
> is needed. Local expats are trying to go down with it as far as they
> can. But Yangonian friends are going down too to help assure the rice
> gets where it needs to.
>
> I am leaving here for good soon. Instead of taking all my cash out of
> here with me. I would like to leave much of my cash savings here -
> where it can go toward more food runs like this.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: beardedbruce
Date: 13 May 08 - 07:16 AM

Washington Post:

Go Around the Generals

By Anne Applebaum
Tuesday, May 13, 2008; Page A15

They are "cruel, power-hungry and dangerously irrational," in the words of one British journalist. They are " violent and irrational," according to a journalist in neighboring Thailand. Our own State Department leadership has condemned their "xenophobic, ever more irrational policies."

On the evidence of the past few days alone, those are all accurate descriptions. But in one very narrow sense, the cruel, power-hungry, violent and xenophobic generals who run Burma are not irrational at all: Given their most urgent goal -- to maintain power at all costs -- their reluctance to accept international aid in the wake of a devastating cyclone makes perfect sense. It's straightforward: The junta cares about its own survival, not the survival of its people. Thus the death toll is thought to have reached 100,000, a further 1.5 million Burmese are at risk of epidemics and starvation, parts of the country are still underwater, hundreds of thousands of people are camped in the open without food or clean water -- and, yes, if foreigners come to distribute aid, the legitimacy of the regime might be threatened.

Especially foreigners in large numbers, using high-tech vehicles that don't exist in Burma, distributing cartons of rice marked "Made in the USA" or even "UNDP," of course. All natural disasters -- from the Armenian earthquake that helped bring down the Soviet Union to Hurricane Katrina, which damaged the Bush administration -- have profound political implications, as do the aid efforts that follow them. The Burmese generals clearly know this.

Hence the "logic" of the regime's behavior in the days since the cyclone: the impounding of airplanes full of food; the initial refusal to grant visas to relief workers or landing rights to foreign aircraft; the initial refusal to allow American (or, indeed, any) military forces to supply the ships, planes and helicopters necessary for the mass distribution of food and supplies that Burma needs. Nor is this simply anti-Western paranoia: The foreign minister of Thailand has been kept out, too. Even Burmese citizens have been prevented from taking food to the flood-damaged regions, on the grounds that "all assistance must be channeled through the military." The result: Aid organizations that have workers on the ground are talking about the hundreds of thousands of homeless Burmese who may soon begin dying of cholera, diarrhea and other diseases. This isn't logic by our standards, but it is logic by the standards of Burma's leaders. Which is why we have to assume that the regime's fear of foreign relief workers could even increase as the crisis grows, threatening the regime further.

If we fail to persuade the junta to relent soon -- despite what I hope are assurances that Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and the U.S. military will bring only food, not regime change, much as we all might like to see it -- then we have to start considering alternatives. According to some accounts, the U.S. military is already considering a variety of options, including helicopter deliveries of food from ships and supply convoys from across the Thai border. The U.S. government should be looking at wider diplomatic options, too. The U.N. Security Council has already refused to take greater responsibility for Burma -- China won't allow the sovereignty of its client to be threatened, even at the price of hundreds of thousands of lives -- but there is no need for any country to act alone. In fact, it would be a grave error to do so, since anything resembling a foreign "invasion" might provoke military resistance.

Unfortunately, the phrase "coalition of the willing" has been forever tainted -- once again proving that the damage done by the Iraq war goes far beyond Iraq's borders -- but a coalition of the willing is exactly what we need. The French (whose foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, was a co-founder of Doctors Without Borders) are already talking about finding alternative ways to deliver aid. Others in Europe and Asia might join, too, along with some aid organizations. The Chinese should be embarrassed into contributing, asked again and again to help: This is their satrapy, after all, not ours.

