Crocodile Tears in Myanmar
“Myanmar begins 3-day mourning period”
Today Myanmar began a three-day mourning for thousands of people who perished, about 78,000 cyclone victims, when Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar particularly at the Irrawaddy delta. Flags were lowered to half staff at government offices, schools, and large hotels to “mourn for people killed by Cyclone Nargis on May 2-3, 2008.
The mourning began a day after junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwemet met with storm victims in the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta and declared that the regime had “promptly carried out rescue and rehabilitation tasks,” according to state-owned media. The general even bragged that the government spent more than 45 million US dollars in assisting the victims met immediate needs such as food, shelter, and health care on its relief operations. “But his assessment contrasted with ones from foreign aid agencies and the United Nations, which said that only some 500,000 of the 2.4 million storm victims have received some form of international assistance.”
The three-day mourning has come after the ruling junta relented to international pressures to allow inflow of more foreign aids to help the storm survivors. The junta is trying to project a compassionate image of the military regime to the victims. It’s a crocodile-tears of a regime that initially refused foreign aids when people needed them most. This stubborn general Than Shwe initiated the mourning as a form of propaganda since he can no longer resist international pressure to allow foreign aids and volunteer relief workers to come. UN insists to really come and look after the needs of survivors who face disease, malnutrition, and exposure to the elements. “It is clear that the emergency phase is set to continue for some time,” the United Nations said.
Heavy rain fell on the delta again Monday, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, noting that such weather can have the benefit of providing clean water for those able to catch the downpour with plastic sheeting.”
Myanmar already agreed to open its doors to medical teams from all ASEAN countries; ASEAN member Thailand had already sent teams in, as did non-ASEAN neighbors India and China. But the United Nations said the rest of its foreign staff were still barred from the delta and it described conditions there as “terrible,” with hundreds of thousands of cyclone victims suffering from hunger, disease and lack of shelter.
So, Than Shwe is mourning? A crocodile-tears from a ruthless general is an insult to humanity.
Tags: Cyclone Nargis, Add new tag, Mourning in Myanmar, Than Shwe, Military Junta, Irrawaddy, International Relief Service, ASEAN, Asia, UN President, India, China, Thailand
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.