U.N. Chief Presses Myanmar To Take Help

(CBS/AP)  U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sought to persuade Myanmar's ruling generals Thursday to let in a torrent of foreign assistance for cyclone victims rather than the current trickle.

"The United Nations and all the international community stand ready to help to overcome the tragedy," Ban said after arriving in the country Thursday. "The main purpose of my being here is to demonstrate my solidarity."

By the junta's count, at least 78,000 people are dead and 56,000 missing from Cyclone Nargis, which swept through the country's rice bowl on May 2-3.

As Ban began his visit, foreign aid agencies stressed the need to quickly reach some 2.5 million survivors, many of them suffering from disease, hunger and lack of shelter.

"In 30-plus years of humanitarian emergency work this is by far - by far - the largest case of emergency need we've ever seen," said Lionel Rosenblatt, president of the U.S.-based Refugees International. "And yet right offshore, right here in Thailand, we have the means to save these people."

That contrasts the message Ban will receive from Junta leaders, reports CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey, who says the generals insist aid distribution is going smoothly and the country has moved on to the reconstruction phase.

Some reports suggest that people left homeless are even being told by the government to leave shelters and return to their decimated towns and villages, reports Pizzey.

Ban met for nearly 1 1/2 hours with Prime Minister Thein Sein as well as with international aid agencies in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. He was to fly by helicopter later Thursday to the hardest-hit Irrawaddy delta.

Before talks began, the secretary-general visited Yangon's Shwedagon pagoda, regarded as the spiritual heart of the country.

"I praise the will, resilience and the courage of the people of Myanmar. I bring a message of hope for the people of Myanmar," he said as bells chimed.

Following local tradition, Ban removed his shoes and socks and padded barefoot around the pagoda, handing the shrine's trustees a donation for cyclone victims.

With Foreign Minister Nyan Win present, Ban said, "I hope your people and government will closely coordinate so that the flow of aid and aid workers' activities can be carried out in a more systematic way."

Security for the secretary-general's visit was heavy, with dozens of armed riot police dotting the road from the airport into the city.

U.N. official Dan Baker said junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe would meet with Ban on Friday at Naypyitaw, the capital built by the military in a remote area of central Myanmar. Ban said earlier that Than Shwe had refused to take his telephone calls and did not respond to two letters.

Among a number of Yangon citizens interviewed, few were optimistic about results from Ban's visit.

"I doubt he could do much. The U.N. has no power here," said Aung Myint Oe, a service industry worker.

Kyaw Htun Htun, a local businessman, predicted that "they (the generals) won't care what the U.N. says."

But some thought just the visit of Ban, the first secretary-general to visit Myanmar in an official capacity, could make a difference.

"His presence as a senior U.N. official is significant. It means there is enough concern in the international community to raise this to that level," said Richard Rumsey, a senior staffer of the aid agency World Vision in Thailand.

The U.N. says up to 2.5 million cyclone survivors face hunger, homelessness and potential outbreaks of deadly diseases, especially in the low-lying delta. But so far, only about 25 percent of those in need have been reached by aid.

"There needs to be more equipment. There needs to be more flights coming in. There needs to more boats out there to reach remote areas," said Jemilah Mahmood of the aid agency Mercy Malaysia in Bangkok.

Myanmar is still reluctant to accept more than a handful of experienced foreign rescue and disaster relief workers.

Following Ban into the delta will be representatives of 29 nations, including Japan, Singapore and Thailand, who have been invited to Myanmar by the regime. The group, which includes government officials, aid officials and private-sector donors, will visit the region Friday.

Ban said Tuesday that the U.N. had finally received permission from the junta to use nine World Food Program helicopters to carry aid to stranded victims in inaccessible areas. WFP officials in Bangkok confirmed that 10 flights would be allowed beginning Thursday.

A state-controlled newspaper said Wednesday that U.S. helicopters and naval ships were not welcome to join the relief effort.