Think of it as the true test of the Western humanitarian impulse: The international effort that went into coordinating relief after the 2004 tsunami has to be repeated, but in much harsher, trickier, uglier political circumstances. Yes, we should help the Burmese, even against the will of their irrational leaders. Yes, we should think hard about the right way to do it. And, yes, there isn't much time to ruminate about any of this.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: beardedbruce
Date: 13 May 08 - 08:26 AM

Myanmar regime accused of hoarding cyclone aid
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 6:26:24 AM

The United Nations said Tuesday that only a tiny portion of international aid needed for Myanmar's cyclone victims is making it into the country, amid reports that the military regime is hoarding good-quality foreign aid for itself and doling out rotten food.

The country's isolated military regime has agreed to accept relief shipments from the U.N. and foreign countries, but has largely refused entry to aidworkers who might distribute the aid.

Two U.S. planes have already delivered aid to the country, and, in an apparent broadening of the initial agreement, the government seemed willing to allow future shipments.

But logistical bottlenecks, poor infrastructure and the junta's restrictions have delayed the distribution of the aid, which is piling up at the airport in Yangon.

"There is obviously still a lot of frustration that this aid effort hasn't picked up pace" 10 days after the cyclone hit, said Richard Horsey, the spokesman of the U.N. humanitarian operation in Bangkok, Thailand.

Cyclone Nargis devastated the country's Irrawaddy delta on May 3, leaving about 62,000 people dead or missing, according to the government count. The U.N. has suggested the death toll is likely to be more than 100,000.

With their homes washed away and large tracts of land under water, some 2 million survivors -- mostly poor rice farmers -- are living in abject misery, facing disease and starvation.

The U.N. said the World Food Program is only getting in 20 percent of the food needed.

"That is a characterization of the program as a whole. We are not reaching enough people quickly enough," Horsey told The Associated Press.

The survivors are packed into Buddhist monasteries or camped in the open, drinking dirty water contaminated by dead bodies and animal carcasses. Food and medicines are scarce.

The military -- which has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1962 -- has taken control of most aid sent by other countries including the United States.

The regime told a U.S. military commander who delivered the first American shipment on Monday that basic needs of the storm victims are being fulfilled and "skillful humanitarian workers are not necessary."

But the junta's words and actions have only served to back up complaints that the military is appropriating the aid for itself.

A longtime foreign resident in Yangon told the AP in Bangkok that angry government officials have complained to him about the misappropriation of the aid by the military.

He said the officials told him that quantities of the high-energy biscuits rushed into Myanmar by the WFP on its first flights were sent to a military warehouse.

They were exchanged by what the officials said were "tasteless and low quality" biscuits produced by the Industry Ministry to be handed out to cyclone victims, the foreign resident said.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because revealing his identity would jeopardize his safety.

He said it was not known what's happening to the high quality food -- whether it is sold on the black market or consumed by the military.

The government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But the claim appeared to be backed up on the ground.

CARE Australia's country director in Myanmar, Brian Agland, said members of his local staff brought back some of the rotting rice that's being distributed in the delta.

"I have a small sample in my pocket, and it's some of the poorest quality rice we've seen," he said. "It's affected by salt water and it's very old."

It's unclear whether the rice, which is dark gray in color and consists of very small grains, is coming from the government or from mills in the area or warehouses hit by the cyclone.

"We were using food from the World Food Program, which is very high quality," Agland said by telephone from Yangon. "Certainly, we are concerned that (poor quality rice) is being distributed. The level of nutrition is very low."

The foreign resident also said that several businessmen have been told to make "donations" in cash of a minimum of $1,800 to the government to aid cyclone victims. Companies approached include jade mining concerns in Hpakant, restaurants and construction companies in Yangon, he said.

The authoritarian junta has barred nearly all foreigners experienced in managing such catastrophes from going to the delta -- an area west of Yangon -- and is expelling those who have managed to go in.

Jean-Sebastien Matte, an emergency coordinator with Medecins Sans Frontieres, said his foreign staff have repeatedly been forced to return to Yangon from the delta.

"We can go for two days and then we have to come back," he said. "We're able to do 100 or 200 consultations a day but we should be doing 1,000."

Armed police checkpoints were set up outside Yangon on the roads to the delta, and all foreigners were being sent back by policemen who took down their names and passport numbers.

"No foreigners allowed," a policeman said Tuesday after waving a car back.

