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Myanmar cyclone: Burma 'to let in all foreign aid workers'

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Burma's top leader has agreed to let all foreign aid workers into the country for relief work in cyclone-hit areas. UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon made the announcement after meeting with Gen Than Shwe and 10 other junta officials in Burma's capital. Ban was there for what was called "a last-chance effort" to persuade them to accept much-needed aid and relief experts.

About 78,000 people died and 56,000 are missing after the 2 May cyclone. Ban called Gen Than's decision "a breakthrough."

Yesterday, Burma's junta told Ban that the first phase of relief effort is over. Ban took a "carefully managed tour" of the Irrawaddy delta yesterday to see for himself the damage caused by Cyclone Nargis. It was reported that Ban was taken to a well-managed relief camp, known by locals as a "happy camp." The visit was filmed by state run media, depicting scenes that sharply contrasted the reports from international aid agencies on the ground in Burma that the majority of the 2.4 million affected had yet to receive aid.

The international community remains skeptical about the junta's optimism about relief progress in Burma. Ban Ki-moon said he was "very upset" by what he saw during his tour, and encouraged Burmese not to lose their hope and courage.
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14 responses // Myanmar cyclone: Burma 'to let in all foreign aid workers'

  • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7390575.stm
    At last ... If the Junta deliver on this it is great news! Massive props to Ban Ki-Moon!


    A journalist reporting from Burma describes the situation in the country and what its like to be a foreign journalist there on BBC Radio 4
    Pardon
  • watch this comment being used here, here, here and here
    That is fantastic news. I really hope that the junta aren't just saying this, and actually allow the people in Burma the help that they so desperately need.
    crababble
  • I didn't really know all the details until I read this article. It's great that the victims in desperate need of help have a shot of recieving it. Great news!
    Sara_Airey
  • Very well done! Let's hope, next time in a comparable situation they'd make this choice sooner, more lives could have been saved.
    yonie
  • Well, it's about time they let in aid workers. I can only imagine the suffering those poor people had to endure.
    hannesc
  • Yes, it is good if the aid actually gets to people who need it, but these murderers don't get any props from me after allowing so many more to die.
    JanforGore
  • It's great those people will finally get much-needed aid, but one can only imagine how much better off Myanmar would be if this would've happened sooner.
    Perry8331
  • http://uscampaignforburma.org/learn-about-burma/attacks...
    "Yes, it is good if the aid actually gets to people who need it, but these murderers don't get any props from me after allowing so many more to die."

    Not to mention all those they've murdered before the cyclone even hit...

    There are plenty who are saying that the Junta is denying aid to people based on their ethnicity.
    Which makes perfect sense, actually.
    Humdrum
  • JanforGore I was praising Ban Ki-Moon for negotiating the access for aid workers. He is the UN secretary general NOT a member of the Junta. I think he has done a fantastic job in these talks ... I don't dig murdering military regimes either ...
    Pardon
  • YAY!
    onechance
  • People are basically good.
    Wreyeter
  • People are basically selfish.
    Humdrum
  • People are basically not easily defined...
    onechance
  • http://www.gitameit.com/wp/2008/students/gitameit-trip-...
    This is hopeful, I suppose. I wonder what joke the Burmese are passing around about this now? They always seem to have a joke about the newest stupidity and cruelty of the Military bastards. That is the most amazing thing to me about the Burmese people regardless of their ethnicity, they somehow find a way to maintain their sense of humor and have such a spirit to help each other....

    Have you heard about the toothless Burmese dentist? He is an outspoken joker about the wicked ways of the Burmese military and is constantly getting put in jail for his widely enjoyed jokes. As a result of all the beatings he got he no longer has any teeth left.

    Here is another tale I heard after the insane rulers followed the advice of their soothsayers and created the new capital Pyinmana. While the rest of the country was on electricity rationing light bulbs up in Pyinmana were exploding and burning out from too much wattage being pumped into them!

    Another one: I heard the wives of the top military officials refused to move to Pyinmana with them as they are afraid of the ghosts! I guess Pyinmana is over-run by ghosts. Which brings me to another subject, and excuse me for babbling on like this....

    The Burmese are still very connected to the spirit world and there are many stories coming out from the destroyed villages of these ghosts of the victims of the cyclone. The military junta are uneducated and very superstitious, perhaps they begin to fear the ghosts of the monks they murdered. We heard of truckloads of monks, dead and injured being taken to crematories outside of Yangon and burned alive to hide the evidence of the massive amounts of people killed during the peaceful, barefooted monk protests last year. Perhaps they begin to fear the tens of thousands of innocent lives that have died needlessly that sit on their heads. Perhaps we should all begin to sent letters to the military with photos of the dead.

    Please follow the link to read first-hand accounts from Burmese students who are doing everything they can to provide relief and comfort to the victims of Cyclone Nargis:
    HellaDelicious

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