Filed under: From the Field, International Response, Latest News, Resources, Uncategorized | Tags: Add new tag, americares, IOM, twitter
Here’s a comment from someone on one of my earlier posts about the International Organization for Migration seeking $ 8 million from international donors for cyclone relief.
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Hi Divya,
One of my clients, AmeriCares, delivered medical supplies and medicines to IOM, one of its partners in Burma, earlier this morning. You can find more about what IOM and AmeriCares is doing with the shipment of supplies on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/americares
Filed under: Latest News, Uncategorized | Tags: Asia Times Online, briam mccartan, burmese government in exile, burmese military junta, NCGUB
(via Myra Dahgaypaw, with Burmese government-in-exile or National Coalition of Government of Union of Burma (NCGUB).
Relief as war in Myanmar
By Brian McCartan, Asia Times Online, May 19, 2008
CHIANG MAI, Thailand – While the United Nations pleads for international aid worker access to Myanmar’s cyclone-hit areas, the ruling junta is handling the natural disaster and the estimated 2 million people affected more as a national security issue than humanitarian operation.
Myanmar’s 400,000-strong military has fallen back on its controversial security tactics to manage the crisis, including emerging cases of extortion, theft and movement restrictions. The country’s under-resourced armed forces have received little if any training in disaster relief, but are well-versed in how to maintain control of hostile populations and carry out armed assaults.
Read the full article here.
–Divya
Filed under: Death Toll and missing, International Response, Latest News, Uncategorized | Tags: cyclone nargis, irrawaddy delta, Karen State, Mon State, oral-rehydration, Pegu Division, reliefweb, save the children alliance, united nations, Yangon Division
According to a recent press release by Save the Children Alliance on ReliefWeb, the organization has reached 160,632 people including more than 50,000 children with food, water, shelter materials, household supplies and oral-rehydration salts to treat diarrhea.
Other highlights from the release include:
- The death toll from Cyclone Nargis continues to rise. Unofficial estimates from the United Nations suggest that as many as 102,000 people have died, and up to 1.9 million people have been affected.
- Authorities have declared five regions — with an estimated total population of 24 million — to be in a state of emergency, including Yangon Division, Pegu Division, Mon State, Karen State and the Irrawaddy Division.
- Humanitarian agencies are expressing concern about an impending hungry season, as the rice planting thatI normally begins in June may be hampered by lack of tools and supplies, as well as by land made less arable by an influx of salt water from the storm surge.
- Even before the disaster, an estimated 30 percent of children in the region suffered from chronic malnutrition, according to health experts.
- Throughout Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta region, many villages have been devastated, with thousands of homes destroyed, and more than 3,000 schools damaged.
- Much of the delta is reachable only by boat, even in normal times, but many boats were destroyed in the storm — limiting the ability of storm survivors to find food, water and medical assistance.
Read the full press release here.
–Divya
Filed under: FOR THE RECORD, Latest News, Uncategorized | Tags: Altsean-Burma, Arakan State, Aung Sang Su Kyi, burma referendum, International Federation of Human Rights, Irrawaddy divisions, Kyats, myanmar referendum, SPDC, Swan Arr Ahin
(Via Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Students, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism)
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Altsean-Burma
Press Release
Masquerade of Democratic Process
Paris, 15 May, 2008 – The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Altsean-Burma strongly condemn the way in which the national referendum on the Constitution draft has been carried out by the Burmese military junta, in a climate of fear and intimidation.
Despite the major natural disaster, the Burmese authorities carried out the referendum on the new constitution on 10 May 2008. The referendum was held all over the country, except in 47 townships in Yangon and Irrawaddy divisions, which were affected by the cyclone ‘Nargis’. The military regime used security forces, police and local authorities to exercise pressure on the Burmese people and to maximize the ‘yes’ vote.
According to the information received, in many polling stations, there were no secure places for secret voting. Security forces, police and Swan Arr Shin members were present at the polling stations to intimidate the voters. Meanwhile, in some areas, the authorities openly threatened the voters that they would be punished with three years of imprisonment and 100,000 Kyats fine for casting ‘no’ votes. In many areas, the polling stations were closed before the official closing time of 16:00 hour, and as a result many people were not able to cast their vote.
According to Altsean Burma[1], an SPDC secret circular reportedly instructed all security agencies to be on high alert, monitor foreign organizations present in Burma, and prevent their free movement in the lead up to the referendum. The SPDC Army deployed troops in rural areas of Arakan State in preparation for the referendum.
FIDH and Altsean-Burma express once again their utmost concern regarding this masquerade of democratic process in Burma and calls for the opening of a national dialogue including democratic opposition and all ethnic minorities, on the political transition in Burma.
[1] http://www.altsean.org/Reports/Disaster.php :
The draft text of the Constitution entrenches the military rule in Burma: one quarter of the seats in the Union Parliament are reserved to the Armed Forces and nominated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services, and one third in the Region and State assemblies. Restrictions to stand for elections are excessively broad: In practice, such conditions prevent many members of the opposition who had to seek refuge abroad from taking part in the election. The conditions to stand for presidential elections are even more drastic and de facto exclude Aung San Suu Kyi because she has been married to a foreigner (Chapter III).
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Press contact:
Gaël Grilhot
+33-1 43 55 90 19
mailto:ggrilhot@fidh.org
http://www.fidh.org
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–Divya
Filed under: Donations, International Response, Latest News, Resources, Uncategorized | Tags: buildburma, doctors without borders, SAJA, saja forum
(Via Sree Sreenivasan, Dean of Students, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism)
From a note from filmmaker Smriti Mundra:
My friends Shruti Ganguly and Riddhika Jesrani have put together a fund-raising organization called Build Burma in response to the recent disaster in Myanmar. They have a $10,000 fund-raising target on behalf of Doctors Without Borders, a reputable aide organization with an infrastructure in Myanmar (read: the money goes directly to disaster relief, not a corrupt government or NGO). I sincerely hope you will all donate even $10 to the cause. There are 561 of you on this list so if everyone donates we will be more than half way to our goal. Just go to http://www.buildburma.org and follow the prompts.
<<< Well, a lot more than 561 folks here, folks, so let’s see if we can help. I just did my part and make a small donation – your turn, everyone: http://www.buildburma.org
To read more about the situation in Myanmar or show support, join the Facebook group (search BuildBurma.org) and check out the website.
This also appeared as a post on Saja Forum – a blog created by members of the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA).
–Divya
Filed under: International Response, Latest News, Uncategorized | Tags: ASEAN, Associated Press, ban ki-moon, Nyan Win, Singapore, UN
According to the latest news reports from Associated Press, the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon will be visiting Burma this Thursday, stay till Friday, then head to Bangkok and return to Rangoon on Sunday to attend a pledging conference to be jointly hosted and organized by ASEAN and the United Nations.
His visit comes after initial resistance by the military junta which has seemingly relented, in small measure, on the issue of aid distribution by foreign aid workers but limited such assistance to its “Asian neighbors.” Responding to the opportunity, “in Singapore, an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed to set up an ASEAN-led task force for distributing foreign aid.”
In other highlights from the article,
- Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win told the meeting that losses from the cyclone are expected to be “well over US$10 billion.”
- United Nations said the rest of its foreign staff were still barred from the delta and it described conditions there as “terrible,” with hundreds of thousands of cyclone victims suffering from hunger, disease and lack of shelter.
Read the full article here.
–Divya
