What was a natural disaster is now threatening to turn into a man-made
disaster. But the issue of sovereignty needs to be addressed first in the
Security Council. See the Re****t of the International Commission on
Intervention and State Sovereignty December 2001.
This re****t commissioned by the Canadian Government is the basis of the
doctrine of "Responsibility to Protect". Subsequently the 2005 "World
Summit
Outline Do***ent" acknowledged in paragraphs 138 and 139 the
responsibility
to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and
crimes against humanity and this was enshrined in UN Security Council
Resolution 1674 of 2006.
What has not however yet been considered by the Security Council is the
following "just cause" in Chapter IV ("Responsibility to React") of the
re****t:
Article 4.20. last subparagraph:
"Overwhelming natural or environmental catastrophes, where the state
concerned is either unwilling or unable to cope, or call for assistance,
and
significant loss of life is occurring or threatened."
This is precisely the situation which is now facing the Burmese people in
the Irrawaddy Delta. In my view, the UN Security Council should urgently
examine the situation in Burma in this context.
Links:
http://www.iciss.ca/pdf/Commission-Re****t.pdf
http://networkmyanmar.org/images//wsod.pdf
http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/361eea1cc08301c485256cf600606959/e529762befa456f8852571610045ebef!OpenDo***ent
Derek
"labor" <labor@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:48259512$0$31662$5a62ac22@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> May 9, Irrawaddy
> Wanted: Immediate US aid air drop - Kyaw Zwa Moe
>
> A US air drop of humanitarian aid to the desperate survivors in the
> Irrawaddy delta-with or without Burma's permission-is the only way to
save
> lives that hang in the balance with each passing hour.
>
> Unilateral humanitarian intervention is justified, because the Burmese
> junta has been given a chance to cooperate with dozens of international
> offers of aid, and it has failed miserably. But so far-as expected-the
> junta is demanding humanitarian aid be ****pped to Burma, but it doesn't
> want any foreign aid workers to enter the country.
>
> On Friday, the junta seized all food and equipment that the World Food
> Program had flown into the country for relief aid. Later, the UN
announced
> that it was suspending all aid ****pments to Burma.
>
> Four US navy ****ps, now located in the Gulf of Thailand, are positioned
> with relief supplies that could be air dropped into Burma or ****pped on
> the ground, if the foot-dragging junta gives the go-ahead.
>
> The US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Friday the US is
> seeking the junta's permission for an air drop, and it respects a
> sovereign's state air space. There would be no air drop without
> permission, he said.
>
> The fact is that it may be days or weeks before sufficient humanitarian
> aid gets to the survivors in the delta. Or, knowing the regime, the aid
> may never get there. Much of it could end up in junta warehouses.
>
> If you think this is a harsh, distorted, cynical view, consider this:
>
> The majority of 1.5 million homeless people are living without safe
> drinking water and sufficient food six days after the cyclone; thousands
> of people are injured or ill from bad water, helplessly waiting for
> treatment. Tens of thousands of corpses, including many children, are
> floating in ponds, creeks and rivers. The photographs are heartbreaking
> and too grim to publish.
>
> Aircraft loaded with relief supplies have been sitting on tarmacs for
> days, waiting for a green light. International aid workers have been
> waiting for days to get visas. We wouldn't be surprised to see Burmese
> officials take Saturday and Sunday off, ignoring the desperate calls to
> speed things up.
>
> Small ****pments of aid have started trickling into Rangoon's air****t,
but
> only after the generals have captured their propaganda pictures designed
> to make them look responsible and caring.
>
> So far, aid has been allowed in mainly from close friends Thailand,
India
> and China. Few planes from the Western world have been allowed into
> Rangoon. It's xenophobia and hubris politics, totally ignoring the
welfare
> of people.
>
> "The Burmese regime is behaving appallingly," Australian Prime Minister
> Kevin Rudd said in an interview on Thursday.
>
> US Ambassador Eric John told re****ters in Bangkok on Thursday, "We are
in
> a long line of nations who are ready, willing and able to help, but
also,
> of course, in a long line of nations that the Burmese don't trust."
>
> Relief workers, he said, "are ready to go in to help. They are not going
> in to overthrow the government. They are not going in to spy. They have
> specific skills for immediately responding to disaster."
>
> The junta is still telling the country through its state-run media that
> 22,997 people died and 42,119 are missing, when reliable local sources
and
> US embassy estimates say more than 100,000 people are dead; the UN
> estimates at least 1 million people are homeless.
>
> The junta boasted that it has seven helicopters dispatching food aid.
>
> In fact, hundreds of airplanes and helicopters and thousands of skilled
> relief workers will be needed to organize the distribution of food,
> shelter, medicine and create tem****ary camps to house the homeless.
>
> Mobile hospitals will be needed to treat the injured and the sick and to
> prevent the outbreak of serious, communicable diseases. One of the first
> tasks will be to gather up the tens of thousands of corpses from water
and
> land so that the water system can return to its normal, non-contaminated
> state.
>
> On Tuesday, US President George W Bush said: "We're prepared to help
move
> US Navy assets to help find those who have lost their lives, to help
find
> the missing and to help stabilize the situation."
>
> Sadly, there is no chance the junta will allow US assets on Burmese
soil.
>
> The man making that decision is Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who should be held
> responsible for humanitarian crimes by blocking the world's relief
> efforts.
>
> The US-and other willing nations-must act unilaterally. Act now, knowing
> right is on your side.
>
> The people in villages and towns of the Irrawaddy delta are looking up
at
> the sky waiting for relief supplies, local sources told The Irrawaddy.
It
> started after shortwave radio broadcasts said the US navy was ready to
> help supply aid.
>
> It's time for immediate US-led air drops to help save the lives of
> thousands of helpless people in the Irrawaddy delta.
>
>
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