MONKS WILL STEP OUT AGAINST REGIME
Pyinya Thiha, a senior monk at Thardu monastery in Rangoon’s Kyeemyindine Township, accused the junta of exacerbating the plight of the cyclone survivors by thinking only of its own interests and placing restrictions on the delivery of aid. He called on the regime to allow international aid workers access to the cyclone-devastated areas.
About 100 nuns and more than 500 members of the general public attended the prayer ceremony, in Thardu monastery.
Pyinya Thiha said the junta was guilty of a “double injustice” in its approach to the catastrophe. “The current situation is not important for them [but] it is very important for the survival of the people now in trouble.
“It is necessary to see human beings with the eyes of a human being. They [the junta] should not see human beings as animals.”
Monks would do “whatever we can for the victims,” he promised. The monks of the Thardu monastery distributed relief supplies daily in Rangoon Division’s Hlaing Tharyar and Kyeemyindine Townships, and prayed every evening for the cyclone victims.
Monks had already delivered relief supplies—from food to mosquito nets—to about 200 villages in the Irrawaddy delta, he said.
Monasteries throughout the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon division had taken in refugees from cyclone-hit areas. Monks had also helped clear up the cyclone damage.
One Hlaing Tharyar Township resident, Tin Yu, said the authorities didn’t dare prevent the monks from helping cyclone survivors, some of whom were still sheltering in monasteries, despite official pressure to leave. The assistance provided by the monks had been “very encouraging.”
About 100 nuns and more than 500 members of the general public attended the prayer ceremony, in Thardu monastery.
Pyinya Thiha said the junta was guilty of a “double injustice” in its approach to the catastrophe. “The current situation is not important for them [but] it is very important for the survival of the people now in trouble.
“It is necessary to see human beings with the eyes of a human being. They [the junta] should not see human beings as animals.”
Monks would do “whatever we can for the victims,” he promised. The monks of the Thardu monastery distributed relief supplies daily in Rangoon Division’s Hlaing Tharyar and Kyeemyindine Townships, and prayed every evening for the cyclone victims.
Monks had already delivered relief supplies—from food to mosquito nets—to about 200 villages in the Irrawaddy delta, he said.
Monasteries throughout the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon division had taken in refugees from cyclone-hit areas. Monks had also helped clear up the cyclone damage.
One Hlaing Tharyar Township resident, Tin Yu, said the authorities didn’t dare prevent the monks from helping cyclone survivors, some of whom were still sheltering in monasteries, despite official pressure to leave. The assistance provided by the monks had been “very encouraging.”
LOST OF HOPE
The U.S. military has ordered navy ships loaded with relief aid off Myanmar's coast to leave the area after the country's xenophobic junta refused to give them permission to help survivors of last month's devastating cyclone.
Meanwhile, more than one month after Cyclone Nargis struck, the French aid agency Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday its staffers were still finding remote areas in the delta that have not received any assistance from Myanmar or international sources.
Souheil Reaiche, the group's mission chief in Myanmar, said the number of people affected is higher than U.N. estimates because among survivors found are migrants and others not officially registered by authorities.
Adm. Timothy Keating, the top U.S. commander in the Pacific, ordered the USS Essex and accompanying vessels to depart Thursday after what he said were 15 separate attempts in recent weeks to get the junta's authorization to help with relief efforts.
Myanmar's state media has said it feared a U.S. invasion aimed at seizing the country's oil deposits.
The ruling generals also barred the use of military helicopters from friendly neighboring nations, even though the aircraft are vital for rushing supplies to isolated survivors in the Irrawaddy delta. This has forced aid agencies to scour the world for civilian military-grade helicopters, and bring them in at huge expense.
The U.N. has estimated 2.4 million people are in need of food, shelter or medical care as a result of the storm, which the government said killed 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing.
Speaking in Hawaii on Tuesday, Keating said the U.S. unsuccessfully tried to persuade Myanmar's leaders to allow ships, helicopters and landing craft in to provide additional disaster relief.
The ships were in the region for international exercises. Keating made them available to help with relief efforts for last month's cyclone, and they were deployed near Myanmar in case they obtained permission to enter the country's waters.
But Myanmar allowed only limited U.S. military aid flights to the country, and barred the ships from landing or otherwise directly dispatching their cargo.
Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program, said the departure of the American ships meant relief agencies wouldn't have the chance to take advantage of their fleet of helicopters.
"That is truly unfortunate because these helicopters represent immediate heavy-lift capacity in the area of the delta," Risley told reporters in Bangkok, Thailand.
Risley earlier warned that logistics, such as the chartering of helicopters, were making the operation much more expensive than anticipated.
In previous large scale disasters _ such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Pakistan's 2005 earthquake _ helicopters on loan from friendly nations' militaries were used to meet the immediate emergency requirements, he said. Nearby Thailand and Singapore have many helicopters on hand, he said.
