Thread: Junta is stealing aid, relief groups assert

Junta is stealing aid, relief groups assert
Source: .iht.com
URL Source: Junta is stealing aid, relief groups assert - International Herald Tribune
Published: May 15, 2008
Author: .iht.com
Post Date: 2008-05-15 0615

YANGON, Myanmar: Amid signs that a second cyclone may be headed toward the Irrawaddy Delta, the directors of several relief organizations in Myanmar said Wednesday that some of the international aid coming into the country for the victims of Cyclone Nargis was being stolen, diverted or warehoused by the military.

The aid directors declined to be quoted directly on their concerns for fear of angering the ruling junta and jeopardizing their operations, although Marcel Wagner, country director of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, confirmed that aid was being diverted by the army.
He also said it was going to be a growing problem, though he declined to give any further details because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The Associated Press reported that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej of Thailand arrived for a meeting with Prime Minister Thein Sein of Myanmar on Wednesday, a week and a half after the cyclone devastated the delta region. Sundaravej told The AP that the government had given its "guarantee" that there were no disease outbreaks and that no survivors were starving.
Sundaravej also told The AP that Myanmar's rulers did not want any foreign aid workers because they "have their own team to cope with the situation."
The AP also reported that the U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there was a good chance that "a significant tropical cyclone" would form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy Delta.

Myanmar's state-controlled media did not broadcast information about the new storm, The AP reported. Residents of Yangon learned about the prediction from foreign broadcasters and on the Internet.
The death toll from the cyclone rose to 38,491, Reuters reported, citing Myanmar state television. In addition, 1,403 people were reported to be injured and 27,838 missing as of Wednesday evening. Independent experts asserted that far more people had died, Reuters reported. Late Wednesday night, The AP reported that the Red Cross was estimating that the final death toll would be much higher, giving a range of 68,833 to 127,990.

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Is Burma in the Middle East now, "blackhole"?

Apparently so. Sooner they are removed from power the better.

Shouldn't be too difficult given the suffering. Anyone volunteering for a Mercenary Task Force?