US admiral: Burma junta unconcerned by cyclone
15-MAY-2008 Intellasia | CNN
May 15, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
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Burma's government seems unaware of the scope of the death and destruction Cyclone Nargis wrought on the country more than a week ago, a US military commander said Tuesday.
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| Survivors of the cyclone Nargis eat a meal in Bogalay. The United Nations warned Tuesday that Myanmar faced a "second catastrophe" after its devastating cyclone, unless the junta immediately allows massive air and sea deliveries of aid.
(AFP/Khin Maung Win) |
Adm. Timothy Keating, head of the US Pacific Command, was on the first of three US aid flights allowed into Burma this week.
He described meeting with a Burma three-star general who opened up a map of the country and pointed to the areas worst-hit by the cyclone.
"[He] characterised activity there as returning back to normal—his words," Keating said. "[He said] people are coming back to their villages, they're planting their crops for the summer season, the monsoon will come and wash all the saltwater out of the ponds.
"His manner, his demeanor, his attitude indicated something less than very serious concern."
The United Nations estimates that between 63,000 and 100,000 people died as a result of Cyclone Nargis. Video Children may account for one-third of the dead in Burma »
The United States has pledged US$16.25 million in aid to the country.
Two US Air Force flights will head into Burma on Wednesday with needed aid, and plans for two more flights are in the works for Thursday, Pentagon officials said.
The two US aid flights that arrived Tuesday carried water, blankets, plastic sheets, mosquito nets and other relief supplies, the US military said. Together with a third flight that arrived in Burma, formerly known as Burma, on Monday, the planes carried 70,000 pounds of supplies.
Government forces took possession of the aid shipment on the tarmac, transferring it from a C-130 US transport plane onto helicopters, said Ky Luu, the director of foreign disaster assistance for the US Agency for International Development.
Keating said he offered Burma the assistance of thousands of US sailors and Marines, plus US military aircraft.
"The Burmese were cordial, they acknowledged our offers of assistance, but we received no firm decisions from them," Keating said.
"The Burmese simply said, 'We will take these matters under consideration, we will have to discuss them with the prime minister, and we will get back to you when we have a decision,' " he said. "It may be days, it may be longer."
The cyclone hit Burma on the night of May 2, but junta leaders have been reluctant to allow foreign aid workers into the country.
The delay has caused concern among aid agencies and foreign governments and sparked unusually strong remarks from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who blasted the junta's "unacceptably slow response."
The UN said the World Food Programme was getting in only 20% of the food needed because of logistical problems and government restrictions, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.
"There is obviously still a lot of frustration that this aid effort hasn't picked up pace," spokesman Richard Horsey told AP.
There was also concern Tuesday about the quality of relief supplies reaching storm victims.
CARE Australia staff have found rotting rice being distributed to people in the worst-hit Irrawaddy Delta, its director in Burma, Brian Agland, told AP.
"I have a small sample in my pocket, and it's some of the poorest quality rice we've seen," he said. "It's affected by saltwater, and it's very old."
A former Yangon resident now living in Thailand told AP that angry government officials told him that high-energy biscuits rushed into Burma on the World Food Programme's first flights were sent to a military warehouse.
Speaking on condition of anonymity over fears for his safety, he told AP that the biscuits were exchanged for what officials said were "tasteless and low-quality" biscuits produced by the Industry Ministry.
Victims in outlying areas are now arriving in towns and cities to seek the assistance they haven't received, said Bridget Gardner, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross delegation in Burma.
"We can see that some of the major needs are related to water and sanitation," Gardner said. Video Watch survivors await relief supplies »
If junta leaders are unaware of the extent of the disaster, however, local leaders and medical officers know all too well, Gardner said.
"They're very aware of the issues they're facing in their townships," she said, adding that local Red Cross volunteers have actively been providing assistance with existing supplies.
Meanwhile, the USS Essex, USS Juneau and USS Harpers Ferry were in international waters off the coast of Burma with more than 14,000 containers of fresh water and other aid awaiting orders to deliver by air or landing craft, Pentagon officials said. The United States has not received permission from the government of Burma for the aircraft to deliver aid or food, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday. Video Watch relief supplies trickle in to Burma »
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The US military will not make any flights into the country without the government's approval, Keating said.
"We have to deal with the leadership of the country," he said. "That is our government's position, and that's what we're prepared to do."
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