U.N. eyes plan to force Myanmar to accept aid
Relief workers wait for visas from military regime 5 days after disaster:
MSNBC News Services
updated 29 minutes ago
YANGON, Myanmar - Aid trickled into military-ruled Myanmar for an estimated one million victims of Cyclone Nargis on Wednesday, with the death toll rising to nearly 23,000 and expected to go higher.
With the inundated Irrawaddy delta virtually cut off and frustration growing among aid agencies and governments to deliver supplies, France suggested invoking a U.N. "responsibility to protect" clause without waiting for military approval.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters on Wednesday the idea was being discussed at the United Nations.
State radio and TV, the main official sources for casualties and damage, reported an updated death toll of 22,980 with 42,119 missing and 1,383 injured in Asia's most devastating cyclone since a 1991 storm in Bangladesh that killed 143,000.
Richard Horsey of the United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told Reuters in Bangkok the death toll was expected to rise "dramatically."
'Major logistical challenge'
"With all those dead mostly floating in the water at this point you can get some idea of the conditions facing the teams on the ground. It's a major logistical challenge," Horsey said.
Experts say Myanmar's ruling military must overcome their distrust of the outside world and open up to a full-scale international relief operation. Horsey said the government "recognizes this is an unprecedented emergency" that needed international involvement.
The United Nations recognized in 2005 the concept of "responsibility to protect" civilians when their governments could or would not do it, even if this meant intervention that violated national sovereignty.
European Parliament president Hans-Geert Poettering urged the junta to give access to international aid and to postpone a controversial constitutional referendum on Saturday.
Thailand, China, India and Indonesia were flying in relief supplies and President Bush and Australia's Prime Minister appealed to the Myanmar government to accept their assistance.
Visa delays
Even relief workers of the United Nations, which has a presence in the diplomatically isolated Southeast Asian country, were awaiting visas five days after Cyclone Nargis struck with 120 mph winds.
Internal U.N. do***ents also revealed Myanmar's government is dragging its feet on giving visas to aid workers who are waiting to help the disaster's survivors.
One of the U.N. do***ents obtained by The Associated Press says: "Visas are still a problem. It is not clear when it will be sorted out."
The comments were made by U.N. officials during a meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday to coordinate relief efforts.
It said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon "will contact Myanmar" to arrange a meeting with high-ranking officials on the issue.
Long-term implications?
Political analysts and critics of 46 years of military rule say the cyclone may have long-term implications for the junta, which is even more feared and resented since last September's bloody crackdown on Buddhist monk-led protests.
Water purification tablets, plastic sheeting, basic medical kits, bed nets and food were priorities, U.N. officials said.
Most of the victims were swept away by a wall of water from the cyclone that smashed into coastal towns and villages in the rice-growing delta southwest of the biggest city of Yangon.
"We estimate upwards of 1 million people currently in need of shelter and life-saving assistance," Horsey said, adding 1,930 square miles of the delta remained under water.
Hungry crowds of survivors stormed the few shops that opened in the delta on Wednesday. U.N. officials declared the delta a "major disaster". Witnesses said survivors tried desperately to reach dry ground on boats using blankets as sails.
Source:
U.N. may force Myanmar to accept aid - Asia-Pacific - MSNBC.com
Just Wanted to give a quick update on this.