International   

Junta to ease grip on cyclone relief

— Photo: AP

Jostling for aid: Survivors of Cyclone Nargis rush to get first in line to receive relief outside Yangon on Monday.

YANGON: Myanmar’s government on Monday announced a three-day mourning period for victims of the cyclone that more than two weeks ago left at least 1,30,000 people dead or missing. State TV announced that the mourning will begin on Tuesday and would be marked by flying the national flag at half-mast.

The announcement came as people remained in a state of shock at the storm’s devastation and angry at what appeared to be an inadequate government effort to help the survivors, including its rejection of much foreign assistance. It also follows on a declaration by China of three days of mourning, starting Monday, for the more than 32,000 dead from an earthquake in Sichuan Province last week.

Myanmar’s military regime, meanwhile, allowed U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes into the devastated Irrawaddy Delta on Monday, said a U.N. official. But the U.N. said its foreign staff were still barred from the delta and described conditions there as “terrible,” with victims suffering from hunger, disease and lack of shelter.

Amanda Pitt, a U.N. spokeswoman in Bangkok, said the U.N. was seeing “some progress in terms of pipelines starting to come through,” but that the aid operation was still unsatisfactory. “Clearly we’re still not satisfied, which is why we keep saying we need to upscale the response. We’re not satisfied with it, nobody is. We can see the situation is terrible,” she said.

The situation remained grim in the Irrawaddy Delta. In the delta city of Laputta, hundreds of children covered their heads from the rain with empty aluminium plates as they lined up in front of a private donation centre. They were given rice, a spoonful of curry and a potato.

“Children only. Please. Children only,” shouted a man who pushed back adults. He explained they were feeding children and the elderly first because food supplies were limited and most adults could still fend for themselves. Aid agencies said about 2.5 million survivors were in desperate need of help.

The relief effort has been impeded by a lack of logistical support, said Ramesh Shrestha, head of the U.N. Children’s Fund in Myanmar. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Tents are our top need: China
67 killed in Mannar clashes, says Army
Prachanda warns on CA meet
Fatima Bhutto fears for life
Junta to ease grip on cyclone relief
India, Egypt unveil economic agenda
Garbage set on fire
Long-term killers

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu