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Morning Open Thread: Getting humanitarian aid to Myanmar |
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As the death toll continues to rise in the wake of Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar (Burma) last weekend, international aid is beginning to arrive from neighboring countries. China, India, and Thailand have been able to fly in supplies, but the military junta has been hesitant to allow other countries to help with the aid effort–including aid offered by the United States.
According to the BBC, "The UN has urged the authorities to let foreign aid workers into Burma", but UN and other international efforts have been forestalled on account of the junta's slow issuance of visa's and other security clearance issues. Information about the destruction is also unavailable due to restrictions on journalists, many of who have been reporting from neighboring Thailand.
From the American side, First Lady Laura Bush, for whom fighting the junta's restrictive regime is a personal cause, "today urged the Burmese government to accept foreign aid after the devastating weekend cyclone while chastising the regime for not informing its people of the impending disaster."
While urging the government to accept international aid and to allow a US state department disaster relief team into the country, Bush did not temper her criticisms of the government — including the failure of the state-run media to sound the alarms and notify the country's citizens of the cyclone's impending arrival. Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made similar appeals to the government of Burma.
In the past, cyclones, floods, and famines have has profound political effects on this part of the world, where large populations are dependent upon agriculture. Even with the help of international aid organizations, the Burmese junta face a serious crisis dealt by this devastating natural disaster.
How does the international community balance the restrictiveness of the military junta with its desire to extend humanitarian aid?
The crisis in Burma is transforming from a natural disaster to a humanitarian catastrophe due to the xenophobia, incompetence, and malevolence of the Burmese government. With every day that passes, the situation of the up to tow million Burmese people affected by this crisis, almost three quarters of whom have reportedly not received any assistance, is becoming ever more precarious. It is clear that the time has come for bold international action.
Although the Chinese government stated last week that they did not think it appropriate for the Burma crisis to be brought to the UN Security Council, it is becoming increasingly clear that stronger action by the UN and the international community will be required to break this deadly impasse. French Prime Minister Bernard Kouchner was among the first to call for aid drops in Burma, even against the wishes of the Burmese regime. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is now calling for a UN summit on aid to Burma. The United States must continue to take a lead in these efforts, and to build international consensus around a more aggressive assistance agenda with the greatest amount of international legitimacy possible. Clearly, food and aid drops will not be enough as water-borne diseases begin to take their toll over the coming days, particularly on the young and the elderly. Specifically, the United States can actively support the provision of assistance under chapter 7 of the UN Charter, as was done for Somalia and other recent humanitarian crises."
-Jamie Metzl, Asia Society VP and PSA Co-Chair