=====
Zomi says:
Further delay will result in more deaths.
Any person, who is a human being, values human life. Those who are not
really human may not value human life. I am led to believe that brutes,
not
humans beings, govern Myanmar.
Highlights:
Washington, a vocal critic of the junta that has ruled the former Burma
for
more than four decades, said humanitarian access should not be a political
matter.
"What remains is for the Burmese government to allow the international
community to help its people. It should be a simple matter. It is not a
matter of politics," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters
in Washington.
John Holmes, the top UN humanitarian official, urged Myanmar to waive visa
restrictions he said were slowing efforts to bring in relief experts and
supplies to help an estimated one million people affected by Cyclone
Nargis.
Limited international aid has trickled in and the military junta's own aid
operation has moved up a gear with some helicopter drops, but land convoys
were nowhere to be seen, a Reuters witness in the delta said.
=====
World, 5/8/2008 8:37 AM May 7, 2008
Myanmar under pressure, death toll may rise sharply
Reuters
==
Photo:
20080508_myanmar_cyclone.jpg
==
YANGON - Myanmar's military government came under pressure on Wednesday to
open its borders to more international help after a devastating cyclone
that
a US diplomat said may have killed more than 100,000 people.
Washington, a vocal critic of the junta that has ruled the former Burma
for
more than four decades, said humanitarian access should not be a political
matter.
"What remains is for the Burmese government to allow the international
community to help its people. It should be a simple matter. It is not a
matter of politics," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters
in Washington.
John Holmes, the top UN humanitarian official, urged Myanmar to waive visa
restrictions he said were slowing efforts to bring in relief experts and
supplies to help an estimated one million people affected by Cyclone
Nargis.
The cyclone, with 190 kph (120 mph) winds, slammed into coastal towns and
villages in the rice-growing Irrawaddy delta southwest of Yangon on
Saturday. Witnesses reported villages destroyed and people fighting for
survival by clutching trees.
Limited international aid has trickled in and the military junta's own aid
operation has moved up a gear with some helicopter drops, but land convoys
were nowhere to be seen, a Reuters witness in the delta said.
State Myanmar radio and television reported a death toll of 22,980 with
42,119 missing and 1,383 injured in the world's most devastating cyclone
since 1991.
Holmes said the death toll could rise "very significantly."
Shari Villarosa, charge d'affaires of the US embassy in Myanmar, said,
"The
information that we're receiving indicates that there may well be over
100,000 deaths in the delta area."
That figure was not confirmed, but was based on estimates by an
international non-governmental organization that she declined to identify,
Villarosa told reporters on a conference call from Yangon.
She said recent Myanmar government estimates put the death toll at 70,000,
mainly in the delta area.
In one town alone, Bogalay, at least 10,000 people were killed, according
to
a town-by-town list of casualties and damage announced by the reclusive
military government.
'Responsibility to protect'
Political analysts and critics of 46 years of military rule said the
cyclone
may have long-term implications for the junta, which is even more feared
and
resented since September's bloody crackdown on Buddhist monk-led protests.
With the delta virtually cut off and frustration growing among aid
agencies
and governments, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner suggested
invoking
a UN "responsibility to protect" clause without waiting for the junta's
approval.
Holmes, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said that
would
be premature. "We are having useful and constructive discussions with the
authorities of Myanmar," he told reporters at the United Nations.
"It is moving in the right direction, we want it to move much faster
clearly, but I'm not sure it would help at this moment at least to embark
on
what could at least be seen by some people as a confrontation."
Richard Horsey of the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs
said in Bangkok that 5,000 square km (1,930 square miles) of the delta
were
under water.
"With all those dead mostly floating in the water at this point you can
get
some idea of the conditions facing the teams on the ground. It's a major
logistical challenge," he said.
Storm surges hit when people were sleeping "and just inundated them, or
swept them out to sea," Villarosa said. "The government officials told us
95
percent of the buildings in the delta area are gone or have collapsed."
Thailand, China, India and Indonesia were flying in relief supplies and
the
UN World Food Program said it had sent four planes with aid that were
expected to arrive on Thursday.
Visa delays
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Myanmar do more to facilitate
international aid.
Holmes said four Asian UN officials had been cleared to go as part of an
initial assessment team but up to 100 UN staff were still waiting. He said
they had not been refused visas, but the process was taking too long.
Twenty-four countries had pledged $30 million and more aid offers were
expected after the UN sets out its priorities and target for aid in a
flash
appeal on Friday. The UN emergency relief will contribute at least $10
million.
At Yangon airport, a Reuters photographer on a Thai military plane said
two
Indian planes and one Chinese transport plane with tents and construction
materials had also landed.
The United Nations recognized in 2005 the "responsibility to protect"
civilians when their governments could or would not do it, even if this
meant violating national sovereignty.
France's UN ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert, asked the Security Council to
take a stand on the crisis by calling for a humanitarian briefing and
issuing a statement. Diplomats said China, Russia, Vietnam and South
Africa
were opposed, arguing it has nothing to do with peace and security.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=117532
=====
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