Myanmar

Cyclone aid hindered by military junta

Article published on the 2008-05-13 Latest update 2008-05-13 09:24 TU

A village destroyed by the cylone Nargis
Photo: Reuters

Myanmar's military junta says there is no need for aid workers to help deal with the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, which has it estimates has claimed 32,000 lives. Vice-Admiral Soe Thein, of the military leadership, said Myanmar was grateful for the American aid ship that arrived two days ago but that there was no need for foreign aid workers on the ground.

Humanitarian groups have been complaining that much of the aid delivered over the past week has not reached those who need it because the country's military insists on controlling most of the distribution.

The official toll for the cyclone has risen to almost 32,000, although the UN has estimated that figures could be as high as 100,000.

RFI correspondent Luc Auberger is in the hard-hit town of Bogalay. 

"I discovered dozens of cattle drowning in the mud and human corpses floating in the branches," he said.  One villager told him that only half of the inhabitants of his village had survived the attack and that all houses had been destroyed. 

"Those who survived have left to find aid," the villager said.

Another villager had not expected the cyclone to be so strong and so  had stayed put. Now he and others find themselves with no food and water.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has said the situation is at a critical point.

"Unless more aid gets into the country very quickly, we face an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today's current crisis," Ban said.

"I therefore call in the most strenuous terms on the government of Myanmar to put its people's lives first."

US President Gerge Bush has said the world should condemn the junta.

"Either they are isolated or callous...There's no telling how many people have lost their lives as a result of the slow response."

The United States has long been one of the most vocal critics of the regime, tightening sanctions on Myanmar over its refusal to move towards democracy or release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

Thousands of hungry people are still lining the roads on the route between the main city Yangon and the low-lying delta hardest-hit by Cyclone Nargis, begging for food and water.

The storm triggered huge waves that turned the delta rice paddies into swamps and drowned untold numbers of people and animals. Many corpses are still rotting in the tropical heat.