Cyclone relief trickles in

The mind boggles at the destruction wrought by Saturday's cyclone in Burma (Myanmar), and it struggles to imagine the sort of hurdles relief workers face as they try to bring help to one of the planet's most closed societies. The latest reports indicate the death toll could climb to 50,000 or higher and that more than a million people are homeless.

News dispatches indicate that many foreign aid workers are still awaiting visas, and that French officials are suggesting that the United Nations deliver aid to Burma without waiting for approval of the country's ruling military junta - a move that raises fascinating questions about whether and when global interests and humanitarian concerns should trump national sovereignty. Meanwhile, the junta insists the nation will move ahead with a constitutional referendum this weekend, even amid reports of the mounting cyclone-caused carnage and the post-storm executions of rioting political prisoners held in what former inmates call "the darkest hell-hole in Burma."

From Reuters:

"We are seeing at the United Nations if we can't implement the responsibility to protect, given that food, boats and relief teams are there, and obtain a United Nations' resolution which authorizes the delivery (of aid) and imposes this on the Burmese government," (French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner) said.

The United Nations recognized in 2005 the concept "responsibility to protect" civilians when their governments could or would not do it, even if this meant intervention that violated national sovereignty. ...

... Political analysts and critics of 46 years of military rule say the cyclone may have long-term implications for the junta, which is even more feared and resented since last September's bloody crackdown on Buddhist monk-led protests. ...

... With disease, hunger and thirst threatening survivors, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd begged the junta to allow in large-scale humanitarian relief.

"Forget politics. Forget the military dictatorship. Let's just get aid and assistance through to people who are suffering and dying as we speak, through a lack of support on the ground," Rudd told reporters in Perth.

From The Telegraph:

The military government said a constitutional referendum that is part of its so-called “roadmap to democracy” would go ahead this weekend, except in the worst-affected areas. Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy, which won elections in 1990 but has never been allowed to take power, said the decision was “extremely unacceptable.”

But analysts said the vote could give ordinary Burmese a safe way to protest against the generals’ handling of the disaster, after their bloody crackdown on protesting monks and civilians last year.

“The juxtaposition of the cyclone and the voting might cause many in Burma to feel this is an indication that the military should not be in power,” said David Steinberg, a Burma expert at Georgetown University in Washington.

Many Burmese are deeply traditional, he pointed out, and the disaster could be taken to mean the current rulers had lost the “mandate of heaven.”

Western organizations collecting donations for cyclone relief efforts include Direct Relief, the International Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies, the International Rescue Committee, UNICEF, and World Vision.

Comments

[Molly Barrett]

My heart says, send in the relief forces, despite the protests of the junta. But(knowing nothing about international law, and little about Burma), I wonder what the unintended consequences of a humanitarian effort might be. Given the reputation of those in power, it might unleash unimaginable horrors, and the victims would be the very people we aspire to help. Is it possible to find a way to get the junta to agree that there's something in a humanitarian effort that would benefit them? It would feel like making a pact with the devil, but, in the long run, finding an incentive to cooperate might be the only way to help the innocent victims of this disaster.

[Julie Fanselow]

I hear you, Molly. The story is developing hour by hour, and so far the UN and independent nations appear to still be trying to work with the Burmese government to alleviate the situation, even as the death toll reports continue to climb. (I just read one story that said it may reach 100,000.)

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/07/asia/08myanmar.3.php

This is one of the latest stories, in which I learned that the French minister Kouchner quoted above was also founder of Doctors Without Frontiers, and that the junta in fact seems to be using its limited relief efforts as propaganda tools. On the other hand, there's mention that one Danish diplomat is being allowed in for a week to assess damage, so there are hints of light shining in what otherwise seems to be a very dark situation.