UN Confirms Cyclone Refugees Forced Back to Devastated Villages by Burmese Regime

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Burma's military government is forcing cyclone victims out of refugee camps and "dumping" them near their devastated villages with virtually no aid supplies, the United Nations said on Friday.
Eight camps set up earlier by the government for homeless victims in the Irrawaddy delta town of Bogale were "totally empty" as the clear-out continued, UNICEF official Teh Tai Ring told a meeting of aid groups.

"The government is moving people unannounced," he said, adding that authorities were "dumping people in the approximate location of the villages, basically with nothing."

Camps were also being closed in Laputta, another town in the delta, a low-lying area that took the brunt of Cyclone Nargis nearly a month ago.

Centralizing stricken people in the centers had made it easier for aid agencies to deliver emergency relief since many villages in the delta can only be reached by boat or over very rough roads.
Aid workers who have reached some of the remote villages say little remains that could sustain the former residents. Houses are destroyed, livestock have perished and food stocks have virtually run out. Medicines are nonexistent.

The UNICEF official said some of the refugees were "being given rations and then they are forced to move." But others were being denied such aid because they had lost their government identity cards, he said.

There was speculation that authorities did not want "a refugee mentality" to set in, with camp inmates dependent on aid for a long period of time.

Terje Skavdal, a senior UN official in Bangkok, Thailand, said he could not confirm the camp closures but that any such forced movement was "completely unacceptable."
"People need to be assisted in the settlements and satisfactory conditions need to created before they can return to their place of origins," Skavdal, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told reporters. "Any forced or coerced movement of people is completely unacceptable."

Aid groups say Burma's military government is still hindering foreign assistance for victims of the cyclone, while the junta has belittled the aid efforts as mere handouts of chocolate bars.
Foreign aid workers are still awaiting visas, and the government is taking 48 hours to process requests to enter the Irrawaddy delta, the groups said.

They said the International Red Cross was waiting for permission to send 30 foreign staffers into the delta.

"We urge speedy implementation of all agreements, on access, visas and use of logistical assets," Skavdal said. "We need to see more relief experts, including [those] from the [International Red Cross], getting into the delta as soon as possible without bureaucratic hindrance."

While saying there have been "promising indications that the government is moving in an overall right direction," the real test remains implementation on the ground, he said.

An estimated 2.4 million people remain homeless and hungry after the May 2-3 cyclone hit Burma. The government says the storm killed 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing.

"The Burmese government is still using red tape to obstruct some relief efforts when it should accept all aid immediately and unconditionally," US-based Human Rights Watch said.

"By still delaying and hampering aid efforts ... the generals are showing that, even during a disaster, oppression rules," it said in a statement.

The junta has also barred naval vessels from the United States, France and Great Britain, which were poised offshore with humanitarian supplies. The French have been forced to dock in Thailand and turn over relief goods to the United Nations for shipment into Burma.

While welcoming millions of dollars from the international community for cyclone relief, Burma lashed out at donors for not pledging enough.

State-run media condemned donors for pledging only up to US $150 million—a far cry from the US $11 billion the junta said it needed.

The Myanma Ahlin newspaper, a government mouthpiece, said in any case cyclone victims could get by without foreign handouts.

"People from the Irrawaddy delta can survive on their own, even without bars of chocolate donated by the international community," it said, adding they can live on "fresh vegetables that grow wild in the fields and on protein-rich fish from the rivers."

The reference to chocolate bars appeared to be metaphorical. No aid agency is known to be distributing chocolate, which would be impractical in the country's tropical heat.

The isolationist government only agreed to allow foreign aid workers in after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe last weekend.

The country's leaders are leery of foreign aid workers and international agencies, worrying they could weaken the junta's powerful grip. 

Massive Forced Evictions in Burmese Refugee Camps

Burma’s military government has been forcibly evicting tens of thousands of refugees who lost family members, houses and property during Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma on May 2-3.

Most of the evictions have occurred in temporary shelters in Rangoon and Irrawaddy divisions. 

This photo taken on May 25 shows cyclone-affected families sheltered from the rain, living in temporary accommodation along a road in the Shwe Pauk Kan area of Rangoon. (Photo: AFP)

Authorities closed down several temporary camps in Rangoon on May 23, including a camps in Shwe Pauk Kan in North Okkalapa Township where 3,000 refugees were staying in temporary blue tents; tent camp No 16 Quarter of North Dagon Myo Thit at the junction of the township Peace and Development Council PDC office and Nat Sin Road bus-stop; and a camp at State High School No 2 of Dala Township.

"They closed the Shwe Pauk Kan refugee camp during the evening,” said a resident of No 16 Quarter at Shwe Pauk Kan. “They forced the people to return to their homes and gave them 10 pyis of rice and 7,000 kyats (US $6.5) to each refugee. The authorities took the tents." A pyi is close to 0.25 liter.

The Rangoon Division PDC issued an order that all refugee camps in Rangoon division be closed prior to May 24, said one source, who asked to remain anonymous.

"They also shut down the camp in Dagon North No 16 Quarter by this order,” he said. “The authorities are also planning to shut down small temporary shelters in schools and monasteries."

Authorities reportedly told refugees at No 2 State High School in Dala Township they had to leave because the school would reopen June 2.

"I went there to donate some snacks to children, and they were not there anymore,” said a volunteer donor. “The neighbors said they were forcibly evicted.”Local authorities at Dala Township reportedly told refugees the emergency has now ended, and refugees must return to their villages where they should wait for assistance from the government.

Refugee sources said the Padan Camp in Hlaing Thar Yar Township, a site visited by Srn-Gen Than Shwe, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other diplomats, would be closed in the near future.

"There are about 10,000 refugees in the camp at inner Padan village. I have heard the camp will be demolished soon," said a refugee from inner Padan village, living at State Middle School No 7 in Hlaing Thar Yar Township.

He said refugees haven't received enough food and are still waiting for outside contributions of rice.

"A family is provided with two sacks of rice, two tins of cooking oil and a set of pots and pans. However, they are told not to touch the rice, oil and cooking utensils. It is for show when the authorities come and visit the site. We have to wait for other contributions for our daily food."

A refugee in his 30s said most people had no where to go when they were evicted.

"It is impossible to go back to inner Padan village, since the land owner would not hire us to work the land,” he said. “The land is close to the river and the flood hasn't drained yet since the cyclone hit. Water is still 2 to 3-feet deep in our village."

Sources in the Irrawaddy delta said thousands of refugees from Phyapon, Myaung Mya, Bogalay and Laputta townships also have been evicted from shelters.

"There were 45 camps in Pyapon Township previously but now only three remain, said a source familiar with the relief effort.

Starting on May 21, refugees were told they should wait in their villages for the government's reconstruction plan and were provided with small portions of rice and 10,000 kyats ($ 8).

The remaining refugees at Myaung Mya camps lack sufficient food and water, the source said. .

"Most of the refugees are sheltering at the No 933 Rice Mill compound, and there are almost 3,000 refugees,” said a resident of Myaung Mya.  “These people are waiting daily for outside donors to give them rice. This camp will be closed soon."

The camp at No 16 High School in Myaung Mya has been closed and authorities sent the refugees back to their villages in Laputta by trucks and boats.

"It is inhumane and cruel, forcing the refugees to leave without proper assistance, just saying the relief period has ended and promising reconstruction efforts,” said one relief worker. “It is like sending people to their death."

Nargis: A Cash Cow for the Regime?

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Many villages in cyclone affected areas in the Irrawaddy delta are still waiting for food, shelters and supplies, according to Burmese aid workers who visited villages in the Kyungyangone, Nyaungdone and Dedaye areas.

"People who were begging there are now being forcibly removed form the roadside," said a Burmese aid worker who returned from Dedaye. "It’s really a depressing situation there."

Cyclone-affected children in the rain eating food they received in the Shwepoukkan area of Rangoon, where displaced people have camped along a road. (Photo: AFP)

The aid worker said access to the hardest-hit areas is still a major issue. Most small villages close to the sea haven't received any assistance yet. "People are just dying," she said. 

