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French relief ship positioned off Myanmar waters PARIS, May 17, 2008 (AFP) - A French navy ship stocked with 1,000 tonnes of food and emergency supplies was positioned off Myanmar's coast awaiting entry Saturday, the army chief of staff said in a statement.
'Since Saturday, the 'Mistral' has been navigating on the Irrawady delta just outside Myanmar's territorial waters,' the statement said. 'The modalities of delivery have not been defined as yet,' it said, adding that talks were underway with Myanmar officials.
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reliefweb.int
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UN envoy warns of 'crime against humanity' in Burma
Last Updated: 17/05/2008
France's UN ambassador has warned Burma's junta is on the verge of a "crime against humanity", as its toll of dead and missing rose to more than 133,000, making Cyclone Nargis one of the most devastating ever to hit Asia.
French envoy Jean-Maurice Ripert dismissed claims by his Burma counterpart Paris was sending a warship to sit off the coast. He said the ship, Le Mistral, was operated by the French navy but was not a warship. It is carrying 1,500 tonnes of food and medicine as well as small boats, helicopters and field hospital platforms.
Three US Navy vessels are already hovering off the coast ready to go in with relief supplies, but the Pentagon insists it will not do so until it gets the go-ahead from the Burma authorities
In a rare sign of agreement with international aid agencies, the junta last night sharply raised its toll from the May 2nd disaster to 77,738 dead and another 55,917 missing. The news came on state TV, which aside from offering updated casualty figures has mainly shown footage of generals handing out food at the model tented villages.
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ireland.com
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Norway critical of sanctions against Myanmar
Posted: 2008/05/17
STOCKHOLM, May 16 (Xinhua) -- The Norwegian government expressed on Friday its critical attitude to sanctions against Myanmar, according to reports reaching here from Oslo.
Sanctions by Western nations against Myanmar have no effects on the Myanmar government, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
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mathaba.net
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Senior General Than Shwe felicitates Norwegian King
Nay Pyi Taw, 17 May - Senior General Than Shwe, Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council of the Union of Myanmar, has sent a message of felicitations to His Majesty King Harald V of Norway, on the occasion of the National Day of Norway, which falls on 17 May 2008.
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myanmar.com
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Junta rebuffs EU humanitarian Commissioner
Larry Jagan
Saturday, 17 May 2008
Bangkok - 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.
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mizzima.com
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Brown condemns Burma's 'inhumanity'
Sat May 17 2008
Gordon Brown has stepped up pressure on the Burmese government accusing the military regime of "inhuman" treatment of Cyclone Nargis victims.
The Prime Minister urged the ruling junta to stop blocking foreign aid amid dire warnings that many survivors are still without food, water and shelter.
"This is inhuman. We have an intolerable situation" - Gordon Brown
Mr Brown said: "This is inhuman. We have an intolerable situation, created by a natural disaster.
"It is being made into a man-made catastrophe by the negligence, the neglect and the inhuman treatment of the Burmese people by a regime that is failing to act and to allow the international community to do what it wants to do."
He added: "The responsibility lies with the Burmese regime and they must be held accountable."
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itn.co.uk
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PM Thein Sein wrong man for handling disasters?
Gen Thein Sein, who was appointed prime minister last year, is facing his first crucial test as a leader and so far is faring badly just as he did when he was the regional commander in Kengtung, eastern Shan State, from 1996-2001, according to his critics there.
One major disaster he faced during his tour in Shan State, they say, was the crash of the Myanmar Airways Fokker Friendship passenger plane near Tachilek on 24 August 1998 that killed all 39 on board including the pilot.
The disaster was “inevitable” as the pilot was trying to land amid poor visibility due to heavy fog and strong winds, according to them. “It wasn’t his fault that the plane crashed,” said a respected resident. “What he should have done was to alert the residents and organize search parties. But what the actually did was, I’m afraid, quite the opposite.”
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shanland.org
Full Article :
PM Thein Sein wrong man for handling disasters? — Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.)
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A quiet celebration for this year’s Shan Resistance Day
The 50th anniversary of the Shan Resistance Day, which falls on 21 May, will be more of a day for reflection than a grandiose affair as expected earlier, according to the anti-junta Shan State Army (SSA) South.
“I was barely one year old when the resistance started,” said the 51-year old SSA boss Col Yawdserk. “It’s high time we did a thoroughgoing appraisal of the rights and wrongs, the strengths and weaknesses of the 50 year struggle so we can begin a new course with renewed confidence.”
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shanland.org
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Myanmar cyclone: Burma junta may be prosecuted over aid block
By Philip Sherwell in New York
17/05/2008
Burma's ruling generals could be threatened with prosecution for crimes against humanity as a last resort to pressure them to allow an international relief operation to reach desperate cyclone survivors. 
A boy looks out onto his devastated village near Yangon, Burma GETTY 
A woman walks in the rain as she covers herself with a plastic bag in the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar GETTY
The option is being discussed privately by humanitarian aid agencies, international law experts and Western diplomats, the Telegraph has learned.
"The strategy is to raise the bar for the consequences of not allowing humanitarian intervention by introducing the threat of prosecution for crimes against humanity," said a senior US health expert involved in the discussions.
"The goal is to save lives in the delta by elevating the threat level against the regime."
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telegraph.co.uk
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