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Myanmar junta hands out aid boxes with generals' names
From Associated Press
May 10, 2008 4:13 AM EST
YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's military regime distributed international
aid Saturday but plastered the boxes with the names of top generals in
an apparent effort to turn the relief effort for last week's
devastating cyclone into a propaganda exercise.
The United Nations sent in three more planes and several trucks loaded
with aid, though the junta took over its first two ****pments. The
government agreed to let a U.S. cargo plane bring in supplies Monday,
but foreign disaster experts were still being barred entry.
State-run television continuously ran images of top generals -
including the junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe - handing out boxes
of aid to survivors at elaborate ceremonies.
One box bore the name of Lt. Gen. Myint Swe, a rising star in the
government hierarchy, in bold letters that overshadowed a smaller
label reading: "Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand."
"We have already seen regional commanders putting their names on the
side of aid ****pments from Asia, saying this was a gift from them and
then distributing it in their region," said Mark Farmaner, director of
Burma Campaign UK, which campaigns for human rights and democracy in
the country.
"It is not going to areas where it is most in need," he said in
London.
State media say 23,335 people died and 37,019 are missing from Cyclone
Nargis, which submerged entire villages in the Irrawaddy delta.
International aid organizations say the death toll could climb to more
than 100,000 as conditions worsen.
The U.N. estimates that 1.5 million to 2 million people have been
severely affected and has voiced concern about the disposal of bodies.
With phone lines down, roads blocked and electricity networks
destroyed, it is nearly impossible to reach isolated areas in the
delta, complicated by the lack of experienced international aid
workers and equipment.
But the junta has refused to grant access to foreign experts, saying
it will only accept donations from foreign charities and governments,
and then will deliver the aid on its own.
Farmaner said the world needs to move to deliver aid directly to
victims in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
"People we are speaking to in Burma say aid must be delivered anyway
even if the regime doesn't give permission," he said. "We have had a
week to convince the regime to behave reasonably, and they are still
blocking aid. So the international community needs to wake up and take
bolder steps."
However, aid providers are unlikely to pursue unilateral deliveries
like airdrops because of the diplomatic firestorm that it could set
off.
So far, relief workers have reached 220,000 cyclone victims, only a
small fraction of the number of people affected, the Red Cross said
Friday. Three Red Cross aid flights loaded with shelter kits and other
emergency supplies landed Friday without incident.
But the government seized two planeloads of high-energy biscuits -
enough to feed 95,000 people - sent by the U.N. World Food Program.
Despite the seizure, the WFP was sending three more planes Saturday
from Dubai, Cambodia and Italy, even though those could be
confiscated, too.
"We are working around the clock with the authorities to ensure the
kind of access that we need to ensure it goes to people that need it
most," WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said in Bangkok, Thailand.
Richard Horsey, a spokesman for U.N. humanitarian operations, said an
international presence is needed in Myanmar to look at the logistics
of getting boats, helicopters and trucks into the delta area.
"That's a critical bottleneck that must be overcome at this point," he
said in Bangkok.
He warned there was a great risk of diarrhea and cholera spreading
because of the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation.
"We are running out of time here. This could be a huge problem and
this could lead to a second phase which could be as deadly as the
cyclone," he said.
Heavy rain forecast in the next week was certain to exacerbate the
misery. Diplomats and aid groups warned the number of dead could
eventually exceed 100,000 because of illnesses and said thousands of
children may have been orphaned.
Survivors from one of the worst-affected areas, near the town of
Bogalay, were among those fighting hunger, illness and wrenching
loneliness.
"All my 28 family members have died," said Thein Myint, a 68-year-old
fisherman who wept while describing how the cyclone swept away the
rest of his family. "I am the only survivor."
Officials have said only one out of 10 people who are homeless,
injured or threatened by disease and hunger have received some kind of
aid since the cyclone hit May 3.
The government's abilities are limited. It has only a few dozen
helicopters, most of which are small and old. It also has about 15
trans****t planes, primarily small jets unable to carry hundreds of
tons of supplies.
"Not only don't they have the capacity to deliver assistance, they
don't have experience," said Farmaner, the British aid worker. "It's
already too late for many people. Every day of delays is costing
thousands of lives."
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