HE APPEARED at the Shangri-La Hotel yesterday to give an update on Myanmar’s recovery efforts in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, which tore through the impoverished nation last month.
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Instead, Myanmar’s Deputy Defence Minister, Major-General Aye Myint, drew sharp criticism over the regime’s slow response to the disaster.
02 June 2008: Today
Myanmar minister sticks to ‘no strings’ refrain as donor nations fume
By Zul Othman
HE APPEARED at the Shangri-La Hotel yesterday to give an update on Myanmar’s recovery efforts in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, which tore through the impoverished nation last month.
Instead, Myanmar’s Deputy Defence Minister, Major-General Aye Myint, drew sharp criticism over the regime’s slow response to the disaster.
The polite tone of the forum was shattered as the regime’s efforts in restricting international aid drew the ire of donor countries, including the United States, France and even some members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), of which Myanmar is a member.
French Member of Parliament Pierre Lellouche was particularly acerbic.
Making no secret of his displeasure with the notoriously-reclusive Myanmar government, Mr Lellouche said: “We need a system of sanctions to stop this scandal of having hundreds of thousands of people dying with help waiting outside and having a lecture about non-interference in domestic affairs.”
Earlier, Maj-Gen Aye Myint had told the audience at the 7th International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit — an annual conference of defence ministers, military officials and security experts from Asia, North America and Europe — that his country would “warmly welcome any assistance and aid which are provided with genuine goodwill from any country or
organisation”.
However, this assistance must come with “no strings attached”. Since the cyclone hit Myanmar on May 2, relief workers have been unable to get to the worst-hit areas due to visa hurdles and other red tape imposed by the junta — a move that has hogged media headlines the world over.
Mr Lellouche said a French ship carrying 1,000 tonnes of aid supplies was dispatched to Myanmar immediately after Nargis struck but the ship was refused entry. After 10 days, the vessel turned to Thailand to unload its cargo.
Myanmar’s state-owned media have also ridiculed aid workers’ demand for access into the devastated Irrawaddy Delta, adding that cyclone victims could “stand by themselves” and did not need “chocolate bars” from foreign countries.
While the junta have given in to international pressure by allowing aid workers into the country, United Nations estimates that only around 40 per cent of an estimated 2.4 million displaced by the disaster have received foreign help in the form of fresh water, food and medical supplies.
Maj Gen Aye Myint said the latest toll stands at 77,738 dead and 55,917 missing, as well as an estimated US$10.67 billion in damages.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that more people will perish from the disaster if the junta continues on its route of “criminal neglect”.
Mr Lellouche took a tougher line -- he would see to it his government proposes a UN resolution to bring the junta before the International Criminal Court.
“The principle of non-interference in domestic affairs is not right of regimes to have their populations killed in silence with nobody else to interfere,” he said.
Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak also came under Mr Lellouche’s barrage after he said countries should respect the sovereignty of the Myanmar and should not unilaterally go into Myanmar to force the junta to take action.
Still, Mr Najib proposed that the military of each Asean nation be involved in rescue efforts, as they would be able to deploy a large number of helicopter and boats.
His plea to the Myanmar leadership to open up to foreign help comes close on the heels of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong remarks on Friday that the situation in the cylcone-hit country is “regrettable” as more rapid international relief aid could have minimised the suffering of the victims.
Said Mr Najib: “We would like to see Asean being allowed to play a much bigger role because the situation is very, very serious in Myanmar,” he said of the disaster he believes to be much more dire than the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed at least 232,000 people.
Throughout the fiery discourse, Maj Gen Aye Myint remained impassive. His government is “trying our best for relief and resettlement efforts, because the victims are our people” -- even if the process is “not totally perfect”.
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