Re: U.N. 'furious' as Myanmar aid 'seized'

On May 9, 2:18=A0pm, "Zomi" <z...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>
> U.N. 'furious' as Myanmar aid 'seized'
>
> =A0 =A0 * Story Highlights
> =A0 =A0 * NEW: Myanmar to let one U.S. cargo aircraft land with supplies
o=
n
> Monday
> =A0 =A0 * United Nations aid official in Asia "furious" over government
ca=
rgo
> seizure
> =A0 =A0 * World Food Program head says government has confiscated aid
****p=
ments
> =A0 =A0 * However, U.N. later decides to resume aid flights into the
cyclo=
ne-hit
> nation
>
> BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Aid agencies are furious over the Myanmar's
> government's refusal to allow them to distribute food and supplies flown
i=
n
> for cyclone disaster victims.
>
> The ruling military junta has been allowing planes to land, but is not
> letting the cargo be distributed by most foreign aid workers, especially
> those from Western nations.
>
> The Asia head of the United Nations' World Food Program said Friday that
t=
he
> government had seized the contents of two flights that arrived in the
> morning at Yangon which carried enough food for 95,000 people. They
> contained 38 tons of high-energy biscuits, medical kits and other items.
>
> "We off-loaded the food, and then the authorities refused us permission
to=

> take that food away," WFP director Tony Banbury said.
>
> "We were told we needed a special letter from the Minister of Social
> Welfare. We hand-delivered a request to him. The answer back was 'No,
you
> can't have the food.'
>
> "That food is now sitting on the tarmac doing no good. I'm furious. This
i=
s
> unacceptable."
>
> In response, the U.N. tem****arily suspended its emergency airlifts.
>
> However, the WFP -- which under U.N. rules must control and distribute
its=

> aid supplies -- said later that it would try to send more aid on
Saturday.=

>
> "The World Food Program has decided to send in two relief flights as
plann=
ed
> tomorrow, while discussions continue with the government of Myanmar,"
> spokeswoman Nancy Roman said.
>
> Despite earlier reservations, Myanmar has now agreed to allow one
American=

> cargo aircraft to land with relief supplies on Monday, White House
Deputy
> Press secretary Gordon Johndroe said Friday. VideoWatch how some aid is
> getting through =BB
>
> The United States had earlier proposed an aid plan that would minimize
the=

> presence of American troops on the ground, with the planes to drop
supplie=
s
> off and then turn around and leave.
>
> The U.S. is also proposing that its Navy helicopters already in Thailand
a=
nd
> onboard Navy ****ps in the region fly supplies to remote areas. The
> helicopters would conduct low-level flights and air-drop the supplies
but
> not touch the ground.
>
> Four U.S. Navy ****ps are now moving to a region offshore Myanmar.
>
> The Danish Red Cross said only one out of 10 people have received some
kin=
d
> of aid in the six days since the cyclone hit, The Associated Press
re****te=
d.
>
> "There are problems to get the aid inside (Myanmar) and there are
problems=

> to get the aid out to the delta area," director Anders Ladekarl told AP.
>
> "We are simply lacking trans****tation. There are almost no boats and no
> helicopters. This is really a nightmare to make this operation run."
>
> Agencies such as the Red Cross, World Vision and Doctors Without Borders
> already had staff inside Myanmar before the cyclone hit, but have been
> struggling to get permission to bring in more, AP said.
>
> As many as 6 million people lived in the Irrawaddy Delta, the low-lying
> region that bore the brunt of the storm. More than 2,000 square miles of
> land are under water. PhotoLook at satellite pictures of the damage by
the=

> flooding =BB
>
> The Myanmar government says last week's cyclone killed 22,000 people,
but
> the top U.S. envoy in the country says the death toll may exceed
100,000.
> Thousands are without food, shelter and clean water, and aid workers say
> boats and helicopters are needed to reach remote areas.
>
> As the delivery of aid supplies lags, the possibility of diseases such
as
> malaria rises, medical authorities say.
>
> Friday's move by the Myanmar military government to stop aid workers
> distributing supplies came one day before a national constitutional
> referendum that would strengthen the power of the military junta.
>
> The government delayed voting in areas most ravaged by last Saturday's
> cyclone, but, despite urging by U.N. General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon,
refuse=
d
> to cancel the balloting countrywide. Ban told authorities it may be
> "prudent" to focus their resources on emergency response efforts.
>
> Political observers note that Myanmar has been isolated from outside
> influences since the military began ruling the country in 1962.
>
> Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the military junta in Myanmar
ha=
s
> behaved "appallingly" by declining to grant more visas to relief
workers.
>
> "This has never happened before," he said Friday.
>
> To complicate matters, Myanmar's embassy in Bangkok, Thailand -- where
aid=

> groups have been waiting for days for entry permission -- was closed
Frida=
y
> for a holiday.
>
> CNN's Hugh Rimington in Bangkok and Barbara Starr in Wa****ngton
contribute=
d
> to this re****t.
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/09/myanmar/
>
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D

Don''t know what is the issue.  Can someone explain?
Does delivering food and aid need special training and cannot be
handled by local people?