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Junta rebuffs EU humanitarian Commissioner
The European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Lois Michel has left Burma empty-handed. He failed to convince Burma's military rulers to make any concessions to the international aid effort during his three-day visit.
"I urged the Burmese government to grant more visas and allow more expertise in so that there is a more efficient response to the disaster," the commissioner told journalists. "I stressed that my mission was purely humanitarian and nit in the least political," he added.
The EU envoy went with several key requests: give EU commission staff a thirty day extension to their visas; rapidly process the outstanding visa applications from UN and NGO personnel, of which there is more than 200; grant six-month multi-entry visas to NGOs and UN international aid workers, thereby increasing the number on the ground three-fold; and allow NGO and local staff access to the Irrawaddy Delta without seeking prior permission.
"This would significantly help the international aid effort," he said. "Time is of the essence," he insisted. But the regime took little heed of his appeals.
He also asked for improved air access for planes flying from aboard to land at airports closer to the areas affected by the cyclone to unload aid supplies. The Burmese authorities rejected this appeal on the grounds that Burmese traffic control was incompatible with foreign flights. The international community has recently proposed establishing an air corridor to the affected areas so that some aid flights could by-pass Rangoon airport and deliver the supplies more directly and save time.
Although none of his requests were immediately granted, he remains optimistic that there will be some movement on them in the near future. "I felt they were tempted to react positively but there was a reluctance to co-operate with the international community," he said.
The main problem was that the EU commissioner only met relatively powerless ministers and did not get chance to talk directly to any of the senior members of the junta. The ministers told the envoy candidly that they could take any decisions themselves and had to refer it up, according to a European diplomat travelling with the European delegation.
This was taken to mean only Senior General Than Shwe had the power to make these decisions. "We now know the chain of command and who's at the top," Mr Michel told Mizzima.
Mr Michel also strongly urged the regime to allow him access to the delta during his visit to see the extent of the damage for himself. This they have now arranged, for the day after the envoy had left the country. More than sixty diplomats and heads of UN agencies in Rangoon are being taken to the delta in three helicopters.
"I hope my visit has been useful," the commissioner told journalists in Bangkok on a stop between Rangoon and Brussels. But it seems to have achieved no concrete results. Now the focus is on the UN humanitarian chief John Holmes' visit on Sunday. The European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Lois Michel has left Burma empty-handed. He failed to convince Burma's milit... more -
Myanmar death toll soars, new reached 133000+
Diplomats witnessed "huge" devastation in the Irrawaddy delta on Saturday and the toll of dead and missing from the cyclone rose above 133,000 people, making it one of the most damaging to hit Asia.
With about 2.5 million people clinging to survival in the delta, and the military government refusing to admit large-scale outside relief, disaster experts say the death toll from Cyclone Nargis which struck on May 2 could rise dramatically.
"It was useful to catch the magnitude of the devastation. It's huge," Bernard Delpuech, head of the European Commission Humanitarian Office in Yangon, said of the trip.
"For the recovery you can't expect it to be six months or a year. It will take longer," he told Reuters from Yangon, the former Rangoon.
Helicopters took some 60 to 70 diplomats split in three groups to different parts of the delta, where Nargis struck with 120 mph (190 kmh) winds and a 12-foot (3.5 meter) wall of water.
The itineraries were arranged by the Myanmar government, under fire for refusing to allow significant numbers of foreign aid workers and major international aid operations. The generals running the country say they have things in hand.
"The purpose was to show the situation was under control. Where we were they didn't hide anything but of course they selected the places we visited," Delpuech said.
In the last 50 years, only two Asian cyclones have exceeded Nargis in terms of human cost -- a 1970 storm that killed 500,000 people in neighboring Bangladesh, and another that killed 143,000 in 1991, also in Bangladesh. Diplomats witnessed "huge" devastation in the Irrawaddy delta on Saturday and the toll of dead and missing from the cyclone rose above... more -
Aid supplies resold in markets, junta issues warning
Burma's military government on Friday warned that it will investigate cases of stealing or hoarding aid supplies for cyclone victims and will punish those found guilty.
The warning, published in the state-run newspaper, comes after reports suggest that several government officials, who are assigned to handle aid supplies, have hoarded the supplies and re-sold them in markets in Rangoon.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Friday called on civilians to inform the authorities if anyone "witnesses or knows that the cash assistance and relief supplies donated to the storm victims are kept for self-interest, traded, used for particular persons and organizations, or misappropriated for other purposes."