Almost four weeks after Nargis slammed into Burma, the conditions for refugees have improved only in small, incremental steps. The majority of survivors have yet to see aid of any kind.

After the international donors and high-ranking officials who attended the donor conference in Rangoon on Sunday left, a senior diplomat based in Rangoon shared his pessimism.

"Even if they get aid in cash, they (military leaders) will build roads and bridges—it won't reach down to people,” he said.

The aid worker who returned from Dedaye said aid is reaching there but starvation in nearby towns is visible.

"We have seen many traumatized people," she said. "Some people received some onions and potatoes and two nails for each family (to rebuild houses)," she said.

She said many villages where fishermen and their families live close to the sea have no shelter or food, let alone aid workers.

The UN estimated that 1 million out of 2.5 million in the affected area has received any aid assistance so far.

The UN has been tentatively testing the commitment of Burmese officials following the agreement with the junta’s top leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, to allow "all aid workers" to go in and save lives.

This was regarded as a breakthrough by international observers and UN officials, who remained cautious however. Kathleen Cravero of the United Nations Development Programme said that six visas were issued to UN staff on Tuesday.

However, there are still many obstacles on the ground. The regime recently issued an order saying that anyone who wishes to visit the Irrawaddy delta must obtain official permission from the army (ka ka kyee).

Some Burmese aid workers and activists maintain the junta has not made any concessions, but the UN has made concessions to the regime.

"Now people are putting the blame on the UN and the regime," one NGO worker told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity. 

"Nargis is now a cash cow for the regime and UN agencies (to raise money)," she said.
Burmese officials said US $11 billion is needed to rebuild communities in the affected area. The figure was met with strong skepticism.

At the donor pledging conference in Rangoon on Saturday, donor countries pledged around $50 million, far short of the $200 million requested by the UN. Some Western donors said there is a will to provide more money, but the regime must allow access as well as transparency and accountability.

One NGO worker said she believed the junta is appearing to cooperate in order to get more countries to pledge funds. "There are many people ready to come and donate if allowed," she said. "Buy is the aid reaching the people? We have meeting after meeting at the Traders Hotel (in Rangoon) but nothing happens."

She said all aid workers should be welcomed no matter if Western or Asian. "We shouldn't think that Westerners can do more and have more understanding."

"We now have some emergency cowboys who went to the delta region, but they have no clue how to help people and just keep praising their projects and asking for more money," she said, referring to some Western UN staff members.

A Burmese man in his early 40s who has worked for an international NGO in Rangoon for the past week said they should be given more access to the delta, and they should work more closely with local groups.

Penang Sayadaw Damma Talk

Weeks After Cyclone in Myanmar, Even Farmers Wait for Food

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

PYAPON, Myanmar — The roads of the ravaged Irrawaddy Delta are lined these days with people hoping to be fed.

After lifetimes living off the land, poor farmers have abandoned their ruined rice paddies, setting up makeshift bamboo shelters, waiting for carloads of Burmese civilians who have taken it on themselves to feed those who lost everything to Cyclone Nargis.

Few of those who wait say they have received anything from the government, other than threats.
"They said if we don't break our huts and disappear, they will shoot us," one man in the village of Thee Kone said over the weekend before a police jeep approached. "But as you can see, it's raining now. We are pleading to the police to give us one more day and we will be gone far, far from the road, as they wish."

A red sign on a stake along one road read: "Don't throw food on the roads. It ruins the people's good habits."

On Sunday, donors from more than 50 countries and international agencies meeting in Yangon promised they would deliver more than $150 million in aid to help the country recover from the May 3 storm, The Associated Press reported, but only if they could get access to hard-hit areas like the delta. It remained unclear if Myanmar's rulers were willing to meet that demand.

At the donor conference, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein, Myanmar's prime minister, said that international aid was welcome, "provided that there are no strings attached," according to news agencies that were allowed to send reporters to the meeting.

The conference also made clear a gap remained between the views of the government and the donors on what Myanmar needed most urgently.

The government, which insists that the emergency phase of the disaster is over, showed a video suggesting the country had enough rice, and that what it needed instead was billions of dollars for long-term reconstruction. Some analysts fear that the focus on rebuilding is a ploy.

"I believe they just want to use it for their ordinary activity, put it into their accounts and use it to buy weapons or houses or whatever they would like to do," Josef Silverstein, an expert on Myanmar with Rutgers University, said in a recent interview.

The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said he believed that short-term help was a priority, with hundreds of thousands left homeless and aid reaching only a fraction of those who needed it. "The needs remain acute," Mr. Ban said Sunday, "from clean water and sanitation to shelter, medical supplies and food."

The breadth of those needs was evident during a trip on Friday and Saturday to the delta, the area most devastated by the storm, which left at least 134,000 people dead or missing. It also ruined rice fields and destroyed stocks of rice in flooding that followed.

Villagers in the region, which previously provided much of the rice for the country of 48 million, now squat along miles of roads, holding out bowls to the occasional passing cars bringing food and other supplies. Children keep a vigil, rushing to the vehicles for handouts, sometimes thrusting their arms inside the cars' windows.

"I don't know how the government is helping us," said Ko Htay Oo, 40, in Kungyangon, a delta town 30 miles south of Yangon, Myanmar's main city. He said the only aid he had seen was delivered by other Burmese citizens.

"I am no beggar, so I didn't eat anything in the past two days," he said, leaning against a roadside palm tree. "Besides, you shouldn't compete with kids for begged food."

Those who have gotten government help say it is not nearly enough.

U Min Lwin, 37, said his family had received a government ration only twice in the three weeks since the storm; each time they were given seven cups of rice.

A 51-year-old woman who gave her name as San said she recently received potatoes and a small amount of beans from the government but had no stove for cooking them.

Some people have been given government-issued tents, but the tents can accommodate only a small fraction of those left homeless.

In the village of Thee Kone near Pyapon, a major town in the delta, victims said that the village had received four tents that house 20 people each. Any family lucky enough to find tent space had received 16 cups of rice in the past week, a little more than two cups a day.

"There are many other families who want to move into the tents, but there is not enough space," said the villager who spoke of the police intimidation. "So people complain. They complain not to the government or to the village administrator, but to each other, arguing, 'Why are you in the tent and I am not?' "

He and others had built their own shelters by the road, but it was unclear where they would go after the police told them to leave Friday.

Those and other makeshift dwellings that have popped up on the roadsides are barely sufficient to shield people from the searing morning sun or the monsoon rains that sweep in to drench the area most afternoons.

Many of those who moved to the roadsides are the poorest of Burmese farmers, those who rent rice paddies from landlords. Before the storm, they traveled with their buffaloes, ducks and pigs from field to field, living in huts beside their paddies.

Now, as before, they live next to their source of food, with whatever little they were able to salvage from the wall of water that smashed into many parts of the delta.

One man found shelter in a large bamboo basket he had salvaged from the floodwater. Another lived in a tent built with a plastic Tiger Beer advertising banner that a truck driver had thrown to him. Pigs are tied to roadside palm trees. Ducks swim in the nearby ditches.

The roads are littered with plastic trash from the packaging of donated food.

"I have no dish, no cup, no blanket, no pillow. I have received nothing from the government," said Daw San Mar Oo, 31, a farmer in a hamlet near Dedaye. "I have nothing in my hands."

Still, the government continues to make it difficult for those wishing to offer private charity. Police officers armed with rifles stopped cars at checkpoints on Friday and Saturday. Foreigners without government permits to enter the disaster zone were turned back after their passports were copied. Those Burmese who were allowed to pass through were given a warning: Any donation, a yellow handout notice said, must be distributed through village leaders allied with the government.

In Pyapon, a commercial hub renowned for its "hpaya" grass mats, people maintained a semblance of traditional Burmese hospitality despite the disaster. When outside visitors asked for directions at dusk, a man offered them food and lodging at his home.

Pyapon, a trading center for rice, dried fish and fish paste, is the hometown of many rich Burmese tradesmen. But in this town, too, tales of horror were told, over evening tea.
"Dead bodies floating down the Pyapon River are no longer strangers to us," said Daw Khin Kyi, a resident. "Some of these bodies still wear gold necklaces and bracelets, so some people went out to collect them in the first few days. But now, after many days, nobody goes near. Fish are nibbling at the bodies."