After its first aid delivery on Monday, the United States sent in one more cargo plane Tuesday with 19,900 pounds of blankets, water and mosquito netting. A third flight was to take in a 24,750-pound load.

U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Douglas Powell said the situation remains fluid, but flights were expected to continue after Tuesday, which appears to broaden the original agreement for three flights on Monday and Tuesday.

Yangon was pounded by heavy rain Monday and more downpours were expected throughout the week, further hindering aid deliveries.

But for many, the rainwater was the only source of clean drinking water.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: beardedbruce
Date: 13 May 08 - 08:29 AM

UN chief slams Myanmar junta for slow response
Monday, May 12, 2008 7:36:06 PM
By JOHN HEILPRIN

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon criticized Myanmar's military junta Monday for what he called its "unacceptably slow response" to helping cyclone victims.

Three of the U.N. Security Council's five veto-wielding members -- France, Britain and the United States -- remain interested in possible action to require Myanmar's government to open its doors to more aid, U.S. and other council diplomats said.

"We'll be pushing the issue in the council," Deputy U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff told The Associated Press.

There has been no agreement on proposed wording for a statement or resolution, but U.S. officials say their aim is to craft language saying authorities in Myanmar must do everything possible to accept international help.

A previous such effort last week was temporarily set aside after Myanmar began taking steps to let in a few flights and aid shipments.

One of the diplomats said the Western powers were taking a wait-and-see approach, based on indicators such as how many U.S. flights are allowed into Myanmar. The first one flew into the country Monday carrying water, blankets and mosquito nets.

"We believe that it's going to be very difficult to reach everybody and to tackle the crisis as we would like without some outside military and civilian assets," John Holmes, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official, told reporters Monday.

Nearly 32,000 people were killed by the cyclone and almost 30,000 others are still missing after the May 3 cyclone, Myanmar state television reported Monday. Almost all foreign relief workers have been barred entry into the isolated nation. The junta says it wants to hand out all donated supplies on its own.

"I want to register my deep concern -- and immense frustration -- at the unacceptably slow response to this grave humanitarian crisis," Ban said.

"Unless more aid gets into the country -- very quickly -- we face an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today's crisis," he said. "I therefore call, in the most strenuous terms, on the government of Myanmar to put its people's lives first. It must do all that it can to prevent this disaster from becoming even more serious."

In London, the leader of Britain's opposition Conservative party suggested possibly dropping aid in Myanmar without the consent of the country's military rulers.

"If the situation hasn't radically improved by Tuesday then we need to consider the further steps of direct aid being dropped to help people," David Cameron told British Broadcasting Corp.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said any move to drop aid by air was unlikely though all options should be considered. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last week he could not imagine dropping aid into Myanmar without consent from authorities.

Last week, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner suggested the 15-member Security Council could use the U.N.'s mandate adopted in 2005 that nations have a "responsibility to protect" their own citizens to bypass Myanmar's military leaders and drop supplies by air. But that mandate does not mention natural disasters.

Myanmar's U.N. ambassador, Kyaw Tint Swe, said last week that his nation was prepared to cooperate with the international community but that the aid "has to be orderly and systematic."

Ban said Myanmar's leaders have not returned his repeated calls and letters to them, including a second letter sent Monday, seeking greater cooperation with U.N. and other international relief efforts.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 May 08 - 08:38 AM

If China is dragging its feet, embarrass it into cooperation. With the Olympics in Beijing and China having its own disaster to cope with, now is a good time to do that.

Air drops of supplies are essential. If a few members of Doctors Without Borders happened to show up, well....

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: beardedbruce
Date: 13 May 08 - 08:39 AM

Monks back on front lines to aid cyclone victims
Monday, May 12, 2008 2:25:01 PM

The saffron-robed monks who spearheaded a bloody uprising last fall against Myanmar's military rulers are back on the front lines, this time providing food, shelter and spiritual solace to cyclone victims.

The military regime has moved to curb the Buddhist clerics' efforts, even as it fails to deliver adequate aid itself. Authorities have given some monasteries deadlines to clear out refugees, many of whom have no homes to return to, monks and survivors say.