"We hereby announce that we have made all necessary arrangements to conduct an investigation into the cases to expose the offenders and take punitive action against them in accordance with the law," the announcement said.
A shop owner in Rangoon division's Kun Chan Kone township, which was severely devastated by the cyclone, said a soldier who brought in aid supplies asked him if he wanted to buy zinc roofs to resell.
"I denied him, because I do not want to put up any aid supplies meant for refugees," the shop owner, who came to Rangoon with an aid worker, told Mizzima.
The shop owner, however, was not able to identify the soldier.
The aid worker, who had just returned from Kun Chan Kone Township, said he had not witnessed any reselling of aid supplies in the markets. But he said he heard from others that aid supplies, including high-energy biscuits, tarpaulin, zinc roofs, and tissue boxes, are for sale.
A Mizzima correspondent in Rangoon said he spotted boxes of tissues with the Red Cross label at the Mingalar Market in Rangoon. Photos were posted on the Mizzima website.
However, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said they have not received any reports of such cases and that they would react 'strongly' if aid supplies were resold.
John Sparrow, spokesman for the IFRC in Bangkok said, "Our aid supplies reach the Myanmar Red Cross society, who directly takes them to the Cyclone affected areas."
"We have not received any reports of re-selling our aid supplies," Sparrow added. Burma's military government on Friday warned that it will investigate cases of stealing or hoarding aid supplies for cyclone victims a... more -
French aid ship awaits Myanmar decision
A French navy vessel packed with 1,000 tons of humanitarian aid for cyclone survivors is prepared to wait for "days or weeks" off the coast of Myanmar as the military junta debates whether to accept the goods, the vessel's commander said Saturday.
Le Mistral spent all day Saturday sailing in circles about 22 kilometers (13 miles) outside Myanmar's territorial waters waiting for a green light that did not come.
"We are patrolling in place while waiting for the authorization," Rear Adm. Alain Hinden said by telephone from the ship. "The ship itself can stay here for days or weeks" if needed, he added.
The French government is hoping it doesn't take that long.
France's U.N. ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert, criticized Myanmar's military junta Friday, saying the government's refusal to allow aid to be delivered to people in need "could lead to a true crime against humanity."
The official death toll from Cyclone Nargis has soared to 78,000 with about 56,000 missing. Aid groups say the death toll alone is probably about 128,000, with many more deaths possible from disease and starvation unless help gets quickly to some 2.5 million survivors of the May 2-3 disaster.
Despite having few means to deliver aid quickly and efficiently, the isolationist military government insists it does not want international aid groups to manage relief operations in the desperately poor country.
Le Mistral is carrying 1,000 tons of materials, including food, water, cooking utensils, tents and basic medicines. Its 400 tons of rice is enough to feed 100,000 people for 15 days, the French Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Negotiations between the two countries began about 10 days ago, shortly after the cyclone struck, Hinden said.
A French navy vessel packed with 1,000 tons of humanitarian aid for cyclone survivors is prepared to wait for "days or weeks" off the ... more -
New storm deepens misery in cyclone-hit Myanmar
Torrential tropical downpours lashed Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta on Friday, deepening the misery of an estimated 2.5 million destitute survivors of Cyclone Nargis and further hampering the military government's aid efforts.
Despite the latest storm, which is likely to turn already damaged roads to mud in the swamp-covered region, the former Burma's ruling generals insist their relief operations are running smoothly.
However, they issued an edict in state-run newspapers on Friday saying legal action would be taken against anybody found hoarding or selling relief supplies, amid rumors of local military units expropriating trucks of food, blankets and water.
If emergency supplies do not get through in much greater quantities, foreign governments and aid groups say starvation and disease are very real threats.
The European Union's top aid official met ministers in Yangon on Thursday and urged them to admit foreign aid workers and essential equipment to prevent the death toll, which the Red Cross says could be as high as 128,000, from going any higher.
The trip, like so many others before it, yielded no results.
"Relations between Myanmar and the international community are difficult," Louis Michel told Reuters. "But that is not my problem. The time is not for political discussion. It's time to deliver aid to save lives." Torrential tropical downpours lashed Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta on Friday, deepening the misery of an estimated 2.5 million destitute s... more -
Myanmar junta insists aid effort running smoothly
Myanmar's military government said on Thursday its cyclone relief effort was moving along swiftly even as foreign powers warned of starvation and disease among up to 2.5 million people left destitute by the storm.
The European Union's top aid official met government ministers in Yangon and urged them to allow in foreign aid workers and essential equipment to prevent more deaths. But his trip did not yield any breakthroughs.
