As the world tries to help, the Burmese junta continues to block aid from getting where it’s needed:
YANGON, Myanmar — A trickle of aid shipments arrived in Myanmar on Sunday, more than a week after a powerful cyclone smashed the country, but the ruling military junta continued to bar major shipments to more than a million of the storm’s hard-hit survivors.
The junta is also continuing to deny entry to foreign aid workers, who relief officials say are needed to prevent more deaths.
Reuters reported that the state-run Myanmar television said the death toll from the May 3 cyclone had risen to 28,458, with 33,416 people still missing. But a number of relief officials say the death toll is most likely much higher.
The United Nations World Food Program said that only one visa had been approved out of 16 it had requested and the aid group World Vision said it had requested 20 visas but received two.
And the generals seem more concerned with keeping themselves in power than helping the victims of the storm:
In the less-devastated areas, the military junta was focused on a constitutional referendum on Saturday intended to cement its power after a campaign of intimidation, even as it continued to restrict foreign aid shipments. No preliminary results had been announced by late Sunday morning, but the state-run media said the voting had proceeded without incident.
Relief experts say the aid being distributed is a fraction of what is needed to help as many as 1.5 million people facing starvation and disease. The military appeared to be diverting some resources from cyclone victims to the referendum. One resident of Yangon, speaking by phone, said refugees who had sought shelter in schoolhouses were forced out so the buildings could be used as polling places.
While I agree with those who say that using military force to get humanitarian aid where it’s needed is a foolish idea, if the junta isn’t going to do what needs to be done, then maybe the world community just needs to bypass them completely.