Ma Ye Ye Tan, a 17-year-old from a hamlet down the river, survived the cyclone. She had arrived at the home of a Pyapon relative several days after the cyclone with virtually nothing on, shivering in monsoon rain.

Now, she said, she did want to go back to her village, which is filled with death. She is not sure what happened to her parents.

"After the cyclone came and went, we continued to hear people shouting in the darkness, but when village men went to search for them, they could find no one," she said. "We think they are ghosts shouting. I am afraid of ghosts."

Seth Mydans contributed reporting from Bangkok.
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U.N. chief: Turning point in cyclone crisis

• Story Highlights
• U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon says donor conference marks "turning point" in crisis
  
• International conference convenes to discuss aid for cyclone-hit Myanmar
  
• Aid groups cautious over junta's promise to allow foreign help

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he is hopeful "a turning point" has been reached in tackling Myanmar's cyclone crisis as an international conference Sunday pledged tens of millions of dollars for some 2.4 million survivors who need aid.

The one-day, 52-nation conference began on an optimistic note after the ruling junta promised that foreign aid workers could enter the most devastated areas, from which they have been banned since the cyclone struck three weeks ago.

While some nations opened their pocketbooks, others gave notice that aid would be conditional on the generals keeping their promises of full access.

"I hope this marks a turning point in tackling the challenges facing this country," Ban told some 500 delegates as the conference convened in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, with a minute of silence for the dead.

But he said international relief workers and medical teams from neighboring countries must have "unhindered access to the areas hardest hit by the disaster." Watch a U.N. official discuss the obstacles on the ground »


After the conference ended, Ban said he was "confident" the junta will honor its commitment to open up.
"I think the Myanmar government is moving fast in the right direction," he told reporters traveling with him.

Myanmar's Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein, shedding his military uniform for the traditional sarong-like "longyi" and jacket, said that international aid "with no strings attached" was welcome, but that only civilian vessels could take part in the aid operation. Watch a UNICEF official describe a "dire situation" in Myanmar »


"Relief supplies can be transported by land, air or sea. But if relief supplies have to be transported by water, civilian vessels can come in through Yangon port," he said.

U.S., British and French warships, loaded with humanitarian supplies, have been cruising off Myanmar's coast. But last week state-media said they would not be allowed into the country, citing fears of an American invasion to snatch the country's oil supplies.

Thein Sein, saying that 3,200 tons of humanitarian supplies have already been delivered from abroad, presented a long list of urgent needs including temporary shelters, rice seeds, fertilizer, fishing boats and new salt factories.

Ban estimated the relief operation would last at least six months.

"There is good reason to hope that aid to the worst affected areas of Myanmar will increase significantly in the coming days. These needs must be funded, immediately," he said.

Myanmar's military regime has said it needs US$10.7 billion (euro6.8 billion) for cyclone reconstruction.
Washington's representative, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Scot Marciel, said the United States was prepared to offer much more than the US$20.5 million (euro13 million) already donated. But the offer was made on the condition that international disaster experts are allowed to thoroughly assess conditions in affected areas to determine how best to help the victims.

Australia and European diplomats, including those from Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany, also offered conditional pledges, urging Myanmar authorities to give aid workers full access. Some, like the Netherlands and Sweden, spoke of the need for the news media to have free access to ensure that people are informed.

Among the pledges Sunday:
-- The European Community, which has already given 46 million euros (US$72.5 million), offered another 17 million euros (US$26.8 million).
-- China has pledged a total of US$11 million (euro7 million).
-- Australia pledged 25 million Australian dollars ($24 million; euro15.2 million).
-- The Philippines doubled its previous pledge to US$20 million (euro12.7 million).
-- South Korea upped an earlier pledge for a total of US$2.5 million (euro 1.6 million).

Bert Koenders, the Dutch minister for development cooperation, told The Associated Press, "The reason we came is to support Ban Ki-moon. That's the reason why many ministers came here. We're all very positive about what he has agreed with the government leader here, but also skeptical because you have to see the facts on the ground."

After weeks of stubbornly refusing assistance, Myanmar's ruling generals told the United Nations they were now willing to allow workers of all nationalities to go into the devastated Irrawaddy delta to assess the damage.

The ability to make such assessments will be essential in winning aid pledges from potential donors. Some agencies voiced concern about how the junta would implement the agreement.

Myanmar's generals have a long history of making promises to top U.N. envoys, then breaking them when the international spotlight on their country fades.

The U.N. has repeatedly failed to persuade the military to make democratic reforms and to release opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose five-year period of house arrest expires this week.

Nyan Win, spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, said Sunday there has been "no sign at all" that she would be released. He said a decision on whether to free her or continue her detention would probably come Monday.

Ban appeared to sideline political issues, saying during opening remarks, "We must think about people just now, not politics."

But in private, Ban said he was "cautiously optimistic that this could be a turning point for Myanmar to be more flexible, more practical" on the political front.

"Even though this time my mission brought me here on humanitarian grounds, I'm sure I will certainly have another opportunity to address this issue," he said, referring to Suu Kyi.

An estimate released Saturday by the U.N. said that of the total 2.4 million people affected by the storm, about 42 percent had received some kind of emergency assistance. But of the 2 million people living in the 15 worst-affected townships, only 23 percent had been reached.

The United Nations has launched an emergency appeal for US$201 million (euro127.7 million). That figure will likely increase further once disaster relief experts are able to survey the Irrawaddy delta.
So far, the U.N. has received about US$50 million (euro31.76 million) in contributions and about US$42.5 million (euro27 million) in pledges in response to the appeal, said Stephanie Bunker, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Aid agencies said much still needs to be clarified from the junta's pledge to allow aid workers into the country, ranging from logistical issues about when visas will be granted to how long they will be allowed to stay in Myanmar and where they can work.

Official estimates put the death toll at about 78,000, with another 56,000 missing. Myanmar has estimated the economic damage at about US$11 billion (euro7 billion).

The restoration of agriculture in the Irrawaddy delta, the country's rice bowl, is a high-priority concern.

"Only a few weeks remain until the rice planting season begins," Ban said. "Millions of people depend on this next harvest, at a time when food prices are soaring around the world. A failure to deal with this problem today will immeasurably compound our problems tomorrow."

Burmese Cyclone Survivors Forcibly Evicted

Thousands of homeless cyclone survivors from rural areas who sought shelter and aid in Bogalay and Mawlamyinegyun have been forcibly expelled from the towns by local government officials over the last five to six days, said sources in Rangoon and Bogalay.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy by telephone, a resident in Bogalay said, “The authorities won’t allow refugees to stay in town. They are sending them back where they came from.

“Firstly, the yayaka (Ward Peace and Development Council) sent refugees who have the ability to work to Maubin town and forced them to work as laborers—digging rocks in a quarry for as little as 1,000 kyat (US 0.88 cent) per day. But some refugees wouldn’t work and ran away,” she said. 
Min Zaw, a businessman in Rangoon who visited cyclone victims in Bogalay, also said that the local authorities were urging refugees who were taking shelter on the roadsides to stay out of sight while officials and aid donors were in town. 

“The yayaka drove through town and announced by loudspeaker that nobody could stay in the street,” he said. “They said that if their leaders and donors saw people living in the streets, it would hurt their dignity.”  

Some refugees were detained in local police stations while others were forcibly marched out of town and left in rural areas, Min Zaw said. 

Meanwhile, members of the pro-junta group, the Union Solidarity and Development Association, asked private donors not to deliver food and supplies into the hands of the refugees, telling the donors that it would make the refugees lazy and dependent on aid, said local sources.
Volunteer donors were asked to hand aid and cash donations over to local authorities instead of delivering supplies directly to the victims, added the sources.  
 
Meanwhile, Ohn Kyaing, the spokesperson for a relief team sponsored by the opposition National League for Democracy, said that a group of refugees in Mawlamyinegyun was also forced by local authorities to return to their villages in cyclone-ravaged areas. 

On arrival in Mawlamyinegyun on May 10, he estimated that thousands of refugees were seeking shelter in Mawlamyinegyun alone.  