"You know, relations between Myanmar and the international community are difficult," Louis Michel told Reuters. "But that is not my problem."
"The time is not for political discussion. It's time to deliver aid to save lives."
Earlier, the reclusive generals signaled they would not budge.
"We have already finished our first phase of emergency relief. We are going onto the second phase, the rebuilding stage," state television quoted Prime Minister Thein Sein as telling his Thai counterpart this week.
Separately, the junta announced an overwhelming vote in favor of an army-backed constitution in a referendum held after the cyclone despite calls for a delay in the light of the disaster.
Nearly two weeks after the storm tore through the heavily populated Irrawaddy delta rice bowl -- leaving up to 128,000 people dead -- supplies of food, medicine and temporary shelter have been sent in dribs and drabs to devastated communities. Myanmar's military government said on Thursday its cyclone relief effort was moving along swiftly even as foreign powers warned of sta... more -
Prince Charles urges climate action to prevent 'drought and starvation on a grand ...
A vital battle in the war against climate change will be lost unless urgent action is taken to protect rainforests from further destruction, the Prince of Wales said today.
He called on Governments to act within 18 months or risk causing a catalogue of natural disasters.
“We will end up seeing more drought and starvation on a grand scale. Weather patterns will become even more terrifying and there will be less and less rainfall,” he said.
“We are asking for something pretty dreadful unless we really understand the issues now and urgency of them.”
Prince Charles said rainforests provided the “air conditioning system for the entire planet”, releasing water vapour and absorbing carbon, but were being lost to poor farmers desperate to make a living.
Safeguarding them would cost the international community around $30 billion (£15 billion) a year and require a “gigantic partnership” of governments, businesses and consumers, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“What we have got to do is try to ensure that these forests are more valuable alive than dead. At the moment, there is more value in them being dead,” he said.
Prince Charles disclosed that he had already discussed his concerns with the White House and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as well as the presidents of Indonesia, Congo and France, and businesses including Barclays, Shell, Goldman Sachs and McDonalds.
But he also said consumers had to play their part by choosing products that were environmentally sustainable.
Although companies are seeking ways of using technology to capture carbon emissions, the prince said concentrating on the rainforests would be more effective.
“If we can halt deforestation, what these rainforests do in absorbing carbon is infinitely more effective and cheaper to achieve than trying to indulge in all these very expensive technologies,” he said.
Prince Charles stressed the need for this generation of leaders to take action.
Speaking to Jim Naughtie, the presenter, he said: “We would be crazy to ignore all the scientific advice that’s coming to us from left right and centre. I don’t want to be got at by your children or grandchildren, let alone mine, saying 'why didn’t you do something about it?’ It’s our responsibility.”
A vital battle in the war against climate change will be lost unless urgent action is taken to protect rainforests from further destru... more -
Mockery of human tragedy; relief supplies on sale
The Burmese military junta is instrumental in making a mockery of human tragedy. Over 100,000 lives were lost and two million rendered homeless by cyclone Nargis and yet relief material donated by the international community and aid agencies have found their way into the markets. Such is the scale of corruption in Burma.
Local residents said they saw foreign made biscuits, dried meat, instant noodles, tarpaulins and plastic sheets on sale in Nyaunpinlay market, Mingalar market, Bogale market, Theingyi market and other markets in Rangoon.
"I bought biscuits with labels like CNE (green), MCS, PMUS, DIS, IT --- brands made in Thailand, Japan and China, and ready to eat meat, instant noodles that I have never found in these markets before," a man who bought the stuff from Bogale market told Mizzima.
Another local resident said that the biscuits put on sale in the market are the same as the ones distributed to cyclone victims on May 11 in South Dagon Township by the local authority.
The Mizzima correspondent in Rangoon said tissue packets with Red Cross labels were seen in a store in Mingalar market.
Another local resident in Rangoon said he saw army trucks from the Navy Supplies Depot, in Mingaladon, Syriam and Labutta bringing the relief materials to the markets.
"I found the same biscuits in the Nyaungpinlay market and the shopkeeper was shouting -- 'foreign biscuits available'," he said.
Similarly, he said he saw foodstuff, part of the relief supplies, at the residence of his friend who works at the airport.
"When I visited my friend's house on Tuesday, I saw a dozen tins of sardines and about five packets of biscuits in his home. When I asked him, he said he got it from his work place."
An aid worker expressing concern told Mizzima that relief supplies donated for the cyclone victims are on sale in Rangoon markets.
