SLIDE SHOW: U.N. to resume aid to Myanmar after junta seizes supplies
The Rocky
Originally published 12:43 a.m., May 8, 2008
Updated 01:13 p.m., May 9, 2008
Photo by Associated Press
A Myanmar woman displaced following Cyclone Nargis, fans her baby at a temporary shelter on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar today.
Photo by AFP/Getty Images
A statue of Buddha stands among the rubble near Bogalay today.
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YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar's military leaders seized aid shipments headed for cyclone survivors and told the top U.S. diplomat there today that they're not ready to let in American aid workers despite warnings the country is on the verge of a medical catastrophe.
Another 4 inches of rain was forecast to fall next week as more than 1 million people waited for food, clean water, shelter and medicine to reach them. 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.
The U.N. World Food Program said two planeloads of supplies containing enough high-energy biscuits to feed 95,000 people were seized today, prompting the world body to say it was suspending aid flights.
Later, WFP chief spokeswoman Nancy Roman said the flights would resume on Saturday while negotiations continued for the release of the supplies.
Myanmar's government acknowledged taking control of the shipments and said it plans to distribute the aid itself to the affected areas.
In a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press, government spokesman Ye Htut said the junta had clearly stated what it would do and denied the action amounted to a seizure.
The WFP's regional director, Tony Banbury, directly appealed to Myanmar's military leaders in an interview with Associated Press Television News.
"Please, this food is going to people who need it very much. You and I, we have the same interests," Banbury said. "Please release it."
Shari Villarosa, the U.S. charge d'affairs in Yangon, said she met with Myanmar Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu today to discuss American relief operations.
Myanmar says it will accept aid from all countries, but prohibits the entry of foreign workers who would deliver and manage the operations. The junta is not ready to change that position, Villarosa was told.
But Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, has agreed to allow a single U.S. cargo aircraft to bring in relief supplies on Monday, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Stuart Upton said today.
More than 60,000 people are dead or missing and entire villages are submerged in the Irrawaddy delta after Saturday's cyclone. Many of the survivors waiting for food, clean water and medicine were crammed into Buddhist monasteries or camped outdoors.
The U.N. estimates 1.5 million people have been severely affected and has voiced concern about the disposal of dead bodies.
"Many are not buried and lie in the water. They have started rotting and the stench is beyond words," Anders Ladekarl, head of the Danish Red Cross.
About 20,000 body bags were being sent so volunteers from the Myanmar chapter of the Red Cross can start collecting bodies, he said.
The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organization said its models forecast three days of strong rain next week that could dump 4 inches in Myanmar beginning Thursday or Friday.
Heavy rain could worsen the situation in the storm-affected coastal region, the meteorological agency said, though it cautioned that forecasts beyond five days could change.
In the village of Kongyangon, someone had written in Burmese, "We are all in trouble. Please come help us" on black asphalt, a video from the Norway-based opposition news network, the Democratic Voice of Burma, showed. A few feet away was another plea: "We're hungry."
In Yangon, the price of increasingly scarce water has shot up by more than 500 percent, and rice and oil jumped by 60 percent over the last three days, the Danish Red Cross said.
The U.N. has grown increasingly critical of Myanmar's refusal to let in foreign aid workers who could assess the extent of the disaster with the junta apparently overwhelmed. None of the 10 visa applications submitted by the WFP has been approved.
The U.N. always requires experienced aid workers to accompany relief supplies in every recipient country until they are delivered, officials said.
"Those are the rules," said Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "We have to be accountable to our donors in the states that paid for this assistance and we have to be transparent. We have to be sure the aid is reaching the victims."
The junta said in a statement today it was grateful to the international community for its assistance but the best way to help was just to send in material rather than personnel.
Andrew Brookes, an aerospace specialist at the IISS, an independent think tank, said Myanmar has about 15 transport planes but most are small jets not adequate to carry hundreds of tons of supplies. The country has fewer than 40 helicopters and only a fraction may be operational, he said.
"The Military Balance 2008," a widely recognized assessment on armaments around the world, puts the number of helicopters at 66.
"Even if they were all serviceable it's not even a drop in the ocean. The task is so awesome it would phase even a sophisticated force like the British, French or Germans," Brookes said.
Relief workers have reached 220,000 cyclone victims, only a small fraction of the number of people affected, the Red Cross said today.
"Believe me, the government will not allow outsiders to go into the devastated area," said Yangon food shop owner Joseph Kyaw.
"The government only cares about its own stability. They don't care about the plight of the people," he said.
Three Red Cross aid flights loaded with shelter kits and other emergency supplies landed in Myanmar today without incident.
According to state media, 23,335 people died and 37,019 are missing from Cyclone Nargis.
Grim assessments were made about what lies ahead. The aid group Action Against Hunger noted that the delta region is known as the country's granary, and the cyclone hit before the harvest.
"If the harvest has been destroyed this will have a devastating impact on food security in Myanmar," the group said.
The U.N. was putting together an urgent appeal to fund aid efforts over the next six months. The International Organization for Migration says it is asking for $8 million as part of the appeal. The U.N. refugee agency says it needs $6 million to fund the immediate shelter and household needs of 250,000 people.
Comments
Posted by Buckwheat on May 8, 2008 at 6:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thailand to U.S./UN
"Keep your planes out of our airspace, and mind your own business".
Posted by Barron on May 8, 2008 at 6:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Re: Thailand to U.S./UN
"Keep your planes out of our airspace, and mind your own business".
Huh? You do understand that Thailand is trying to HELP Myanmar, right?
Posted by Buckwheat on May 8, 2008 at 7:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I understand completely. They just don't want our help.