Ohn Kyaing said he also visited Bogalay and witnessed thousands of cyclone victims seeking shelter in monasteries and schools while many were forced to return to their devastated villages. He said he saw more than 4,500 refugees staying at nine monasteries in Bogalay.

Meanwhile, a total of 9,200 cyclone survivors from 84 villages in Mawlamyinegyun, who were moved to relief camps in Wakema Township in the delta, have been evicted and sent back to their native villages as part of a resettlement plan, state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar said on May 24. 

About 30 Burmese private companies have been involved in the reconstruction process in cyclone-affected areas in the aftermath of the disaster with assignments by the regime to organize and undertake relief and resettlement work in 17 affected townships, according to a Xinhua report. 
There are about 400 villages in Bogalay Township, according to local data. The UN said that 95 percent of Bogalay Township was destroyed by the storm on May 2-3.  

Meanwhile, residents in Bogalay said that refugees were not receiving sufficient food and shelter from the government and nongovernmental organization, said sources. However, they added that philanthropists and private donors have continued to make donations to refugees at local monasteries and schools.

Junta Wants $11 Billion in Aid

Asean and the UN will co-chair an international aid pledging conference in Rangoon on Sunday, both organizations announced in separate press releases.

“The ASEAN-UN International Pledging Conference will support efforts to alleviate the devastating impact of Cyclone Nargis on the country and widespread suffering caused to the people of Myanmar [Burma],” said the UN statement.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon lights a candle at the Shwedagon pagoda on Thursday in Rangoon before going to view conditions in cyclone damaged areas. (Photo: AP)

Both organizations said the meeting was called “in recognition of the outpouring of international solidarity and support.”

However, critics say the main agenda of the ruling Burmese generals at the conference will be securing US $11 billion for aid and reconstruction, which is the amount the junta is calling for, according to Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, who visited Burma on May 20-21.

A potential dilemma that could arise at the conference is the chasm in concept between the donors and the military regime. While donors, particularly in Western countries, insist on transparency and accountability within a relief mission, the junta strives mainly to control foreign relief workers and to line their own pockets, say critics.

Richard Horsey, the spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Bangkok, said, “The donor conference will be a good opportunity for a detailed discussion between the Burmese regime and Asean leaders, as well as the UN, on what is needed right now for relief efforts—what the obstacles are, how to overcome those obstacles—which means not only financial pledges.”

He also said that the recovery would be focused on aspects such as the rehabilitation of the agriculture sector in the delta, which was totally destroyed by Cyclone Nargis on May 2-3.

The main thing about the donor conference is for the international community to see the Burma’s relief needs are met in the short, the medium and the long terms, said Larry Jagan, a British journalist in Bangkok who specializes on Burma.    

Expected at the conference is United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who arrived in Rangoon on Thursday. He is due to travel to the areas worst hit by Cyclone Nargis before meeting the head of the Burmese junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, on Friday. 

“Aid in Myanmar should not be politicized. Our focus now is on saving lives,” said Ban.

The UN’s highest ranking humanitarian officer, John Holmes, said on Wednesday that the Burmese regime must either say “yes” or “no” to the relief mission. “The scene is set to move in the directions we have spoken about, but we need to see that happening on the ground before we can be absolutely certain about it,” he said.

UN agencies estimate as many as 100,000 people died or missing and at least 2.5 million people have been affected by the tropical cyclone Nargis.  

Ahead of Ban Ki-moon trip to Burma, the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) said in the May 21 statement that it welcomed the UN secretary-general to Burma.

Asean foreign ministers, including Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win, held a special meeting on Burma’s crisis on May 19 in Singapore. During the meeting, ministers agreed to establish a task force that will closely work with the UN as well as a central coordinating body to be set up by the Burmese regime.

The task force would also “realize the Asean-led mechanism.” At the same time, the regional body called on the Burmese junta to allow more international relief workers into the stricken areas.

However, Debbie Stothard, coordinator of the Alternative Asean Network (Altsean), said that the big problem is getting a commitment of aid, because everyone knows the Burmese regime is the one of the most corrupt one in the world.

“The latest report by Transparency International said Burma and Somalia are the most corrupt countries in the world,” she said.

Stothard said Asean may not be able to do everything, but it must assume leadership and then the rest of the international community could participate.

“Asean’s role is to make sure the aid goes to where is needed”, she said. “If not, the donor conference in Rangoon on Sunday will be only a nice tea party without an outcome.”

Suu Kyi Must be Freed, Say US Lawyers

The Burmese junta is being urged to free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi when her current term of house arrest expires on May 25.

Two US lawyers speaking for the human rights organization Freedom Now said in Washington DC on Friday that Burmese law required her release from midnight on May 24.

Aung San Suu Kyi

Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), agreed. NLD spokesman Nyan Win said the government would be acting illegally if it continued to detain her under house arrest. “Under the law, she should not be detained any longer,” he said.

Two lawyers speaking for Freedom Now said in a statement: “Under Burmese law, she must be released from house arrest in Rangoon at midnight, the beginning of Sunday May 25, 2008.”

One of the lawyers, Jared Genser, president of Freedom Now, said if Suu Kyi were released she could then attend the international aid pledging conference in Rangoon on May 25.

The May 25 conference will be attended by international donors, representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Asean and the UN to discuss aid for the cyclone victims.

Freedom Now is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to free prisoners of conscience worldwide through legal, political, and public relations advocacy efforts. It also works closely with human rights organizations and lawyers.

Genser said if junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe refused to free Su Kyi it would be “a slap in the face to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Asean diplomats who will be on hand to hear the junta’s request for $11 billion of international assistance.”

The Freedom Now statement, also signed by lawyer Meghan Barron, pointed out that under Article 10 (b) of Burma’s State Protection Law 1975, a person who is deemed a “threat to the sovereignty and security of the State and the peace of the people” may be detained for up to five years through a restrictive order, renewable one year at a time.   

Initially detained after the Depayin massacre in May 2003, Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest was last extended on May 25, 2007. Thus, her fifth and final year of house arrest allowable under Burmese law will expire at the end of the day on May 24, 2008.    
   
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent more than 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest after her party won the 1990 state parliamentary election in Burma with more than 80 percent of the votes cast. She has been confined to her home continuously since May 2003.

Maradona: ‘Set Her Free!’

One Friday, legendary football star Diego Maradona will join a host of other celebrities, from Hollywood actors to spiritual leaders, calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s pro-democracy icon.

Multimedia (View)

“I am Diego Maradona, and the world knows that I always rebel against injustice. And what outrages me today is what is happening to Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi. Does a Nobel Peace Prize recipient deserve to be imprisoned? Set her free!” says Maradona in the video.

The video is the latest in a series released by the US Campaign for Burma, bringing together some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Will Ferrell, Jennifer Aniston, Sheryl Crow, Woody Harrelson, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Seagal, Ellen Page, Jackson Browne and Eva Longoria.

  Also part of the “30 Days for a Million Voices” campaign is prominent Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, who honored Burma’s monastic community, which led protests against the country’s ruling military junta last September, for having “enough compassion in order to take action.” 

UN and Burma: A History of Suspicion and Failure

The last time a UN secretary-general arrived in Burma he ignited bloody riots in the streets—even though he was dead.

The clashes in 1974 between students who welcomed home the body of Burma-born U Thant as a national hero and soldiers of a government leery of the United Nations are part of the long history of tensions between Burma and the world body.

That history, rife with suspicions and failures, forms the backdrop as current UN chief, Ban Ki-moon, visits on a trip aimed at opening the country to more international aid for its cyclone survivors.

Trying to take a lead role, the United Nations has repeatedly announced "breakthroughs" in its efforts to restore democracy in Burma, improve human rights and free detained Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

The isolationist generals, in turn, have enticed the UN's procession of special envoys with vague promises, then slammed the door behind them and continued marching to their own tune. Suu Kyi is still under house arrest and political prisoners languish in jails.

The last envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, remains the butt of jokes among many in Burma, after his futile attempts to revive a moribund dialogue between Suu Kyi and the generals late last year.

