US Navy withdraws ships after Burma rebuffs aid
Thursday 05 June 2008
Latest in Asia
On Facebook
From the blogs
Bahrain: One year on
I am used to endless lies and criticism from the BNP and its favourite blogster, as well as Islamist...
HIV orphans in Thailand prepare for the future
In Baan Gerda, a community for HIV infected or affected youngsters in Northern Thailand, a group of ...
Online House Hunter: England’s most romantic places
Our Online House Hunter goes in search of romance this Valentine's Day...
Roy Hodgson for England: A club of one
To argue against Harry Redknapp for England is akin to arguing in favour of bankers bonuses. While s...
The US military has ordered a flotilla of naval vessels packed with emergency aid for Burma to leave after the country's military regime refused to allow the ships to dock.
Fifteen separate attempts to obtain the junta's permission to help with relief efforts were refused during the month after Cyclone Nargis devastated the country. Admiral Timothy Keating, the senior US commander in the Pacific, said: "Should the Burmese rulers have a change of heart and request our full assistance for their suffering we are prepared to help."
The UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that more than half of all the people living in the devastated Irrawaddy delta have received no aid from local or international aid groups. It is unclear what support has been provided by the Burmese military.
"There remains a serious lack of sufficient and sustained humanitarian assistance for the affected populations," said a report by the UN office.
Four weeks after the category three storm tore into the delta region, around 140,000 people are either believed dead or missing and anywhere up to 2.5m people in need of help.
Yesterday, the deputy head of the UN Development Programme in Burma, Sanaka Samarasinha, said that while some progress was being made in terms of getting visas for international relief workers, access to the worst affected areas was still a major challenge. "We have to give three-day advance notice and provide an itinerary," he said, speaking from Rangoon.
"Then if you get out to the area you can only expect to visit those areas included in your itinerary."
The Burmese military only has a limited number of helicopters and reportedly only seven are being used in the relief operations. Aid agencies have been forced to search around for civilian helicopters of military standard. Paul Risley, of the UN World Food Programme, said the departure of the US naval ships had added to this problem because relief agencies would not be able to make use of its fleet of helicopters.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International has accused the Burmese regime of increasing efforts to force people out of emergency shelters.
- 1 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 2 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 3 Now The Sun tries to call in its favours from Downing Street
- 4 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 5 Amanda Knox set to break her silence – and pocket a fortune from book deal
- 6 Israel blames Iran for embassy bomb attacks
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 1 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 2 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 3 Kate Allen: It's time for America to put an end to this shameful scandal
- 4 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 5 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 6 Now The Sun tries to call in its favours from Downing Street
- 7 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 8 Mona Lisa's 'twin sister' is discovered – 500 years late
- 9 Rhodri Marsden: What we like and what we don't like are often closer than you'd think
- 10 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
No secularism please, we're British
Working as a jail torturer ruined my life
New Arsenal face an old question of credibility in San Siro




Comments