"There is no aid. We haven't seen anyone from the government," said U Pinyatale, the 45-year-old abbot of the Kyi Bui Kha monastery sharing almost depleted rice stocks and precious rainwater with some 100 homeless villagers huddled within its battered compound.

Similar scenes are being repeated in other areas of the Irrawaddy delta and Yangon, the country's largest city, where monasteries became safe havens after Cyclone Nargis struck May 3 -- and the regime did little.

"In the past I used to give donations to the monks. But now it's the other way around. It's the monks helping us," said Aung Khaw, a 38-year-old construction worker who took his wife and young daughter to a monastery in the Yangon suburb of Hlaingtharyar after the roof of his flimsy house was blown away and its bamboo walls collapsed.

One of the monastery's senior monks said he tried to argue with military officials who ordered the more than 100 refugees to leave.

"I don't know where they will go. But that was the order," he said, asking for anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The government has not announced such an order, which appeared to be applied selectively. Other monasteries in Yangon have been told to clear out cyclone victims in coming days, the monk said, but in the delta, refugees were being allowed to remain or told they could come to monasteries for supplies but not shelter.

"They don't want too many people gathering in small towns," said Hla Khay, a delta boat operator. The regime "is concerned about security. With lots of frustrated people together, there may be another uprising."

Larger monasteries were being closely watched by troops and plainclothes security men -- "invisible spies" as one monk called them.

Such diversion of manpower at a time when some 1.5 million people are at risk from disease and starvation reflects the regime's fear of a replay of last September, when monks led pro-democracy demonstrations that were brutally suppressed.

Monks were shot, beaten and imprisoned, igniting anger among ordinary citizens in this devoutly Buddhist country. An unknown number remain behind bars, and others have yet to return to their monasteries after fleeing for fear of arrest.

"I think after the September protests, the government is afraid that if people live with the monks in the monasteries, the monks might persuade them to participate in demonstrations again," said a dentist in Yangon, who also asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisals.

Newspapers have been ordered not to publish stories about monks aiding the people, and at least one monastery and one nunnery in Yangon were prohibited from accepting any supplies from relief organizations.

"The government is very controlling," said U Pinyatale, the abbot at the Kyi Bui Kha monastery. "Those who want to give directly to the victims get into trouble. They have to give to the government or do it secretly. (The military) follows international aid trucks everywhere. They don't want others to take credit."

It appears unlikely that foreign aid organizations seeking to enter Myanmar will be allowed to use monks as conduits for relief supplies as many had hoped.

"One of the best networks already in place in the country are the monks," said Gary Walker of PLAN, a British-based international children's group, speaking from Bangkok. "So we'll be exploring ways in which we can see whether the monks can start distributing supplies throughout the country."

At the Kyi Bui Kha monastery, located on the banks of the Pyapon River deep in the delta, U Pinyatale glanced anxiously at the remaining 10 bags of rice.

"At most, we have enough for the week. We will have to find a way to get more food," he said as monks and villagers worked together to try to dry the sodden rice, even as rain clouds gathered above the largely roofless monastery.

In Yangon, monks have been able to go out on their traditional morning rounds to accept food donations from the faithful and then share these with refugees at their monasteries. But in devastated areas of the delta that is not an option.

About 90 of the 120 houses in Kyi Bui Kha have been totally destroyed. Gaps in the monastery's storm-riddled wooden walls revealed a 360-degree view of ravaged rice fields.

U Pinyatale said the sanctuary's two dozen monks and nuns were also trying to offer spiritual comfort to the traumatized villagers.

"We pray with them. We pray for the dead to go to the peaceful land of the dead and for the living to rebuild their lives," he said.

"When the cyclone came, all of us hid in the rice warehouse. I saw one person holding tightly onto a tree but he did not make it," the abbot added. "After the storm, there were dead bodies floating everywhere. Some people get nightmares. Some hear voices at night that their dead children are calling for help. Some haven't spoken since."

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: beardedbruce
Date: 13 May 08 - 08:44 AM

R,

"If China is dragging its feet, embarrass it into cooperation. With the Olympics in Beijing and China having its own disaster to cope with, now is a good time to do that."