Ban arrived in Burma Thursday hoping to persuade the ruling junta—deeply suspicious of all outsiders—to allow the international community greater access to hundreds of thousands of victims of a cyclone increasingly at risk from disease and starvation.

The UN's mission this time may be humanitarian, but the military men have always viewed relations with the world through a dark, political prism. Ban's effort, therefore, may yield limited results.
"I hold serious doubts that any demonstrable, long term benefits will flow to the Burmese people from the secretary-general's visit except that Burmese people are delighted with the international awareness of their plight," says Monique Skidmore, a Burma expert at Australian National University.

Some Burmese people shared that pessimism.

"What can he do? He can't do anything. People are hopeful of course. Then all hope crashes when he leaves. The generals don't care what the UN says," said Khyaw Htun Htun, a businessman donating food to victims at a monastery in Rangoon, Burma's largest city. Others interviewed had similar comments.

UN agencies have in the past few years been able to bolster aid to the impoverished Southeast Asian country and gain some measure of trust at the local level. A basic humanitarian infrastructure built by the UN was able to go into action when the Cyclone Nargis struck May 2-3 despite obstacles thrown up by the regime.

But the nation's rulers view the United Nations as having shed its neutrality and now marshaled against them through the lobbying efforts of the United States and other powerful Western nations.
"The generals think the UN is deeper in the US pocket than ever before. They are fearful that UN aid agencies are there in camouflage for the regime-change agenda," says Thant Myint-U, a former UN official and grandson of U Thant, the ex-secretary general whose international and domestic popularity aroused jealousy in then-dictator Ne Win.

Ne Win's refusal for a state funeral when U Thant's body arrived in Burma in 1974 sparked angry students to snatch the coffin. In an ensuing confrontation with troops a still unknown number of protesters were gunned down.

The regime now sees only few friends in the world body, notably Security Council members China and Russia which frequently block resolutions inimical to the regime.

"The UN has been so locked into this political change that it doesn't have a more general relationship with the government which could have been so valuable at a time like this," says Thant Myint-U.

On the eve of Ban's arrival, Burma shunned a US proposal for naval ships to deliver aid to cyclone victims, according to state-controlled media, which cited fears of an American invasion aimed at grabbing the country's oil reserves.

Skidmore said the generals might make use of Ban's visit to repair Burma's battered image, repeating what she says are the many "cycles of engagement"—promises made by the junta while Burma is in the international spotlight, then broken or ignored when that spotlight fades.
David Steinberg, a veteran Burma watcher from Georgetown University, says the junta will likely play up Ban's presence as evidence of their international and domestic legitimacy. And Steinberg said it was important to massage the generals' egos.
"We have to work out a deal with them where they perceive that we are giving them some dignity and at the same time, we're achieving our critical objectives," Steinberg said. 

Burmese Monks Coordinate Aid, as Private Donations Trickle In

Two weeks after Cyclone Nargis hit the Irrawaddy delta on May 2-3, aid convoys from Rangoon continued to reach Kawhmu and Kungyangone, two relatively accessible townships located southwest of the former capital.

On Sunday, light trucks and even luxury cars were seen transporting food and other necessities, including cooking utensils and clothing, to the two townships, which were among hundreds of small communities hit by the cyclone. The vehicles first passed through Hlaing Tharyar Township, in one of the hardest-hit parts of Rangoon.

Multimedia (View)

Aid to the area has continued, even as authorities have stepped up efforts to regulate the flow of private donations to cyclone victims. Survivors of the cyclone lined the road to Kungyangone, as volunteers riding in the aid convoys threw light snacks into the air or passed them to people in the crowds.

Most relief supplies, however, were unloaded at monasteries, where monks supervised their distribution to cyclone victims. At one monastery, young monks told aid recipients to form a line, while signboards along the road informed donors of the presence of relief camps, where they were urged to make their donations “systematically.” 

Several dozen cyclone victims were taking shelter in blue, German-made tents along the roadside near Kawhmu, while in a football ground near a gate marking the entrance to the town of Kungyangone, armed soldiers guarded a relief camp consisting of around 40 deep-green military-issue tents.

Thousands of other cyclone victims found temporary housing in local monasteries and state schools in Kungyangone, where the need for aid exceeded available supplies. 

“I received a small amount of rice and edible oil,” said one victim sheltering at a monastery. “Maybe I will get some clothes from the lottery,” she added, referring to the system used to allocate scarce aid evenly among needy would-be recipients.

Local donors said they were avoiding government-led relief efforts, as they didn’t trust the authorities to distribute aid to cyclone survivors.

Join the Meditative March and Protest Regarding Burma's Cyclone

When:
May 23, 2008 11:30am - 1:30pm

Where/What:
11:30-11:50 Meet at Justin Herman Plaza and set up for meditation march
11:50-12:10 March to Singapore Consulate, 595 Market Street, San
Francisco, CA, 94105
12:10-1:30 Meditation in front of Singapore Consulate

Contact:
510 593 4388

Why:
Singapore is the chair of ASEAN and a great enabler of Burma's brutal regime. Most ASEAN members, such as Thailand and Singapore,enjoy Burma's resources at cut-rate prices while millions suffer greatly under the junta.

After the deadly Nargis hit Burma's delta region, there was great outcry from much of the world as we witnessed the regime's cruel and dispassionate neglect of the massive destruction and deaths. As usual, member nations of ASEAN kept quiet until they saw western navy ships perched to act in the best interest of the cyclone victims.

These are the same forces from the US, UK and France who effectively aided tsunami victims in the same region when members of ASEAN did not have sufficient resources or expertise to help their own.

In an emergency meeting held on May 19, 10 members of ASEAN said they will make sure aid from all over the world will flow into Burma without any explanation or details as to how this aid will actually make it to the areas of greatest need. They also said they will hold a donor conference -- which France denounced as it ignores the real and immediate need of aid delivery to the Irrawaddy delta area.

It is obvious that ASEAN's move is politically motivated. They should have acted much earlier rather than stalling to protect the Burmese regime's ineptitude. Had the welfare of the cyclone victims been their true priority, they would have had this meeting within days of the cyclone instead of waiting until there seems to be imminent humanitarian intervention by western countries.

The insufficient and superficial aid operations of ASEAN, still tightly controlled by
Burma's military, will inevitably result in hundreds of thousands of more deaths in the coming weeks and the potential of 2.5 million people dying of starvation, dehydration, disease and/or exposure.

We will, therefore, inform the Singapore consulate, the current chair of ASEAN, that it will be responsible for any future deaths if massive aid operations as called for by the US, UK and France are not implemented. Singapore has a responsibility to ensure that the 2.5 million lives receive the best care possible in this dire situation.

It must continue to pressure the junta to accept as much aid as is needed in Burma, whether it be in supplies or personnel, and no matter which country is providing such aid.

The question to all ASEAN member nations should answer is: Is this the plan you would want for your country in the next tsunami?

Ref: BADA

Asean to Handle Foreign Aid for Burma

Southeast Asia's regional bloc will set up a task force to handle distribution of foreign aid for cyclone victims in Burma, which estimates losses from the killer storm to exceed US $10 billion, Singapore's foreign minister said Monday.

Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo speaks as his counterparts from Thailand, Noppadon Pattama (C) and Burma, Nyan Win, listen during a news conference after a special Asean foreign ministers meeting on Burma in Singapore May 19. (Photo: Reuters)

An emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations decided that the bloc will work with the UN to hold a donor conference in Rangoon on May 25, Minister George Yeo told reporters. In a major concession after being slammed for blocking foreign aid, Burma also agreed to open its doors to medical teams from all Asean countries, Yeo said.

At least 134,000 people were killed or left missing in the May 2-3 cyclone, and another 2.5 million people are living in poor conditions, most of them without shelter, enough food, drinking water or medical care.

Yeo said the ministerial meeting, which included Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win, agreed to set up an Asean-led task force for redistributing foreign aid. Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuan will go to Burma soon for planning.

"This mechanism will facilitate the effective distribution and utilization of assistance from the international community, including the expeditious and effective deployment of relief workers, especially health and medical personnel," he told a news conference.

"Myanmar [Burma] is also prepared to accept the expertise of international and regional agencies to help in its rehabilitation efforts," Yeo said.

