http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/opinion/21wed3.html
There is no end to the criminal behavior of Myanmar=92s generals. Nearly
three weeks after Cyclone Nargis killed more than 100,000 people, the
junta=92s refusal to open the country to international help is
condemning many more thousands to malnutrition, disease and, unless
something is done quickly, death.
The generals have now grudgingly agreed to allow their Asian neighbors
to oversee distribution of foreign relief and granted the United
Nations World Food Program permission to fly nine helicopters. Given
the horrifying size and complexity of the disaster, that=92s not nearly
enough.
Most international disaster specialists are still banned from the
storm-devastated area. So, largely, are the United States and France,
which have ****ps loaded with heavy-lift helicopters, food, water,
medicine, field hospitals and other supplies waiting in nearby
waters.
The generals are similarly determined to subvert a donors conference
set for this weekend in Yangon. State-run media claimed that the
government has already met victims=92 immediate needs and would now be
moving into the reconstruction phase. Diplomats who attend the
conference must make clear that until the junta opens up the country
to a full relief effort, there will be no reconstruction help =97 and
even after that, any rebuilding projects must be controlled by
international organizations not the corrupt regime.
The international community has been walking a fine line, trying to
cajole the generals, who only care about staying in power, into
cooperating. That hasn=92t worked, and more lives are lost every day. If
the junta does not quickly open up its ****ts and air****ts, the United
States and France must begin airdropping aid to victims. No one wants
a confrontation, but the world cannot sit by while tens of thousands
more people die.
[...]
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