"For political reasons, the Myanmar government was reluctant to approve their use," Risley said. Myanmar was reportedly able to field only seven helicopters of its own.
WFP has budgeted US$70 million (€45 million) for food and on the ground operations, and another US$50 million (€32 million) for the charter of 10 civilian helicopters, he said. So far it has received contributions of about US$50 million toward the US$120 million (€77 million) total, he added.
A total of 1.3 million survivors have been reached with assistance by local and international humanitarian groups, the Red Cross and the U.N., said the U.N's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a situation report Monday.
It said in Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta, the area hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, the proportion of people reached with assistance had increased to 49 percent from 23 percent on May 25.
However, the report warned, "There remains a serious lack of sufficient and sustained humanitarian assistance for the affected populations."
Meanwhile, the U.N. Development Program announced it would provide 20,000 households in 250 delta villages with cash grants over the next six months to help survivors revive the farming, fisheries and poultry sectors.
The agency will employ survivors to repair damaged buildings, roads and bridges. It also will work with the Food and Agriculture Organization to provide farmers with rice seeds, fertilizer and tools to cultivate their fields.
"This will empower the survivors," said Hla Myint Hpu, who conducted the needs assessment for the project. "People want to keep their dignity. They want help to rebuild their livelihoods and get back on their feet."
Meanwhile, more than one month after Cyclone Nargis struck, the French aid agency Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday its staffers were still finding remote areas in the delta that have not received any assistance from Myanmar or international sources.
Souheil Reaiche, the group's mission chief in Myanmar, said the number of people affected is higher than U.N. estimates because among survivors found are migrants and others not officially registered by authorities.
Adm. Timothy Keating, the top U.S. commander in the Pacific, ordered the USS Essex and accompanying vessels to depart Thursday after what he said were 15 separate attempts in recent weeks to get the junta's authorization to help with relief efforts.
Myanmar's state media has said it feared a U.S. invasion aimed at seizing the country's oil deposits.
The ruling generals also barred the use of military helicopters from friendly neighboring nations, even though the aircraft are vital for rushing supplies to isolated survivors in the Irrawaddy delta. This has forced aid agencies to scour the world for civilian military-grade helicopters, and bring them in at huge expense.
The U.N. has estimated 2.4 million people are in need of food, shelter or medical care as a result of the storm, which the government said killed 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing.
Speaking in Hawaii on Tuesday, Keating said the U.S. unsuccessfully tried to persuade Myanmar's leaders to allow ships, helicopters and landing craft in to provide additional disaster relief.
The ships were in the region for international exercises. Keating made them available to help with relief efforts for last month's cyclone, and they were deployed near Myanmar in case they obtained permission to enter the country's waters.
But Myanmar allowed only limited U.S. military aid flights to the country, and barred the ships from landing or otherwise directly dispatching their cargo.
Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program, said the departure of the American ships meant relief agencies wouldn't have the chance to take advantage of their fleet of helicopters.
"That is truly unfortunate because these helicopters represent immediate heavy-lift capacity in the area of the delta," Risley told reporters in Bangkok, Thailand.
Risley earlier warned that logistics, such as the chartering of helicopters, were making the operation much more expensive than anticipated.
In previous large scale disasters _ such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Pakistan's 2005 earthquake _ helicopters on loan from friendly nations' militaries were used to meet the immediate emergency requirements, he said. Nearby Thailand and Singapore have many helicopters on hand, he said.
"For political reasons, the Myanmar government was reluctant to approve their use," Risley said. Myanmar was reportedly able to field only seven helicopters of its own.
WFP has budgeted US$70 million (€45 million) for food and on the ground operations, and another US$50 million (€32 million) for the charter of 10 civilian helicopters, he said. So far it has received contributions of about US$50 million toward the US$120 million (€77 million) total, he added.
A total of 1.3 million survivors have been reached with assistance by local and international humanitarian groups, the Red Cross and the U.N., said the U.N's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a situation report Monday.
It said in Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta, the area hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, the proportion of people reached with assistance had increased to 49 percent from 23 percent on May 25.
However, the report warned, "There remains a serious lack of sufficient and sustained humanitarian assistance for the affected populations."
Meanwhile, the U.N. Development Program announced it would provide 20,000 households in 250 delta villages with cash grants over the next six months to help survivors revive the farming, fisheries and poultry sectors.
The agency will employ survivors to repair damaged buildings, roads and bridges. It also will work with the Food and Agriculture Organization to provide farmers with rice seeds, fertilizer and tools to cultivate their fields.
"This will empower the survivors," said Hla Myint Hpu, who conducted the needs assessment for the project. "People want to keep their dignity. They want help to rebuild their livelihoods and get back on their feet."
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