M
marnefirstinfantry
Guest
suffering from the earthquake? NAYPYITAW, Myanmar - Myanmar's ruling junta said Friday it will let foreign aid workers and commercial ships help survivors in the cyclone-ravaged Irrawaddy Delta, but refused to relent on accepting aid from U.S., French and British military ships.
The ships, almost within sight of the coast for more than a week, offer a huge potential boost to the aid effort because they can send helicopters to the hardest-to-reach spots.
An estimated 2.5 million people remain in severe need, threatened by disease, hunger and exposure because of the loss of their homes. The U.N. says only about 25 percent of survivors have received any kind of aid.
The U.S., Britain and France all have warships off Myanmar's coast ready to help. But Myanmar's junta is nervous about any landings because it fears invasion or political interference. It moved its capital from Yangon, the largest city, to this town in the north in 2005 in part because of such fears.
The junta is also wary of the political and psychological consequences of its people witnessing an efficient military-run aid operation by Western nations, which they have long accused of trying to undermine the country and turn it into a neo-colony.
Patience with the junta has been wearing thin.
At the United Nations in New York, France said Thursday it would push for a U.N. resolution authorizing the delivery of aid to survivors "by all means necessary" if pressure from Ban and Myanmar's neighbors does not open the aid pipeline quickly.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Friday that 50 U.S. C-130 transport plane flights have been permitted into Yangon, carrying more than 480 tons of relief supplies. But they have not been allowed to fly directly to the delta.
Whitman said the ships — led by the USS Essex — will remain for days or weeks, but will not linger for months waiting for permission to bring in aid.
"If the position of the Burmese government doesn't change, we will have to make a decision to reallocate those Navy assets," he said.
As pointed out...it was a cyclone, not an earthquake. My mistake...
The ships, almost within sight of the coast for more than a week, offer a huge potential boost to the aid effort because they can send helicopters to the hardest-to-reach spots.
An estimated 2.5 million people remain in severe need, threatened by disease, hunger and exposure because of the loss of their homes. The U.N. says only about 25 percent of survivors have received any kind of aid.
The U.S., Britain and France all have warships off Myanmar's coast ready to help. But Myanmar's junta is nervous about any landings because it fears invasion or political interference. It moved its capital from Yangon, the largest city, to this town in the north in 2005 in part because of such fears.
The junta is also wary of the political and psychological consequences of its people witnessing an efficient military-run aid operation by Western nations, which they have long accused of trying to undermine the country and turn it into a neo-colony.
Patience with the junta has been wearing thin.
At the United Nations in New York, France said Thursday it would push for a U.N. resolution authorizing the delivery of aid to survivors "by all means necessary" if pressure from Ban and Myanmar's neighbors does not open the aid pipeline quickly.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Friday that 50 U.S. C-130 transport plane flights have been permitted into Yangon, carrying more than 480 tons of relief supplies. But they have not been allowed to fly directly to the delta.
Whitman said the ships — led by the USS Essex — will remain for days or weeks, but will not linger for months waiting for permission to bring in aid.
"If the position of the Burmese government doesn't change, we will have to make a decision to reallocate those Navy assets," he said.
As pointed out...it was a cyclone, not an earthquake. My mistake...