Posted by Buckwheat on May 8, 2008 at 7:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I meant Myanmar (sorry). They just don't want our help. Myanmar Officials have stated that they do not wish our assistance.
Posted by Barron on May 8, 2008 at 7:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well the "officials" can say what they want, but I'm betting the people who survived this storm would welcome help from anyone. I'm sure the "officials" aren't suffering.
Posted by holekeeper on May 8, 2008 at 8:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey rockymountainnews.com staffers
wwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeee oooffffff!!!!!
Posted by Buckwheat on May 8, 2008 at 9:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Again sorry, but it's not our call. Not everyone views us as the warm and fuzzy caring super power humanitarians. I'am all for helping these poor folks and I pray they get it. But, their Officials, (just like the ones in our own country) call the shots, and they do not want our help weather we try to force it on them or not. Nuff said.
Posted by Golden on May 8, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Its Bush's fault. If he were nicer, I am sure the warm, peace loving, glorious leaders of Myanmar would welcome our aid.
Tell me if you've seen this before. Food as a weapon. (Very popular in Africa and with the Food for Oil programs run by Kofi Anan's and his son). The Junta leaders set up state run distribution centers. All food aid must go through these centers. This, by the way, is why it takes them four or five days to allow food aid to enter the country. They have to get their people in charge of the centers. No silly foreigner is going to tell them how to keep, track and distribute food.
Through these centers, Junat leaders will distribute the food to the people who like and support them. People/areas which oppose the military junta leaders won't get any food. Meanwhile, 1/2 the food that comes into the centers will be sold to imports/exports throughout Asia, with all payments going to Swiss bank accounts. Wonderful isn't it.
Posted by T1anda on May 8, 2008 at 11:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Let other countries take care of Myanmar!! The USA has other fish to fry!! We need a well deserved rest from charitable give aways to foreign lands...in crisis or otherwise!!
Posted by Trythinking on May 8, 2008 at 12:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
holekeeper,
For the record, I couldn't understand why your post was removed.
A wwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeee oooffffff!!!!! back at you.
Posted by McGowdog on May 8, 2008 at 12:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree. If they ask for aid, then we'll send the US Military planes and freighters over. Otherwise, let them sit and give us, the US Citizens of this country-cheaper gas!
F-em! If they want to be martyrs, let them rot!
Call them up on the phone, "Do you want and need our HUMBLE aid?"
"No! America can stay away!"
Then I'll just say, "Karma B!tch!" Some theiving bastards from Thailand stole my identity a year ago and made off with 800.00 of my cash!
I've got no sympathy for them. Karma, B!tch!
Posted by anya on May 8, 2008 at 12:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If they don't want aid from the United States, we should just back off. We certainly should NOT send them any money; that will not be used to help anyone except the already rich people in that country. Why does the US persist in meddling where we are just not wanted? The Chinese are now the world leaders, let them take care of something like this for a change - the USA is hurting right now.
(One thing that I thought was funny in the article was: '"We have demonstrated in crises around the world ... our logistical capability to get humanitarian assistance quickly in to the people who need it," said Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar.'
Just like we got humanitarian assistance to the people hit by Katrina?)
Posted by Charles_B on May 8, 2008 at 1:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You gotta feel for those poor people. Their "government" has ponied up a whopping *five million bucks* for relief after a storm that killed up to 100,000 people.
***************
"Not only are the regime blocking international aid, they are not mobilising their own resources either,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of the Burma Campaign UK. “£2.5m is pathetic given the scale of this crisis. This is less than was spent on presents for the wedding of the daughter of Than Shwe, the dictator of Burma."
***************
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/pm/we...
Posted by Michael on May 8, 2008 at 2:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Just like we got humanitarian assistance to the people hit by Katrina?" - anya
Stupid and partisan question of the day.
Yes anya. The answer is a resounding YES!!!! Approximately 1300 people died from Hurricane Katrina landing in New Orleans. 100,000 have died in Burma and more will die because of the lack of response. Do you see any difference in those 2 totals or does your partisan idiocy blind you?
Posted by NotYours on May 8, 2008 at 3 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The folks here who are SO sure they know exactly what the citizens of another country are saying/feeling ought to try personally traveling to an anti-Western dictatorship -- such as Myanmar -- and talk one-on-one with the people on the streets, at the attractions, in the cafes. It will open your eyes like nothing else will.
Let's all hope this terrible disaster and gut-wrenching lack of a domestic response triggers a "nothing to lose" attitude among the Burmese that will rid their country of the oppressive filth that populates their government.
Posted by Charles_B on May 8, 2008 at 3:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Michael:
How was her question "partisan"? You filled in the blank on that one.
If you want to get partisan then you need to ask "Would the response to Katrina have been better and saved more lives if a Democrat had been president?"
Of course! Because an unqualified crony wouldn't have been running FEMA.
Heckuva job Michael!
Posted by Gene on May 9, 2008 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Katrina politics only lives on in the minds of lib nutjobs. I mean they have the same mayor. Okay. They elected a new governor with some sense. What else can they do?
Posted by timeandagain on May 9, 2008 at 10:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Katrina always comes up, doesn't it? How many YEARS ago was that? Anybody that is still a "Katrina Victim" is nothing more than a victim of life. I am so stunned to hear people still whining about Katrina (particularly in relation to tragedies like this one in Myanmar).
I have news for those still affected by Katrina and - still - living in squalor. You have always been ghetto dwellers and apart from a month or so after the levee broke, your lives are as good (or better) then you would have ever made them anyhow. You live in the greatest country in the world...stop using your hands to collect handouts and start using them for work!
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