But he indicated that this does not mean the junta will open its doors to foreign experts immediately, which aid agencies and the United Nations say is required immediately.
They say millions of lives are at risk because Burma does not have the infrastructure, expertise and logistics to handle a humanitarian crisis of this magnitude.

Yeo said the task force will consider specific offers of help.

"There will not be an uncontrolled entry of foreign personnel into Myanmar."
Yeo said Nyan Win told the meeting that losses are expected to be "well over US$10 billion."
The bloc hopes to raise funds for Burma at the May 25 meeting and will also work closely with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank on aid packages.
Suggestions that foreign ships carrying aid make a forced entry into Burma were also rejected.
"That will create unnecessary complication. It will only lead to more suffering for Myanmar people," he said.

Save the Children Warns of Starvation in Burma

Thousands of children in Burma could die of starvation within two or three weeks, a British charity said on Sunday.

Save the Children UK said its research showed that an estimated 30,000 children under five years of age in the devastated Irrawaddy Delta were already acutely malnourished even before Cyclone Nargis tore through the region—and that several thousand among them are now at risk of death.

Children survivors of Cyclone Nargis cover their heads from the rain with empty aluminum plates, as they wait for a plate of rice, a spoonful of curry and a potato, in front of a private donation center, in Laputta town, Irrawaddy Delta. (Photo: AP)

"With hundreds of thousands of people still not receiving aid, many of these children will not survive much longer," the charity said in a statement. "Children may already be dying as a result of a lack of food." Humanitarian aid agency Action Against Hunger described the situation in the Bogalay region of the delta where it was working as "extremely alarming," saying the priority of every survivor they surveyed there was to find enough food to eat.

"All day long, people are looking for food and for a way of cooking the food they find," the group said in a statement. "For over 15 days, the survivors have mainly been feeding themselves with wild fruits, vegetables and moldy rice, which they are trying to dry."

The group said the price of rice had quadrupled since the cyclone struck the country and that some people were already starving.

More than two weeks after the cyclone devastated Burma, aid agencies have hit out at government restrictions preventing them from reaching the worse-hit areas.

Heavy rains since the storm have also hindered relief efforts, and relief agencies say inhabitants are suffering from a shortage of safe water and proper sanitation. The United Nations and other agencies say that lack of proper aid could dramatically worsen the crisis.

Save the Children said Burma’s long-term food security had been jeopardized by the cyclone because many farmers were prevented from sowing seeds for the harvest, while Action Against Hunger said most fishermen had lost all their fishing equipment.

Britain's Department for International Development said it had reports of "extensive damage" to agriculture in the area, warning that the loss of the country's November harvest was possible as the planting season is due to end within five to seven weeks. 

Burma’s state-run television has said the cyclone death toll is around 78,000 with about 56,000 missing. Aid groups say those estimates are too low, and Britain has cited unofficial estimates that some 217,000 people are dead or missing.

No Time to Lose: Ban to Burmese General Assembly

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday told the UN General Assembly there is "no time to lose" in Burma because the country faces an imminent outbreak of infectious diseases due to the slow relief and rescue operation in the Irrawaddy Delta which was virtually devastated by Cyclone Nargis.

"More than two weeks after the event, we are at a critical point. Unless more aid gets into the country—quickly—we face the risk of an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dramatically worsen today's crisis," Ban told the General Assembly in an informal meeting.

With revised Burmese government figures indicating that nearly 78,000 people died and more than 55,900 people are missing, Ban said international relief agencies report far higher figures and the estimates of those at risk run as high as 2.5 million people.

"There is no more time to lose," Ban said as he urged the Burmese government to open up in letting in international aid workers. Even those humanitarian workers who have been admitted are not being allowed to travel to the affected areas outside the capital.

Ban said all his efforts to reach Sen-Gen Than Shwe over the telephone and by mail have failed and he has received no response over the past week. He will send Under Secretary- General John Holmes to personally deliver a third letter to Than Shwe this weekend.

Holmes is expected to be in Burma on Monday. "He will deliver a third letter from me and attempt to establish contact with the Myanmar [Burmese] leadership with a view toward discussing how the UN can assist the government's immediate and longer term relief effort," Ban said.

"We also need to establish a logistics hub near Myanmar to better manage and co-ordinate international relief efforts," he said.

Pinning high hopes on the upcoming foreign ministers meetings of Asean countries, Ban said he has proposed a high-level pledging conference for May 24-25 to mobilize resources for Burma. His proposal will be discussed by the Asean countries at the meeting.

Meanwhile, surprising many diplomats, the French and Burmese ambassadors to the United Nations had a verbal clash on Friday during the informal session of the General Assembly wherein the secretary-general briefed members on the humanitarian crisis.

Though other issues including the earthquake in China and world food crisis were discussed, Burma dominated the proceedings that lasted for more than 150 minutes.

Briefing correspondents mid-way through the meeting, the French Ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said his Burmese counterpart, Kyaw Tint Swe, objected to him using the word Burma and charged that France is sending a warship to his country.

"That the ship in question is operated by the navy is true, but it is not a ‘warship’, it is a ship on board of which we have 1,500 tones of food, drugs and medicine," Ripert told reporters at the UN.

This ship is equipped with small boats, which could allow France to go through the Irrawaddy delta to regions where no one has accessed yet. It also has small helicopters which could drop food. "We have doctors, and we have platforms for medical intervention," he said.

The ship is expected to be in international waters near the delta region by tomorrow. France is still negotiating with the Burmese regime in this regard, he said.

"I had to explain in front of the whole General Assembly that for the moment it was very clear that those means were refused to their own population by the government of Myanmar [Burma]," he said.

"This is purely unacceptable, and we think we are shifting from a situation of refusal of assistance to people in need or in danger to a situation that could lead to a true crime against humanity, if we go on like that," Ripert said.

Refusing to make any comment on this issue after the meeting was over, Kyaw Tint Swe told The Irrawaddy: "Let him say what he wants to say."

At the same time, he argued the name of his country is Myanmar and not Burma. "We are not Burma, we are Myanmar. Burma is a colonial name," Kyaw Tint Swe said.

Observing that time is running out fast, the French ambassador argued that it is not time to go into academic discussions. Immediate action is required as people are dying every day.

"The responsibility to protect was adopted by 150 heads of states. We think it is applicable. We do not care about the words. It is true, though, that natural disasters were not included because at the time nobody thought that any government would dare to refuse help to its own population in case of a natural disaster," he said.

When asked if France would deliver aid without Burma’s authorization, Ripert said: "I cannot answer this question right now. For the moment, we are in the international waters, and we are still negotiating with the government of Myanmar."

Fund-Raising Event for Burma's Cyclone Victims

Cyclone Survivors Told to Return to Shattered Homes

Nearly 2,000 cyclone survivors still sheltering in monasteries, religious buildings and schools in one Rangoon township have been told by the authorities to return to what is left of their homes by May 20.

The order was confirmed by one resident of the affected township, South Dagon Myothit, who asked: “Where will the survivors live?” Angered by the official order, Ko Pauk said: “Their homes were destroyed by the cyclone. The authorities are really stupid.”

Children reach their hands out to receive a free banana from a local donor on the outskirts of Rangoon on Wednesday. (Photo: AP)

Some survivors were being assigned to a relief camp of some 50 tents, but Ko Pauk pointed out that it couldn’t accommodate all.

In the devastated Irrawaddy delta town of Laputta, meanwhile, survivors are being moved from a local temple and a religious building to a camp set up on a football ground. The survivors had sought refuge at the Suu Taung Pyi temple and a township dhamma building.

Aye Kyu, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy’s disaster relief committee in the township, said the camp had about 60 tents with accommodation for some 1,000 people.  

“The authorities are now trying to relocate about 10,000 people. How are so many people going to live in a camp intended for 1,000?” he asked.

Meanwhile, a medical worker in Laputta Township, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the authorities had stopped a local relief group of young people and private donors from distributing aid.

“While the group was preparing to distribute rice and curry for people, a military officer came and ordered to them stop their work,” he said. “The reason isn’t clear.”

Local staffers from two international medical organizations, Medicins Sans Frontieres and Merlin are operating two clinics in Laputta.

