Burme Cadre Jr twists the deal, UN notices deal is worthless

U.N. Says Myanmar Is Forcing
Cyclone Survivors Out of Camps
Associated Press
May 30, 2008 8:02 a.m.
YANGON, Myanmar -- Myanmar's military government is forcing cyclone victims out of refugee camps and "dumping" them near their devastated villages with virtually no aid supplies, the United Nations said Friday.

Eight camps set up earlier by the government for homeless victims in the Irrawaddy delta town of Bogale were "totally empty" as the clear-out continued, Unicef official Teh Tai Ring told a meeting of aid groups.

"The government is moving people unannounced," he said, adding that authorities were "dumping people in the approximate location of the villages, basically with nothing." Camps were also being closed in Labutta, another delta town.

An estimated 2.4 million people remain homeless nearly a month after Cyclone Nargis hit the country May 2-3. The government says the storm killed 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing.

Centralizing survivors in the centers had made it easier for aid agencies to deliver emergency relief since many villages in the delta can only be reached by boat or over very rough roads.

Aid workers who have reached some of the remote villages say little remains that could sustain the former residents. Houses are destroyed, livestock have perished and food stocks have virtually run out. Medicines are nonexistent.

The Unicef team leader in Myanmar said some of the refugees were "being given rations and then they are forced to move," but others were being denied such aid because they had lost their government identity cards. There was speculation that authorities didn't want "a refugee mentality" to set in, with camp inmates dependent on aid for a long period of time.

Terje Skavdal, a senior U.N. official in Bangkok, Thailand, said he couldn't confirm the camp closures but that any such forced movement was "completely unacceptable." "People need to be assisted in the settlements and satisfactory conditions need to created before they can return to their place of origins," said Mr. Skavdal, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. "Any forced or coerced movement of people is completely unacceptable."

Aid groups say Myanmar's military government is still hindering foreign assistance for victims of the cyclone, while the junta has belittled the aid efforts. Foreign aid workers are still awaiting visas, and the government is taking 48 hours to process requests to enter the Irrawaddy delta, aid groups said Friday. They said the International Red Cross was waiting for permission to send 30 foreign staffers into the delta.

"We urge speedy implementation of all agreements, on access, visas and use of logistical assets," Mr. Skavdal said. "We need to see more relief experts, including (those) from the (International Red Cross), getting into the delta as soon as possible without bureaucratic hindrance."

While he said there have been "promising indications that the government is moving in an overall right direction," Mr. Skavdal added that the real test remains implementation on the ground.

While welcoming millions of dollars from the international community for cyclone relief, Myanmar lashed out at donors for not pledging enough. State-run media condemned donors for pledging only up to $150 million -- a far cry from the $11 billion the junta said it needed.

Copyright © 2008 Associated Press