Grief of Burmese People and Motives of Her Neighbors

By Myint Thein Kyu
The Cyclone Nargis
The Nargis, a devilish tropical cyclone, rampaged very wild in the Lower Burma on 2nd and 3rd May robbing lives of more than 22,500 people (state media news) instantly. The UN and foreign agencies’ figure was about 120,000 with another two million people homeless – a great tragedy in Burmese history. No prior warning would be the main cause for such death toll. Fatality increased significantly day after day due to lack of immediate and adequate relief efforts. The Nargis swept through the lower Irrawaddy Delta Region with a peak intensity of 135 mph (accessed by Joint Typhoon Centre) affecting an approximately 11,600 sq miles along coastline of the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Martaban. After hitting Rangoon, commercial city of Burma, with persistent speed, it dissipated near border with Thailand.

Aftermath of the Cyclone
Aftermath of the cyclone is such a horrifying scene in severely damaged areas: corpses and carcasses widespread, houses dilapidated, villages disappeared, trees decapitated or rooted out, pagodas’ upper part spiral toppled, power lines grounded, farmland encroached by seawater, no water, no food, no cattle – everything gone. Real situation asked for urgent and tremendous aid supply and painstaking efforts. Burmese people tried to distribute their food staff to victims. The authority disturbed and stopped it. However, no aid and relief effort appeared from the regime. Hungry victims swarmed around shops that opened in the devastated towns of delta region.

International aid and the Regime’s response
On 6thMay, the US made an initial aid contribution $250,000 with additional $3 million from USAID and announced its willingness to do a lot more. The EU donated 3 million dollar through its embassy in Rangoon. Britain offered about $9.8 million for relief efforts. Emergency aid from UN organizations and international community poured in. Three US Navy ships, including U.S.S Essex, amphibious landing craft with 23 helicopters which could send relief supplies to remote or inaccessible areas, and relief supplies on board, were in the same time in the Gulf of Thailand for training exercises and could reach, if necessary for relief work, Burma within four days. Later on, the US vessels together with the French amphibious assault vessel Mistral and British frigate HMS Westminister had assembled a huge relief force and were ready to response within sight range from Burma’s coast line.

Yet, Burmese people were shocked by the response, which also set off international outrage, of the regime to the aftermath of the cyclone – authorities were frustrating local benefactors; people in great need of help were hindered from getting aid; access of foreign organizations to disaster areas was restricted; all foreigners including humanitarian aid workers who have long experience in Burma were expelled from severally damaged Delta area. The issue on getting free access to the worst affected areas for international aid agencies was still being discussed till 6th between Burmese authority and the WFP Country Director in Rangoon.

Many relief personnel were in Bangkok, Thailand, waiting for visa, which was still limited for persons from countries outside ASEAN, to enter Burma. Even members of a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Team were assembling for visa in Thailand. The Navy vessels of all US, France and British were denied for relief operation and sailed back to Thailand. The French navy vessel Mistral was with its cargo of 1,000 ton of food that was enough to feed 100,000 people for 15 days and shelters for 15,000 people. The US Navy ships were led by the USS Essex and about 1,000marines. These vessels are most appropriate to distribute urgent relief supplies to inundated lower delta region most effectively. Burmese people’s hope for invasion of the US led Navy ships, which was a pure humanitarian mission, drifted away.

The Junta wants just relief aid supply, but not relief workers. It permitted Italian flight with 25 tons of consumable goods from UN, and gave permission for 9 world food program helicopters to operate in remote areas on 21st May. The helicopters, which must be chartered, flown in on cargo planes and reassembled in Bangkok, can carry 3 tons of aid and were allowed to go directly to desperately needed areas. Although the US and other countries rushed supplies to the region, just minimum amount was let to enter the country up to 8th May. Only aid materials and workers from neighboring and ASEAN countries and countries having good relationship with the Junta were allowed to come in such as planes with tents from Japan, medicine and clothing from Bangladesh and India, packets of noodle from Thailand and dried bacon from China, etc.

The Regime’s activity and corruption
Only on 7th May, PM Thein Sein distributed food packages to sick and injured in a certain disaster area. Soldiers dropped food over villages. All believed it was just for propaganda purpose, not effective – just chicken feed. Sr. Gen. Than Shwe visited certain disastrous site two weeks after the storm. Some of the international aid supplies arrived into the country were stolen and diverted to warehouse by the army as per several relief agencies. News were wide spread among people that some aid items were available in the market. After unloading aid supplies at the airport and trucked to the staging areas, the fate of aid supplies was unknown because the Junta did not allow all foreigners, including credentialed diplomats and aid workers, to track its distribution.
The regime also drove victims from monasteries and relatives’ houses, where they received benevolence, without any support and arrangement for the victims. The reason was unknown.