You mean like in Darfur???

The UN has shown that it is NOT capable of dealing with any crisis that requires action rather than words.

Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur, and now Burma.

If Bush is to be held responsible for the dead in Iraq, who gets the blame for all the others if NOT the UN???

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: PoppaGator
Date: 13 May 08 - 12:39 PM

As far as I'm concerned, this is a case of govt. genocide against its own people. Poppagator is right, its not much different than what happened after Katrina. In the U.S., however, it was largely due to incompetence. In Myanmar, its deliberate. In both cases politicians can be blamed.

Lest anyone think of me as more "anti-American" than I am, I certainly recognize that there are significant differences between the Bush administrations shameful, but (thankfully) temporary, failures in the wake Katrina and the Burmese junta's obstinate refusal to allow distribution of aid.

However, I would say that the difference is only one of degree, not a qualitative question of incompetence vs intentionality. The US federal government refused medical help from Cuba, and also millions of dollars in cash and in oil from Venezuela, for no other reason except that "we" cannot be seen to accept help from foreign governments of which "we" do not approve. Very much like the current standoff in Burma/Myanmar, but on a smaller scale: The US refused a small selection of international offers while the generals are turning away every other country, because they see every other country as their enemy.

Also, many of the most frustrating and idiotic failures in the Katrina scenario were due to bureaucrats being far too concerned with obedience to authority, with paperwork, with covering their own asses, etc., and only secondarily conscious of the needs of suffering people.

It may not have been explicit administration policy that "unofficial" offers of help by American doctors, church congregations, and other private individuals and groups be stopped in their tracks, but the general understanding among mid- to low-level FEMA and other federal employees was to avoid and prevent anything from happening that did not fit their woefully short-sighted preconceptions. Why? Because they thought they knew what their superiors expected, and compliance with such real or imagined expectations was their first and only priority, not serving the needs of the sick and dying.

I have absolutely no doubt that the vast majority of the border guards, private soldiers, and government pencil-pushers in Myanmar are acting in exactly the same manner and for the very same reasons.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: beardedbruce
Date: 13 May 08 - 05:06 PM

Myanmar police block aid workers, food piles up
Tuesday, May 13, 2008 4:05:02 PM

Police barred foreign aid workers from reaching cyclone survivors in hard-hit areas Tuesday, while emergency food shipments backed up at the main airport for Myanmar's biggest city.

Some storm survivors were reportedly being given spoiled or poor-quality food rather than nutrition-rich biscuits sent by international donors, adding to fears that the ruling military junta in the Southeast Asian country could be misappropriating assistance.

U.N. officials warned that the threat was escalating for the 2 million people facing disease and hunger in low-lying areas battered by the storm unless relief efforts increased dramatically.

Ten days after the tempest, reaching the worst-affected areas was getting more and more difficult.

Checkpoints manned by armed police were set up Tuesday on roads leading to the Irrawaddy River delta and all international aid workers and journalists were turned back by officers who took down their names and passport numbers. Drivers were interrogated.

"No foreigners allowed," one policeman said after waving a car back.

Supplies piled up at Yangon's main airport, which does have equipment to lift cargo off Boeing 747s. It took 200 Burmese volunteers to unload by hand a plane carrying more than 60 tons of relief supplies, including school tents, said Dubai Cares, a United Arab Emirates aid group.

A report from a Tuesday meeting of the U.N. center overseeing logistics said the airport was a bottleneck in the aid effort. "Discharging operations at Yangon airport are hampered by limitations of handling equipment, fuel availability and worsening weather conditions," it said.

The report said Britain's Department for International Development had offered to send in machinery for unloading jumbo jets and other aircraft.

With rain falling on Yangon on Tuesday and downpours predicted later this week, aid officials also said there was not enough warehouse space to protect the supplies beginning to flow in after the regime agreed to accept foreign help.

Even the quicker pace is not enough, U.N. officials warned.

"We fear a second catastrophe (in Myanmar) unless we're able to put in place quickly a maximum of aid and a major logistical effort comparable with the response to the (2004) tsunami," said Elisabeth Byrs of the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs.

