Horrible news from Myanmar
The cost of last week's Cyclone Nargis is turning out to be a lot worse than initially reported. Myanmar is run by its military so there is no free flow of news.
From
Reuters/UK:
Myanmar cyclone toll climbs to nearly 22,500
Myanmar's military government raised its death toll from Cyclone Nargis on Tuesday to nearly 22,500 with another 41,000 missing, nearly all of them from a massive storm surge that swept into the Irrawaddy delta.
The United Nations' World Food Programme began doling out emergency rice in Yangon and the first batch of more than $10 million (5.06 million pounds) worth of foreign aid arrived from Thailand on Tuesday, but a lack of specialized equipment slowed distribution.
President Bush offered aid:
"Our message is to the military rulers," Bush said. "Let the United States come and help you, help the people."
He said he was prepared to make U.S. naval assets available for search and rescue.
But the military junta isn't letting it come in:
"The United Nations is asking the Burmese government to open its doors. The Burmese government replies: 'Give us money, we'll distribute it.' We can't accept that," Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told parliament.
And another article from
Reuters/UK:
Cyclone exposes myth of "strong" Myanmar military
For decades, Myanmar's ruling generals have defended the military's iron grip on power as vital to keeping the former Burma intact and on the road to prosperity. This week's devastating cyclone, which has killed at least 15,000 people in the Irrawaddy delta, has exposed the fragility of that myth with potentially major long-term implications for the junta, analysts say.
Many survivors of Cyclone Nargis's 190 km (120 miles) per hour winds criticised the army for a sluggish response, especially when compared with its willingness to flood the streets of Yangon with troops to crush last September's monk-led protests.
"The regime has lost a golden opportunity to send the soldiers as soon as the storm stopped to win the heart and soul of people," one retired civil servant told Reuters.
My heart goes out to these people -- to be living under a repressive military junta since 1946 and then this...
Posted by DaveH at May 6, 2008 12:45 PM