The consequences
On 20th May, state media increased death toll sharply from previous figure 22,500 to 78,000 (previously death 22,500 and missing 27,838). The UN and the Red Cross estimated that the fatality might be as high as 138,000. The UN has also raised its estimate of the number of severely affected people, most in desperate need of emergency aid, from earlier estimate of between 1.3 and 1.9 million to 1.6 and 2.5 million. Less than a quarter of those people have received aids. In fact even after three weeks into the disaster, the relief effort has barely started. A great number of people are “surviving in appalling conditions” without significant help.
Despite all the evidence, the Junta firmly instated that it could look after more than 2 million people greatly damaged by the Cyclone Nargis by itself.

Comments on the Military Junta and its Accomplices
Within three weeks after the cyclone hit the delta region, the death toll soared more than triple because massive aid supply, tremendous effort and timely action could not reach disastrous area. This was obviously attributed to malmanagement, negligence to the people and inhuman morality of the regime, which clearly led to “a man-made disaster” as per the harshest comments made by the PM of Britain. That “the government’s refusal could lead to a true crime against humanity”, warned French Ambassador, surely suits to Burmese people’s desire. The internet websites, inundated with true stories of the events, revealed the Regime’s real, firm and unconcerned attitude toward the fate of the people; and appealed to international community’s sympathy, empathy and humanitarian aid supplies for the devastated Burmese people.

International relief organizations repeatedly warned that the situation would become worse having more people died unless they got adequate food, water, shelter and medical care in time. The UN Chief, Mr. Ban Ki Moon told that, after discussion, Gen.Than Shwe agreed to allow all aid workers regardless of nationalities. However, soon after Mr. Ban left Rangoon, all Navy vessels of the US, France and Britain with aid supply and 1000 marines departed back to Thailand territorial water leaving the victims in the lurch.

Is the UN a trustworthy and dependable organization? Several times over Burmese issues the UN could not produce fruitful solution, turning a deaf ear to the crying people. Even for freeing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest without law and any court trial for more than 12 of the past 19 years, the UN is like a lame duck.

Likewise, vision of ASEAN countries, China and Russia is completely contrary to that of Burmese people and the West. Every time they favor the military regime to sustain the international pressure and to prolong their tenure in power.

George Yeo, foreign minister of Singapore, said on 18th May at the donor conference in Rangoon that the idea of delivery by force would create unnecessary complication and would lead to more suffering for Myanmar’s people. Is saving lives unnecessary complication? Which suffering is more severe than dying? His words were without facts, nor practical; they could not reflect reality either.

On Sunday 18th Burma’s powerful neighbor and ally, China, said that other countries must show “due respect” to Myanmar in its handling of the disaster within its borders. China and ASEAN countries were not talking about saving victims but about for how to back Burmese Junta whatever it conducted in suppressing its people. Is Burmese regime respectable? It is an illegal government; it killed its people including students and revered monks, whoever opposed it; it used drug money in trade circulation. It may be respectable for China which rolled over student activists by bulldozers in the People’ square in the 1989 mass demonstration.

22 May 2008, the World Socialist Web Site, by its correspondent, favored the opinion of ASEAN, China and Russia: non-aggressive movement for relief efforts to Burma’s severely damaged area by cyclone; and accused the Western ally of having ulterior political motive in trying to encroach upon the Burmese territory using navy vessels for relief efforts though Lt. Col. Douglas Powell said “This is purely a humanitarian mission. We have no ulterior motive other than to assist Burmese people”.

Finally, those who left helpless were Burmese people, not Chinese, nor Russian, nor Singaporean. After navy vessels had left, why did not massive support of those countries arrive at Burma to save extremely large number of victims? Actually, donation of those countries was also just minimum amount, negligible. The countries which really have ulterior motive within were not the US and its allies, but they were China, Russia and ASEAN. These countries were much concerned about tumbling down of the Burmese military Junta.

They all are benefiting from incompetent Military Government. China is taking every thing from consumer goods to Burmese jade and teak with cheap price, returning its low quality products to us – also inexpensive – sometimes as a part of loan. Burmese forest in the northern frontier area is almost clear cut by Chinese traders; Chinese companies are operating in Burma paying low salary to local people taking advantage of poverty of our people. Illegal immigrants from China flushed to northern Burma. She likes Burma to be a southern province of her. It is laying gas pipe line from Rakhine costal area through central and northern Burma to Yunan Province. As long as the Burmese Junta exists in power, it will be beneficial to ASEAN, China and Russia. ASEAN and Russian companies are also exploring oil and gas in Burma.

Therefore, Russia and all these Asian countries are, for their interest’s sake, supporting the Junta turning their back to the suppressed Burmese people. The reason of “leading to unnecessary complication” and others to fail the invasion plan of the US and its allies to the catastrophic lower Delta Region of Burma is beyond their ulterior political motive: to help the Junta maintain controlling power. There is a Burmese saying that goes “tha khoe ka lu lu hit”, meaning: a thief gives a shouting alarm at the sight of a theft in which he himself involves.