Myanmar yesterday began three days of mourning for some 78,000 cyclone victims after the ruling junta appeared to relent to foreign pressure to let in more outside help.
Flags at government offices, schools and large hotels were lowered to half-mast, but there was no period of silence, shops were open as usual and many people in Yangon said they had little idea of what the government-announced mourning entailed.
The military-led regime said on Monday it would allow its Asian neighbors to oversee distribution of foreign relief to survivors of Cyclone Nargis, which battered the country on May 2 to May 3.
PHOTO: AP
It also approved a visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and prepared to host a meeting of aid donors, while claiming losses from the disaster exceeded US$10 billion.
One of the world’s poorest nations, Myanmar may have problems covering such losses.
World Bank managing director Juan Jose Daboub said yesterday the bank would not give any financial aid or loans because Myanmar has failed to repay its debts for a decade.
Daboub said the World Bank was providing technical support to assess damage in Myanmar and help plan economic reconstruction.
“But the bank cannot legally provide any [financial] resources to Myanmar because it is in arrears with the bank since 1998,” he said in Singapore.
The official death toll is about 78,000, with 56,000 people missing. Conditions in the low-lying delta remain precarious, with survivors facing disease, malnutrition and exposure to the elements.
Heavy rain fell on the delta again on Monday, said the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), noting it could have the benefit of providing clean water for those able to catch the downpour with plastic sheeting.
“However, the rain for many others simply adds to the misery as they look forward to their 18th night in often-wretched conditions,” the IFRC said in a situation report. “In addition, access to already relatively inaccessible locations is set to remain very difficult.”
The IFRC remained concerned about the distribution of relief supplies, saying: “Reports indicate that in most of the bigger affected townships, basic relief and food is available but much less so in the more remote areas.”
It said there seemed to be problems even at some of the temporary relief camps set up by the government.
“While significant relief is getting through, there are indications of mounting frustration among many displaced communities,” it said.
Myanmar, responding to entreaties from its southeast Asian neighbors, promised on Monday it would let them into devastated areas to oversee and help in the provision of foreign assistance.
In Singapore, an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-member ASEAN agreed to set up an ASEAN-led task force for redistributing foreign aid.
Myanmar agreed to open its doors to medical teams from all ASEAN countries, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo (楊榮文) said.
ASEAN member Thailand already has sent teams, as have non-ASEAN neighbors India and China.
ASEAN and the UN jointly announced an ASEAN-UN International Pledging Conference to seek some of the needed funding, to be held on Sunday in Yangon.
Ban is scheduled to arrive in Yangon tomorrow and to tour the battered delta, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said in New York.
He plans to fly to Bangkok on Friday night, then will return to Yangon on Sunday to co-chair the conference.
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Hundreds of people in rainbow colors gathered on Saturday in South Africa’s tourist magnet Cape Town to honor the world’s first openly gay imam, who was killed last month. Muhsin Hendricks, who ran a mosque for marginalized Muslims, was shot dead last month near the southern city of Gqeberha. “I was heartbroken. I think it’s sad especially how far we’ve come, considering how progressive South Africa has been,” attendee Keisha Jensen said. Led by motorcycle riders, the mostly young crowd walked through the streets of the coastal city, some waving placards emblazoned with Hendricks’s image and reading: “#JUSTICEFORMUHSIN.” No arrest
RSS