More on the government of Myanmar
From the
New York Times:
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Myanmar Faces Pressure to Allow Major Aid Effort
As hungry, shivering survivors waited among the dead for help on Wednesday after a huge cyclone in Myanmar, aid agencies and diplomats said the delivery of relief supplies was being slowed by the reluctance of the country�s secretive military leaders to allow an influx of outsiders.
More:
Despite the emerging scale of the disaster, the Myanmar government has let in little aid and has restricted movement in the delta, aid agencies say. It has not granted visas to aid workers, even though supplies are being marshaled in nearby countries like Thailand.
And the United Nations is being its usual useless self:
�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 and imposes this on the Burmese government,� Mr. Kouchner told reporters in Paris. He is a co-founder of the aid group Doctors Without Borders.
But the United Nations� under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes, resisted the idea of taking action to force Myanmar to open its doors, though he noted that 50 to 100 United Nations aid workers were awaiting word on their applications for visas.
In 2005, the United Nations recognized the concept of �responsibility to protect� civilians when their governments could or would not do it, even if this meant intervention that violated national sovereignty. But it has been rarely applied.
And one more:
In Paris, Mr. Kouchner said that the French, British and Indian Navies had ships directly opposite the worst-hit areas of Myanmar and were ready to help.
�It would only take half an hour for the French boats and French helicopters to reach the disaster area, and I imagine it�s the same story for our British friends,� he said. �We are putting constant pressure on the Burmese authorities but we haven�t yet got the go-ahead.�
How could anyone be so craven -- the generals who rule Myanmar are destroying their people. This would be an excellent place for a Democracy.
Hat tip to Tyler Cowen at
Marginal Revolution for the link.
Posted by DaveH at May 7, 2008 8:29 PM