The tsunami killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen nations around the Indian Ocean, prompting the largest relief operation ever known. Tens of thousands of aid workers poured into devastated areas and the world community donated billions of dollars.

Myanmar's state television said the number of confirmed deaths from Cyclone Nargis had risen by 2,335, to 34,273, and the number of missing stood at 27,838. The United Nations estimates the actual death toll from the May 3 storm could be between 62,000 and 100,000.

Some victims and aid workers said that in many cases spoiled or poor-quality food was being given to survivors.

A longtime foreign resident of Yangon told The Associated Press that angry government officials were complaining that high-energy biscuits rushed in on the World Food Program's first flights were sent to a military warehouse.

Those supplies were exchanged for what the officials described as "tasteless and low-quality" biscuits produced by the Industry Ministry to be handed out to cyclone victims, the resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity because identifying himself could jeopardize his safety.

A spokesman for the military regime would not comment.

U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said that while Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had expressed concern about food aid being diverted to non-cyclone victims, so far there was no evidence that was happening.

"It is a fact that a very small percentage of victims so far have received the aid, but from yesterday until today ... the situation has improved in terms of the delivery," she told reporters in New York.

CARE Australia's country director in Myanmar, Brian Agland, reported problems with some rice going to survivors.

He said members of his local staff brought back samples of rotting rice that was being distributed in the Irrawaddy delta.

"I have a small sample in my pocket, and it's some of the poorest quality rice we've seen," he said. "It's affected by salt water and it's very old."

It was unclear whether the rice, which Agland described as dark gray in color and consisting of very small grains, had come from the government or from mills or warehouses in the delta.

"Certainly, we are concerned that (poor quality rice) is being distributed," Agland said by telephone from Yangon. "The level of nutrition is very low."

The military, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962, has taken control of most supplies sent in by other countries.

Among those are the United States, which made its first aid delivery Monday and sent in another cargo plane Tuesday packed with blankets, water and mosquito netting. A third shipment was en route.

The head of Myanmar's navy, Rear Adm. Soe Thein, told Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of the U.S. Pacific forces, that basic needs of storm victims were being fulfilled and that "skillful humanitarian workers are not necessary," according to state television.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington was pressing the junta and its foreign allies to allow in not only food and supplies but disaster relief experts.

"We are doing everything we can, because this is a humanitarian issue, not a political issue," she said. "We want to make very clear that our only desire is to help the people of Burma."

Survivors are jamming Buddhist monasteries or camping in the open. Drinking water has been contaminated by fecal matter, and dead bodies and animal carcasses are floating around. Food and medicine are scarce.

The international Red Cross said its delegation in Myanmar found an
urgent need for more medical supplies in the Irrawaddy delta.

"During the cyclone, many people held onto trees to avoid being blown away," Red Cross official Bridget Gardner said. "They were almost 'sand blasted' by dirt and saltwater; (many) lost the top layer of their skin and it's important that these injuries are treated before infections can set in."

------

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Alexander G. Higgins in Geneva contributed to this report.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: beardedbruce
Date: 13 May 08 - 05:59 PM

UN warns of 'second catastrophe' in Myanmar

by Hla Hla Htay
2 hours, 28 minutes ago



YANGON (AFP) - The United Nations warned Tuesday that Myanmar faced a "second catastrophe" after its devastating cyclone, unless the junta immediately allows massive air and sea deliveries of aid.

But Myanmar's military rulers again rejected growing international pressure to open the door to a foreign-run relief effort, insisting against all the evidence that they could handle the emergency alone.

The United Nations aired its "increasing frustration" at not being able to bring more help to 1.5 million of the neediest survivors, and said the crisis in the country's remote, flooded south posed an "enormous logistic challenge."

It requires "at least an air or sea corridor to channel aid in large quantities as quickly as possible," said Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman in Geneva for the UN's emergency relief arm.

"We fear a second catastrophe."

But the junta said Tuesday that the needs of the people after the storm, which has left around 62,000 dead or missing since ripping through the southern Irrawaddy delta on May 3, "have been fulfilled to an extent."