Children who survived the cyclone may have to continue their schooling in relief camps and tents when the new term begins on June 1 because 85 percent of the schools in the region had been destroyed or damaged, the UN said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.

UNICEF said there is no time to rebuild the estimated 2,700 severely damaged primary schools attended by 350,000 students or to replace the unknown numbers of teachers killed or missing in the cyclone.

Voting in the national referendum that had been postponed in 40 townships in Rangoon Division and seven townships in Irrawaddy Division will be held on May 24, but will have little effect on the final outcome, which the junta says gives it overwhelming approval of its proposed constitution.

State media announced on Thursday that 20,786,596, or 92.4 percent of the enfranchised electorate, had voted in favor of the constitution, while 1,375,480 voted against. The referendum was held amid charges of massive vote-rigging, bribery and intimidation of voters. 

URGENT: Help us raise funds for Cyclone Victims in Burma and save lives!

Dear All:

Time is running out! The people of Myanmar need our support NOW!!! Please donate and also consider helping us raise funds. Prevention of more death and disease is our goal and we feel we are positioned to provide funds directly where they are needed through our inside sources. The needs are more critical than ever yet there was not even a mention of the victims of Nargis in many major US newspapers today. We must keep this disaster in the forefront until the needs of the people are met.

On May 2, Cyclone Nargis devastated the delta region of Myanmar, causing more than 100,000 documented fatalities and leaving one million homeless. The final number of fatalities will certainly be much higher. It has been 10 days since the cyclone stuck and due to regime's reluctance to accept aid 1.5 million people have gotten no help and are dying. The Burmese communities and monasteries are trying to support the surviving victims, but they need money and resources. We cannot stand by watching aid agencies being scrutinized by the regime. In order for the Burmese who are already on the frontline to be able to help, they need more resources and your help. Your funds and fundraising efforts will save lives.

So far, we have raised nearly $10,000, and we are in the process of getting the funds to our sources within. With your support we will be able to send funds regularly. Please help us to double that amount in next 10 days to $20,000. Here are some specific ways in which you can help:

- Make a donation online at www.badasf.org.
(Or send check payable "BADA" to BADA, 1453 Marin Avenue, Albany, CA 94706, USA
- Help us find matching funds (check with your employer or get a group of friends to pledge a certain amount)
- Host a fundraiser - large or small; we will provide speakers; presentations (even bake sales and garage sales bring in much needed funds!)
- Forward/distribute the attached flyer widely
- Forward this email to as many friends as you can with a personal appeal
- Encourage your friends to donate
- Write letters to your local papers (with our web address for reference)
- Contact your church about outreach tithes

Remember, the people we are sending money to are doing a great job taking care of their own, but they have no voice outside of Myanmar. We are the only voice that can help their actions materialize through our fund raising efforts. Our efforts will also encourage communities in Myanmar to provide for their own and at the same time develop community leaders who are empowered to deal with any other natural disaster. They are counting on us to save their lives! Please be as generous as you can with your support!

Thanks for your generosity!

More information including the answers to the commonly asked questions, please visit www.badasf.org.

Danger: Getting the Truth Out of Burma

Journalists in Burma, local and foreign, face great difficulties in reporting the fact surrounding the humanitarian disaster and its aftermath.

The junta has banned foreign and local journalists from traveling to the devastated Irrawaddy delta area, tapped some journalists’ telephones, threatened others and done everything it can to keep the Burmese people and the world in the dark about the humanitarian tragedy that is unfolding.
“All journalists here are working undercover,” said a Burmese journalist in
Rangoon. “If the authorities know we are journalists, we are unwelcome."

The tightly controlled local media is forced to print stories that make the military government appear to be in control of the relief effort, and not to publish stories that contain foreign estimates of the dead and missing or the problems of international aid agencies. Another taboo topic is the compassionate work of the monks in aiding the people.

The New Light of Myanmar and other government-approved media outlets only show images of the junta distributing aid and comforting survivors, with little or no mention of the aid from foreign sources, especially western countries.

Few foreign journalists, like many foreign aid workers, have not been allowed to enter the country. The foreign journalists now inside Burma operate largely in secret, making it dangerous and difficult to tell the story’s aftermath.

Many telephones are tapped. People who take photographs are at risk. While one AP reporter in Burma was talking to an editor in Bangkok, he said he heard loud tick-tick-tick sounds on the telephone, an indication of a tapped phone. That day, the reporter had been informed the government it was not pleased by unflattering details about the junta in one of his stories.

"Journalists have an important role to play," the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said in a recent statement. "Their reporting often uncovers previously undiscovered areas of need, and they help keep the international community of donors informed of conditions on the ground."
Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders and other media watchdogs have urged the junta to lift its ban on visas for journalists, noting that news reports and images broadcast around the world play a key role in helping disaster victims and reconstruction efforts.

At the Burmese Embassy in neighboring Thailand, several journalists seeking visas were told they were blacklisted after entering Burma on tourist visas in September 2007 during the junta's deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks.

Incriminating images of troops firing on monks broadcast by global news networks enraged the junta and prompted a tightening of the already severe restrictions on media freedoms, the CPJ said.
Among those killed in last year's crackdown was Kenji Nagai, 50, a video journalist for Japan's APF News. Video footage of his death appeared to show a soldier shooting the journalist at close range.
Burma's military government said Nagai's death was an accident and that he had not been deliberately targeted.

However, commentaries in the state-controlled press implied Nagai was responsible for his own fate because he came into the country pretending to be a tourist and then placed himself in a dangerous situation.

Since the cyclone, a few foreign reporters have managed to get into Burma, concealing their satellite phones, battery packs and generators needed to operate in the cyclone-hit areas where electricity is down and there is no cell phone coverage.

Getting into the country is just the first of many hurdles.

Undercover police keep constant watch over hotels popular with journalists in Rangoon, the commercial capital, prompting many reporters to constantly change locations to avoid attracting attention.
"Myanmar [Burmese] authorities are now searching hotels outside the capital looking for  Westerners. The authorities were going room to room in a number of hotels," the London-based aid group PLAN said in a statement, citing accounts from journalists in the country.
The junta's jitters are rubbing off on international aid organizations, many of which say they are uncomfortable speaking in public to reporters out of fear that associating with media could jeopardize their relief efforts.

At police checkpoints along the roads that link Rangoon to the devastated Irrawaddy delta in the south cars are stopped, and officers ask passengers to show their identity cards, passports and reasons for travel.
"This area is restricted.

Most Cyclone Victims Without Relief; Regime Accused of Stealing Aid

The UN said Tuesday that only a tiny portion of international aid is reaching Burma's cyclone victims, as reports emerged that the country's military regime is hoarding higher-quality foreign aid for itself and doling out rotten food.

"There is obviously still a lot of frustration that this aid effort hasn't picked up pace" 10 days after the cyclone hit, said Richard Horsey, the spokesman for the UN humanitarian operation in Bangkok, the capital of neighboring Thailand.

Relief supply from the USAID is loaded into a US plane C-130 at the Rangoon International airport. The United States will send two more relief flights into cyclone-hit Burma on Tuesday, an aid official said, hours after the first US flight of emergency supplies landed in the country. (Photo: AFP)

Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma's Irrawaddy delta on May 3, leaving about 62,000 people dead or missing according to the government count. The UN has suggested the death toll is likely to be more than 100,000.

  With their homes washed away and large tracts of land under water, some 2 million survivors—mostly poor rice farmers—are living in abject misery, facing disease and starvation.
The UN said the World Food Program is getting in 20 percent of the food needed because of bottlenecks, logistics problems and government-imposed restrictions.

"That is a characterization of the program as a whole. We are not reaching enough people quickly enough," Horsey told The Associated Press.

Cyclone survivors cook meals after taking refuge in a temple in Kyauktan at the outskirt of Rangoon. Experts warned the relief effort was floundering and 1.5 million cyclone survivors were at grave risk from hunger and disease. (Photo: AFP)

The survivors are packed into Buddhist monasteries or camping in the open, drinking dirty water contaminated by dead bodies and animal carcasses. Food and medicines are scarce.