"The aid workers have got photographic evidence of these supplies being put on sale in the markets. The rice sacks and condensed milk tins with 'World Food Program' (WFP) logos and Japanese flags are on sale," said the aid worker.
The aid worker added that mosquito nets with (UNH) logos were also spotted at the corner of Bar Street, in Rangoon. Instant noodles are being sold at Kyat 600 per sachet as the price tag in Nyaungpinlay market. Moreover US made makeshift tents designed for patients are available at Kyat. 87,000 per unit in Mingaladon market, the aid worker rued.
But, Paul Risley of the World Food Program said the organization has not received any reports regarding the aid materials being sold in the markets instead of being distributed among cyclone victims. The Burmese military junta is instrumental in making a mockery of human tragedy. Over 100,000 lives were lost and two million rendered... more -
Burma's response "far, far too short," says Ban Ki-moon
The United Nations on Thursday made fresh calls to Burma's military rulers to allow international aid workers to access cyclone-affected areas for greater and faster mobilization of aid.
The UN also revised upward its estimate of those in need from 1.5 million to 2.5 million of people in need.
In a press conference on Thursday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "Even though the Myanmar [Burmese] Government has shown some sense of flexibility, at this time, it's far, far too short."
"The magnitude of this situation requires much more mobilization of resources and aid workers," he added.
Echoing Ban Ki-moon's concern, the UN's top relief official, John Holmes, said the biggest problem was the government's restrictions on international humanitarian from accessing cyclone-affected region in the Irrawaddy Delta.
Holmes, under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, called on Burmese authorities "to open up in this area as much as they can and as soon as they can, because that could make a huge difference. It's perfectly obvious, I think, to everyone that the national resources that they have are not adequate to cope with the problems."
Holmes said aid is arriving in increasing quantities and that it is crucial for the government to allow access to the devastated areas.
Ban Ki-moon announced that he is meeting with leaders from the Association of South-east Asian Nations, which the UN says has greater influence on Burma, to discuss concrete measures to help cyclone victims.
Mr. Ban, however, said that "until now, regrettably, I think we have spent much of our time and energy in facilitating aid, getting food in, and visas being issued."
Meanwhile, a report by the UN Security Council said it has been discussing, both at the expert level and in informal consultations, the humanitarian situation in Burma since Cyclone Nargis struck on May 2.
The report said the Council is expected to appeal to member states to offer emergency aid and assistance.
"It seems that a text is being consulted with various members of the Council and that it may appeal to member states to offer emergency aid and assistance and urge the government of Myanmar [Burma] to establish a coordinating mechanism to assist and facilitate in the delivery of aid," the report by the UNSC said. The United Nations on Thursday made fresh calls to Burma's military rulers to allow international aid workers to access cyclone-affect... more -
Burma cyclone: 130,000 may have died as second storm gathers
The Red Cross said that almost 130,000 people may have perished in the Burmese cyclone disaster, as a second deadly storm gathered off the Burmese coast.
The organisation said that the toll may be 127,990, almost 30,000 higher than the figure estimated by the US embassy in Rangoon.
A further 2.51 million people have been left battling to survive the cylone’s aftermath with inadequate food, shelter or drinking water, the organisation said.
The threat of a second cyclone was once again ignored by the Burmese authorities, who have yet to alert the country.
An American government agency said: “The potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours is upgraded to good with the only limitation being temporary land interaction.”
Amanda Pitt, a United Nations spokesman, said that the “already weak” survivors would struggle to withstand a second battering, even though it is not expected to be as severe. The new storm would hamper “people’s ability to survive and cope with what happened to them ... This is terrible,” she said.
Residents of Rangoon - which some forecasts said would receive another direct hit - were aware of “bad weather” to come from foreign broadcasts, the internet and word of mouth.
In the Irrawaddy delta, where hundreds of thousands of ailing survivors of Cyclone Nargis are living in squalor, few have access to radio. The storm, if it arrives, will come without warning.
The new storm is not expected to be as strong as the last one — whose 120mph winds whipped up a 12 foot wall of water - but it is believed to carry an average month’s worth of rain fall. Heavy rains will further damage already broken roads and bring misery to unprotected survivors.
International agencies believe that at least 100,000 people were killed by Nargis, although the Burmese regime stands by a lower figure. Relief supplies from the United Nations and charities have so far reached only 270 000 survivors — a fraction of the total number. The Red Cross said that almost 130,000 people may have perished in the Burmese cyclone disaster, as a second deadly storm gathered off... more
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