The United States, as well as France and Great Britain, have naval vessels loaded with humanitarian supplies - and the means to deliver them - off Myanmar's coast, awaiting a green light to deliver them.

The New Light of Myanmar, a mouthpiece for the junta, said accepting military-linked assistance "comes with strings attached" that are "not acceptable to the people of Myanmar." It hinted at fears of an American invasion aimed at grabbing the country's oil reserves. The article did not say whether French and British supplies would be allowed.

The regime has been letting U.S. military C-130 cargo planes fly in relief goods.

[minnick8-2009]

Credibility,

Obviously, investigating U.S. racism is much, much more important than focusing on delivering aid to the cyclone victims in Myanmar.

[nyeinc]

One suggestion for naming the Burmese leaders:

In stead of trying to remember the proper names, the foreign visitors could simply call

the Burmese military chief Senior General Than Shwe simply as Senior General
Prime Minister Thein Sein simply as Mr. Prime Minister
Foreign Minister Nyan Win as Mr. Win.

It is common and normal for the Burmese to use the titles rather than individual names. The Burmese leaders won''t mind being addressed so like people from other culture.

The Burmese military chief and his prime minister share the initial letters of their names (T and S); so, it will be confusing for the foreigners. Simply call them and refer them as Senior General and Prime Minister.

[nyeinc]

Bad News: The Burmese generals might continue the house arrest of (Daw) Aung San Suu Kyi under a different section of the same security law, say, 10/C rather than 10/B if there is any such section as 10/C. [I hope NO 10/A rather than 10/C because 10/A would move her into a prison cell from her lake-side mansion.]

Good News: (Daw) Aung San Suu Kyi detained under a different, more lenient, section of the security law, say, 10/C rather than 10/B, would have more freedom and less restrictions. For example, she might be allowed to visit Pagodas under necessary security arrangement and to meet her party leaders more frequently (when the things calm down) under 10/C; she was right before one of her previous releases in 2002.

Bad News: I do NOT even know for sure that her house arrest order is scheduled to expire on May 25. Logically, it cannot be. The deadly clashes between her supporters and regime supporter took place on May 30, 2003 and she was taken into a brief stay in a prison compound, NOT a prison cell, and then placed under house arrest only LATER. Logically, her house arrest must begin after May 30, NOT before. How did Washington Post get the fact about her detention order which begins and thus expires on May 25? Only its editors will KNOW, hopefully they do.

Another bad news is that I don%u2019t remember if the house arrest under 10/B has five years or six years limit. I wish the BEST for (Daw) Aung San Suu Kyi; at the same time, I WISH the best for my people, even more.

[nyeinc]

It is written in a Washington Post Editorial about (Daw) Aung San Suu Kyi%u2019s house arrest that %u2018her year-to-year detention is scheduled to end Sunday, the same day as the "donor conference"; will the foreign ministers be extending loans to the regime on the day it extends her confinement for another year?%u2019 (The Washington Post, Editorial, With the Junta or Without It, May 20, 2008, Page A12)

FACT CHECK 5 on Washington Post Editorial, May 20, 2008:

Good news: the house arrest under Security Act Section 10/B might be lifted for (Daw) Aung San Suu Kyi. The house arrest order has a maximum limit, I think, five years under 10/B; it is supposed to expire this year (if there is five years cap).

Bad News: The cyclone aftermaths, the political climate and the presence of five foreign navy ships, including an American aircraft carrier, a French amphibious assault ship and a British Frigate near Burma make the worst time for her release. The Burmese generals would be the stupidest of all to remove the restrictions on (Daw) Aung San Suu Kyi at THIS time. Or they would be the wickedest of all to do so if she is released from house arrest and somehow died.

