US mulls Burma food drops without greenlight from junta
09/May/2008 Intellasia | AP
May 9, 2008 - 7:11:41 AM
|
|
The United States is considering air-dropping food aid and other relief supplies to victims of the devastating cyclone in Burma (Myanmar), even if the closed regime resists, a US official said Thursday May 8.
 |
| This US Navy handout photo shows a Marine MH-53 helicopter taking off from the flight deck of the Navy ship USS Essex in the Gulf of Thailand. The US said Thursday May 8 it was mulling dropping food and aid into cyclone-ravaged parts of Burma and did not rule out doing so without approval from the country's military rulers. (AFP/US Navy-HO/David Didier) |
The option is not ideal, but is being studied by the US and several other countries as a last resort if Burma's military leaders continue to limit outside aid and expertise that would help millions of people affected by the storm, said Ky Luu, the director of the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance.
Air drops are often inefficient and, compounded with the junta's refusal to accept most offers of assistance, could have broader international legal implications, he said, adding that the best option would be for Burma to accept the aid.
Still, "anything that might have a positive impact is being looked at and is being discussed," Luu told reporters at the State Department. "Air drops (are) not the most efficient manner in terms of providing relief assistance and, in the end, may create more harm than anything else."
"So, yes, we're looking at it, but the immediate needs are for open access for the current existing operational partners and for the regime, in order to open up, to provide for additional relief workers to get on the ground," Luu said.
His comments came as the United States and other donor countries continued to wait for permission to enter with tons of assistance and disaster relief personnel to assess what the needs are and move toward distributing the aid. He and other US officials on Thursday May 8 reiterated appeals for Burma to allow such access.
Among other countries considering air drops are France, whose foreign minister has suggested the possibility of forcing assistance into Burma, and Italy, officials said.
 |
| A child has a nap on the floor as cyclone affected families take refuge in a school building after losing their homes when Cyclone Nargis hit in Hlaing Thayar township in western Yangon. More than one million homeless in Burma were battling to stave off disease and hunger Thursday May 8, but the military government maintained tight limits on foreign assistance six days after a massive cyclone.
(AFP/Hla Hla Htay) |
Air drops of aid in crisis situations without permission from the host government would be complicated, as international law is unsettled on the issue. Pentagon officials have said they are wary of such a scenario because it could be considered an invasion.
But French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said this week that air drops could be allowed under the UN's "responsibility to protect" mandate, which applies to civilians.
Luu said that concept was being discussed in Washington as well as by senior relief officials and diplomats who are now in Bangkok, Thailand, trying to coordinate the international response to the disaster.
Officials said there were several problems with air drops into an unpermissive environment, especially if there are no experts on the ground to monitor the distribution of aid. Desperate people could riot over the assistance and there is the possibility that security forces might confiscate it and keep it out of the hands of the needy, they said.
The government has reported more than 20,000 deaths and more than 40,000 missing from Cyclone Nargis that hit Burma, particularly the Irrawaddy River delta, last weekend. A US diplomat said Wednesday that the death toll in the delta could exceed 100,000. The UN estimates that a million people have been left homeless.
Meanwhile, the US military was stepping up preparations for a humanitarian mission to Burma, readying ships and Marines now in the region for a multinational exercise.
 |
| Eric John, US ambassador to Thailand (C), reacts while taking a question during a news conference at the U.S embassy in Bangkok May 8, 2008. John told a news conference in Bangkok that the United States and Thailand had thought the Burma generals had agreed to let a US military cargo plane fly in supplies. Sitting next to John are Bill Berger (L) of the Disaster Assistance Relief Team (DART) and Olivier C. Carduner of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). REUTERS/Adrees Latif (THAILAND) |
The US Air Force moved more airplanes to a staging area in Thailand and the Navy was transporting Marines and helicopters into Thailand from an aviation combat element of the USS Essex expeditionary strike group. Ships were to move later Thursday May 8, a defense official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
The Navy and Marine Corps happened to have ships and thousands of service members in the Gulf of Thailand for a multinational exercise on humanitarian missions — an exercise that started Thursday May 8.
Because it would take the ships several days to get to the Burma area, the Navy was sending some of the group's helicopters and troops ahead over land, the official said.
Officials said that although the military junta has not agreed to allow US humanitarian assistance, it did ask for some other US help — satellite pictures of the cyclone-devastated areas.
"They asked our defense attache at the embassy in Rangoon for some imagery and we provided it," said Marine Maj. Stuart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman.
Separately, the US Senate passed a resolution urging humanitarian aid to Burma's people and asking Burma's government to remove restrictions on international aid groups.
Democratic Sen. John Kerry said in a statement that the cyclone "could be remembered as the moment when the United States and the world came to the aid of the Burmese people and made it clear that while we loathe the junta that has isolated Burma from the world and oppressed its citizens, we find common cause with the people of Burma and we will be there by their side at this difficult time."
By Matthew Lee And Pauline Jelinek
|
 |
|
Advertising