"The nation does not need skilled relief workers yet," Vice Admiral Soe Thein said in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper, a mouthpiece for the military, which has ruled the nation with an iron grip for nearly half a century.

Although aid flights are increasing, there are serious bottlenecks in getting supplies to the delta.

Many survivors said they had still not received help from the government 10 days after the disaster, and could not understand why their leaders have snubbed offers of help that have poured in from around the world.

Aid agencies warn that as every day passes without sufficient food, water and shelter, more are at risk of joining the staggering death toll, estimated by the UN at 100,000.

The World Health Organisation said it had dispatched supplies of body bags, as experts warned that corpses were going uncollected and that the putrefying remains pose a major health risk.

Heavy rains overnight deepened the misery for many, seeping through the flimsy plastic sheeting of makeshift shelters of tens of thousands of people whose homes were sunk or blown away in the storm.

"These new rains are bringing us more misery," said Taye Win, a survivor sheltering at a monastery outside the country's main city Yangon. "I don't know how long we can withstand this."

The UN said child traffickers are targeting the youngest and most vulnerable survivors of the catastrophe, and that two suspects have already been arrested after trying to recruit children at a relief camp.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon took aim at the regime, using unusually strong language to insist that outside experts be allowed in immediately to help direct the fumbling relief effort.

"We are at a critical point. Unless more aid gets into the country very quickly, we face an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today's current crisis," he said.

"I therefore call in the most strenuous terms on the government of Myanmar to put its people's lives first. It must do all it can to prevent this disaster from becoming even more serious."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband also blasted the junta, saying its "callous disregard" for its people was hampering the supply of aid.

European Union development ministers held emergency talks Tuesday to seek ways to convince the junta to open its doors.

After the meeting, they urged "the authorities in Myanmar to offer free and unfettered access to international humanitarian experts, including the expeditious delivery of visa and travel permits."

The bloc's aid chief Louis Michel said the Myanmar regime has granted him a visa and that he would leave later Tuesday for the country, where he is expected to stress that no political strings are attached to foreign aid.

In Washington, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the United States had no plans for a forced intervention in Myanmar to provide aid to cyclone victims.

"We are doing everything that we can because this is a humanitarian, not a political issue. We want to make very clear that our only desire is to help the people of Burma," she said.

Myanmar's generals remain deeply suspicious of the outside world and fearful of any foreign influence which could weaken their control on every aspect of life in this poor and isolated nation, formerly known as Burma.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: beardedbruce
Date: 13 May 08 - 06:00 PM

a million and a half- more than even Bobert claims have died in the entire Iraq war...


So, the best thing to do is wait for the UN to take action.


and wait....


and wait...


and wait...

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: PoppaGator
Date: 13 May 08 - 06:17 PM

Bruce:

Perhaps if the US military were not already overextended by the ill-advised no-end-in-sight invasion and occupation of Iraq, our forces would be in a position to act on behalf of the suffering Burmese, in defiance of their rulers.

The way things are, though, it'll never happen.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapparee
Date: 13 May 08 - 06:18 PM

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: Rapaire - PM
Date: 07 May 08 - 09:39 PM

I am not one to advocate the overthrown of a government (he said, shuffling his feet, looking at the ceiling and then the floor, whistling off-key the whole time). But with the scale of this disaster and the incompetence of the government of Burma make me think that the UN would be doing the Burmese people a favor if it just said, "Screw you guys, people need help!", did what needs to be done, and then handed the country back to the people.

This is NOT a single country problem. With this many dead and so much destroyed, diseases from cholera to typhoid to God Know What are going to start showing up and affecting Thailand, China, India and the other nations around there. This is a WORLD problem, and the sooner the WORLD deals with it the safer it will be for everyone.

Food, medical and other help is right there, waiting to be let in.

Subject: RE: BS: Burma
From: beardedbruce
Date: 13 May 08 - 06:19 PM

The air force has more than enough transport (and the AF is NOT overextended in Iraq).

It will never happen because the UN will not allow any action outside of itself, and will not act until it is far too late.


Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Darfur...