[nyeinc]

Myanmar''s military rulers have no legal authority to extend democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi''s house arrest when the detention order expires at the weekend, her lawyer said Thursday. The Nobel peace prize winner will complete her fifth year of house arrest under Myanmar law on midnight Saturday %u2026 Under Myanmar''s State Protection Law, a person can be held without charge or trial for only up to five years, renewable for up to one year at a time, Aung San Suu Kyi''s Washington-based lawyer Jared Genser said. (AFP, Washington, D.C, May 22, 2008)

Please, please read what I wrote carefully. Jared Genser is apparently trying to get DASSK released; instead, he might end up making her dead. Please, please carefully read what I wrote a few days ago, in a comment on a Washington Post editorial. (With the Junta or Without It, May 20, 2008, Page A12)

[nyeinc]

UN Chief might want a impromptu tour of the cyclone-hit area. Shari Villarosa, the top American diplomat in Burma, said in News Hour with Judy Woodruff that in the relief camps, %u201Cnobody interfered with me as I wandered about. But certainly since we were taken from helicopter, from place to place -- but we couldn''t sit there and say, OK, we want you to touch down here.%u201D (the Online News Hour Website, May 19, 2008) It appears that the Western diplomats are skeptical of what they were shown in the relief camps partly because what they saw do NOT fit with what they were led to believe and partly because those relief camps could be completely staged.
The Burmese government should not only take the Western diplomats and visiting foreign dignitaries by helicopters but also allow them to see what they want to see at a place where they want to go impromptu. If possible, they should be allowed to say %u201Cthere, we want to go and see%u201D from the helicopters or %u201Cthere, we want to go and see%u201D on the map. Of course, so long as they want to go anywhere in the delta, not in the regions where the government troops and the armed rebels are still fighting and so long as they don%u2019t fight each other over where they want the helicopter to descend.

[nyeinc]

A photo caption of Stand Honda from Reuters, Myanmar, says %u201CUnited Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (C) points to an area of the Irrawaddy delta he wants to view from a helicopter as U Kyaw Thu (R), Myanmar''s deputy foreign minister, points to the area they have flown over in Mawgyon, Myanmar, May 22, 2008. Ban Ki-Moon is on a tour to view conditions in Cyclone Nargis damaged areas and to meet with Myanmar government officials.%u201D
%u201CFollowing Ban into the delta will be representatives of 29 nations, including Japan, Singapore and Thailand, who have been invited to Myanmar by the regime. The group, which includes government officials, aid officials and private-sector donors, will visit the region Friday.%u201D (John Heilprin, Associated Press, UN chief sees devastated Myanmar delta, via USA Today, May 22, 2008)
The impromptu tours, point and go, should also be accorded to the representatives of 29 nations, following the UN Chief. At least, they should politely ask to the tour leader, usually the foreign minister and the ministers assigned to be in charge of a small locality, %u201Ctake us here%u201D, %u201Ctake us there.%u201D The Burmese hosts would most likely fulfill the wishes (of this kind) of their guests, especially if those wishes come from more friendly guests.

[al2008-2009]

I*m appalled at the administration*s lack of response to the global warming hurricanes, and cyclones as well. We have no comprehensive strategy in place whatsoever, let alone a detailed plan of action to mitigate the effects of these cyclones, and mother earth continues to suffer while the administration refuses to go forward and do what*s right for mother earth.
.
How long must we sit idly by while our mother continues to suffer from the warming taking place at a feverish pace? How long must our mother suffer before we have proper c02 taxes put into place? How long must the destruction of mother earth take place before we finally put responsible regulations into effect? How long must we wait until we beef up our corn ethanol production? At least Obama wants to cut c02 pollution by 80%; he is definitely our best hope.
.
We the people call upon our leaders to implement a comprehensive antiglobal warming strategy at once and work in coordination with state and federal officials; these cyclones and storms continue to worsen and the quicker we stop the warming the sooner we will see these storms cease. We need action now.

[credibility2]

The U.N. should not only sanction this reprehensible inhumane government, it should send in troops to militarily confront them and force them to accept the aid. We''re not talking about a land grab or conquest. We''re talking about human suffering, starvation, disease, etc. The Myanmar government is atrocious. Ironically, the U.S. is being investigated for racism. How does the U.N. compare that action to what they''re obviously dragging their feet on in Myanmar?