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'Cyclone Nargis to have bigger impact than Tsunami
Indonesia News.Net
Saturday 17th May, 2008 (ANI)
Melbourne, May 17 : World Vision chief executive Tim Costello, who returned after a 10-day visit to Myanmar, has said that Cyclone Nargis is going to have a bigger impact on the country than the (Boxing Day) tsunami did on Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Thailand.
Costello said that the Burmese military government was still hampering aid efforts while its people endured an "unprecedented level" of human suffering.
Cyclone Nargis, which hit two weeks ago, has left nearly 78,000 people dead and another 56,000 are still missing.
Costello said the monsoon rains had begun to fall bringing the threat of further deaths from disease.
"We saw skin infections and (an) increase in malaria. We fear the outbreak of cholera because that is absolutely lethal ... it's now a race against the weather and, literally, the obstacles that have been in our way to save lives," he added.
Costello said he did not know how many people had been killed.
British officials have estimated the number of dead and missing could be as high as 200,000.
Costello was restricted to the Burma's capital Rangoon during his visit.
News.com.au quoted Costello as saying that there are tens of thousands of people who have yet to receive even the most basic aid.
"It (the cyclone) is going to knock the rice belt of Burma around for years," Costello said.
He added that the World Vision had never operated in such a "narrow human space" like this before.
He said the military government simply did not have the capacity to do the job, but insisted it could.
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Comments on this story
kubara
05-17-08, 12:32 PM |
'Cyclone Nargis to have bigger impact than Tsunami
As far as Mr Tim Costello is concerned he has seen the scene and according to his eye witnes that might be true but if Burma Govt would have been rush around the world asking for rescue and help in various expect through Red Cross,it would have been cleared half of the problems. This is due to the Militaqry Govt unwillingnes to accept the offer from the outsiders.
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waltky
05-20-08, 08:26 AM |
Deadbeat generals...
:mad:
World Bank: no money for tardy Burma
May 20, 2008 - THE World Bank won’t provide any financial aid to cyclone-stricken Burma because the country has not been servicing its World Bank debt since 1998, a bank official said today.
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“The World Bank is not in a position to assist Myanmar (Burma) at this time," World Bank managing director Juan Jose Daboub said.
He said it was the bank’s policy not to provide funds to countries that have fallen behind on debt repayments.
Burma has been criticised over its insistence on handling most of the disaster relief effort since Cyclone Nargis struck the country 17 days ago, leaving more than 133,000 people dead or missing.
[url:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23729919-23109,00.html[/url]
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waltky
06-01-08, 11:42 PM |
Buncha despots...
:mad:
Gates Says Burma Guilty of Criminal Neglect After Cyclone
01 June 2008 - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says more people will die if Burma’s military government does not lift restrictions on relief aid soon. Mr. Gates spoke at an Asian security forum in Singapore, part of his tour of Asia.
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High on the agenda at the Asia security forum was Burma, where the United Nations says millions are suffering from the after-effects of Cyclone Nargis, which swept through the country nearly a month ago, leaving 134,000 people dead or missing. Despite letting in some aid, and some foreign relief workers, Burma’s government continues to restrict the amount of help that is reaching the victims. In remarks at the forum in Singapore, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said unless the Burmese government changes its approach, more people will die. Gates said he would describe the Burmese generals' current policy as one of - in his words - criminal neglect.
The United States has been among those pressing Burma to let in more assistance, especially to those in the hard-hit and remote areas of the Irawaddy Delta. Four U.S. Navy ships have been standing by in the Andaman Sea off the Burmese coast for weeks, loaded with fresh water, medicine, landing craft, and helicopters that could get the aid to victims in a matter of minutes - if they had the Burmese government’s permission to do so. The U.S. Defense Secretary said no decision has been made to call off the operation, dubbed Caring Response, but he said it may be matter of days before the ships are called back.
He said it is becoming clear that the Burmese authorities will not accept the assistance. Analysts say Burma’s military - in power since 1962 - views the presence of foreign soldiers as a threat. Despite reports that aid has yet to reach hundreds of thousands of cyclone victims, Burma’s deputy defense minister Aye Myint told delegates at the security forum on Sunday that relief operations in the country are over and the generals are now focusing on reconstruction. Burma says it needs $11 billion to rebuild. The government has not issued any reports on how it reached that figure and foreign relief experts say it is impossible to verify since no international teams have been allowed to do a thorough assessment.
Aside from Burma, Secretary Gates said the forum in Singapore covered a wide range of issues, including securing some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. “We talked about security issues, where our cooperation is good and where Malaysia has played an important role, not only in terms of protecting its own security, but in helping to protect the straits of Malacca, and against piracy and against terrorism," Gates said. After the forum, the U.S. Defense Secretary flew to Bangkok for meetings with Thai officials. His visit followed street clashes among political opponents that have raised fears of another military coup. Thailand returned to democratic rule in January after a 2006 coup ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
[url:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-01-voa3.cfm[/url]
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