Filed under: From the Field, International Response, Latest News, Opinion/Editorial, Resources, Uncategorized | Tags: cyclone nargis, doctors, irrawaddy delta, Than Shwe, The Irrawaddy
As news about the Myanmar cyclone and it’s aftermath recedes into the background (including in the media), an op-ed in the Burmese news magazine, The Irrawaddy, sheds light on why the junta refused assistance from the U.S. military. And I quote,
“What the generals truly fear is that if they allow US warships and foreign forces to come to the aid of cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy delta, people will soon rise up and the regime would be overthrown. That fear prevented the Than Shwe regime from allowing the US to come in and help.”
As the fate of more than 2 million remains unknown, local Burmese sources such as The Irrawaddy are good to remain tuned in to what’s happening on the ground.
Some of the it’s top stories include:
Filed under: International Response, Lessons and Theory, Opinion/Editorial, Uncategorized | Tags: humanitarian intervention, iraq, madelaine albright, new york times
In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, former U.S. secretary of state, Madelaine K. Albright offered three reasons why the world didn’t intervene more forcefully in Myanmar.
The introductory excerpt to the piece:
“THE Burmese government’s criminally neglectful response to last month’s cyclone, and the world’s response to that response, illustrate three grim realities today: totalitarian governments are alive and well; their neighbors are reluctant to pressure them to change; and the notion of national sovereignty as sacred is gaining ground, helped in no small part by the disastrous results of the American invasion of Iraq. “
Read the full op-ed here.
–Divya