  The military—which has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1962—has taken control of most aid sent by other countries including the United States.

The regime told a US military commander who delivered the first American shipment Monday that storm victims' basic needs are being fulfilled—and that "skillful humanitarian workers are not necessary."
But the junta's words and actions have only served to back up complaints that the military is appropriating the aid for itself.

A longtime foreign resident of Burma's biggest city, Rangoon, told the AP in Bangkok by telephone that angry government officials have complained to him about the military misappropriating aid.

He said the officials told him that quantities of the high-energy biscuits rushed into Burma on the World Food Program's first flights were sent to a military warehouse.
They were exchanged by what the officials said were "tasteless and low-quality" biscuits produced by the Industry Ministry to be handed out to cyclone victims, the foreign resident said.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because identifying himself could jeopardize his safety.
He said it was not known what has been happening to the high quality food—whether it is being sold on the black market or consumed by the military.

The claim appeared to be backed up on the ground.

CARE Australia's country director in Burma, Brian Agland, said members of his local staff brought back some of the rotting rice that's being distributed in the delta.

"I have a small sample in my pocket, and it's some of the poorest quality rice we've seen," he said. "It's affected by salt water and it's very old."

It's unclear whether the rice, which is dark gray in color and consists of very small grains, is coming from the government or from mills in the area or warehouses hit by the cyclone.

"We were using food from the World Food Program, which is very high quality," Agland said by telephone from Rangoon. "Certainly, we are concerned that (poor quality rice) is being distributed.

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Regime Seals Off the Irrawaddy Delta to Foreigners

Burma’s reclusive military government is keeping most foreign aid workers away from the devastated Irrawaddy delta.

Local staff for international relief agencies are stretched to breaking point and facing tighter restrictions on their ability to deliver the trickle of foreign aid flowing in to 1.5 million survivors facing hunger and disease.

Survivors of the cyclone Nargis are seen in Laputta, in the Irrawaddy delta of southern Burma. (Photo: AFP)

Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said its first cargo plane loaded with medical supplies landed in the cyclone-hit former capital, Rangoon, on Monday but it was facing "increasing constraints" imposed on its staff in the delta."In Bogalay, for instance, the MSF team is unable to provide as much assistance as they could to respond to the enormous needs in terms of food and medical care," the aid group said of one devastated township where at least 10,000 people were killed.
Tens of thousands of people throughout the delta are crammed into monasteries, schools and other buildings after arriving in towns that were on the breadline even before the disaster.

Lacking food, water and sanitation, they face the threat of killer diseases such as cholera. Heavy rain was forecast for the delta this week, threatening more misery for survivors.

One Rangoon businessman just back from a personal aid mission to Bogalay said the army was appropriating aid. "There are still some villages in the worst-hit areas that nobody has got to," the man, in his late 30s, told Reuters.

Damage from the cyclone Nargis are seen in Laputta. (Photo: AFP)

"Around Bogalay, private donors are not allowed to distribute their assistance to the victims themselves. We had to hand over what we had."The junta has welcomed "aid from any nation" but has made it very clear it does not want outsiders distributing it in the areas worst hit by Cyclone Nargis, which struck 11 days ago.

Speaking after the first US military aid flight to Burma on Monday, US President George W Bush condemned the junta for failing to act more quickly to accept international help, saying "either they are isolated or callous."
The US C-130 military transport plane flew in from an air base in neighboring Thailand carrying water, mosquito nets and blankets, but US officials aboard the aircraft were not allowed beyond Rangoon airport.

A stream of other aid flights have already landed in Rangoon, but only a fraction of the help is getting to where it is needed.

The World Food Programme said it was able to deliver less than 20 percent of the 375 tonnes of food a day it wanted to move into the flooded delta.

At the United Nations in New York, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivered his most critical comments so far.

"I want to register my deep concern—and immense frustration—at the unacceptably slow response to this grave humanitarian crisis," he told reporters.
The UN said its top representative in Burma had flown to Naypyidaw, the generals' new capital, on Monday to hand over a list of 60 critical UN and relief agency staff. More than 30 visas had since been promised, the UN said.

In its latest assessment, its humanitarian agency said between 1.2 million and 1.9 million people were struggling to survive and the number of dead ranged from 60,000 to 102,000.
Burma's state television raised its official toll on Monday to 31,938 dead and 29,770 missing. Most of the casualties were killed by the 12-foot (3.5 meter) wall of water that hit the delta, with the cyclone's 190 kph (120 mph) winds.

The cyclone raged through an area that is home to nearly half of the country's 53 million people, as well as its main rice-growing region. About 5,000 sq km (1,930 sq miles) of land remain under water.

France was sending a warship carrying 1,500 tonnes of rice which was expected near Burma later this week. Paris says it wants to distribute the food directly itself, but will not do so without authorization.

The US will also have three ships near Burma this week, and Britain was sending a navy ship to the region to help humanitarian operations.

Monks Help Cyclone Victims Despite Military Pressure

The saffron-robed monks who spearheaded an uprising last fall against Burma's military rulers are back on the front lines, this time providing food, shelter and spiritual solace to cyclone victims.
The military regime has moved to curb the Buddhist clerics' efforts, even as it fails to deliver adequate aid itself. Authorities have given some monasteries deadlines to clear out refugees, many of whom have no homes to return to, monks and survivors say.

Burmese monks remove a tree blown down by the cyclone. (Photo: AP)

"There is no aid. We haven't seen anyone from the government," said U Pinyatale, the 45-year-old abbot of the Kyi Bui Kha monastery, where almost depleted rice stocks and precious rainwater are shared with some 100 homeless villagers huddled within its battered compound.

  Similar scenes are being repeated in other areas of the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon, the country's largest city, where monasteries became safe havens after Cyclone Nargis struck on May 3—and the regime did little.
"In the past I used to give donations to the monks. But now it's the other way around. It's the monks helping us," said Aung Khaw, a 38-year-old construction worker who took his wife and young daughter to a monastery in the Rangoon suburb of Hlaingtharyar after the roof of his flimsy house was blown away and its bamboo walls collapsed.

One of the monastery's senior monks said he tried to argue with military officials who ordered the more than 100 refugees to leave.

"I don't know where they will go. But that was the order," he said, asking for anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The government has not announced such an order, which appeared to be applied selectively. Other monasteries in Rangoon have been told to clear out cyclone victims in coming days, the monk said, but in the delta, refugees were being allowed to remain or told they could come to monasteries for supplies but not shelter.

"They don't want too many people gathering in small towns," said Hla Khay, a delta boat operator. The regime "is concerned about security. With lots of frustrated people together, there may be another uprising."
Larger monasteries were being closely watched by troops and plainclothes security men—"invisible spies," as one monk called them.

Monks and homeless villagers gather at the monastery of Kyi Bui Kha village, in Pyapon, a town in Burma’s Irrawaddy delta, a week after cyclone Nargis slammed into the low-lying region and Rangoon. (Photo: AP)

Such diversion of manpower at a time when some 1.5 million people are at risk from disease and starvation reflects the regime's fear of a replay of last September, when monks led pro-democracy demonstrations that were brutally suppressed, with troops firing on and killing protestors.

  Monks were also shot, beaten and imprisoned, igniting anger among ordinary citizens in this devoutly Buddhist country. An unknown number remain behind bars, and others have yet to return to their monasteries after fleeing for fear of arrest. At least 30 people are reported to have been killed although pro-democracy groups say the death toll was much higher.
"I think after the September protests, the government is afraid that if people live with the monks in the monasteries, the monks might persuade them to participate in demonstrations again," said a dentist in Rangoon, who also asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisals.
Newspapers have been ordered not to publish stories about monks aiding the people, and at least one monastery and one nunnery in Rangoon were prohibited from accepting any supplies from relief organizations.

"The government is very controlling," said U Pinyatale, the abbot at the Kyi Bui Kha monastery. "Those who want to give directly to the victims get into trouble. They have to give to the government or do it secretly. [The military] follows international aid trucks everywhere. They don't want others to take credit."

It appears unlikely that foreign aid organizations seeking to enter Burma will be allowed to use monks as conduits for relief supplies as many had hoped.