on 2 may cyclone nargis devastated myanmar's irrawaddy (ayeyawady) delta region...tens of thousands were killed and over a million made homeless, without essential food, shelter or healthcare...the u.n. estimates that up to 2.5 million have been severely affected and urgently need relief to prevent more deaths and the spread of disease...a massive rehabilitation effort is needed in the months and even years ahead... yet almost two weeks on, not all the devastated area has been reached and only a proportion of affected people have received any assistance...the myanmar authorities maintain that they need no help in providing and distributing aid to victims...however, u.n. agencies and humanitarian organisations with expertise in natural disaster management say that a massive international relief effort was needed immediately after the cyclone, and what little aid is reaching victims now is nowhere near sufficient...
unlike regional governments dealing with the consequences of the 2004 indian ocean tsunami, myanmar authorities have obstructed international expertise, aid and materials reaching the victims...myanmar's government has refused to open its borders fully to the required massive relief effort, has denied visas to u.n. and international aid experts, impounded relief material and delayed its distribution, and has restricted the movements in the affected area of aid workers already present in the country...reports are also emerging of armed roadblocks, and of the military confiscating desperately needed relief and selling it, and of the forced eviction of people internally displaced because of the cyclone from makeshift camps or locations where they have sought sanctuary...
i along with other amnesty international members are also concerned that the karen and other ethnic minorities living in the affected area may be discriminated against in the provision of relief aid...widespread and systematic human rights violations against the karen and other ethnic minorities in myanmar have been well documented for decades...
thousands more people will continue to die from malnutrition, communicable diseases and exposure to the elements as a result of the myanmar government's actions and omissions...each passing day survivors do not receive necessary aid greatly increases the risk of death or permanent injury...by deliberately blocking life-sustaining aid from affected people, the government of myanmar may be violating the rights to life, and to adequate food and healthcare...
in addition to the impact of this serious humanitarian crisis in myanmar, there are wider regional implications, including on food security as the irrawaddy delta is a major rice-growing area, and displacement of people from myanmar within the southeast asia region...
myanmar is a member of the association of south east asian nations (asean), the regional grouping including brunei, cambodia, indonesia, laos, malaysia, philippines, singapore, thailand, and viet nam...asean has a key role to play in coordinating a regional response to this catastrophe and has formed the emergency response assessment team in this regard...you can ask asean to help the people of myanmar...
it should continue to press the government of myanmar to act immediately to save hundreds of thousands of lives and put an end to another tragic human rights crisis...in signing the asean charter, all asean member states undertook to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms...for hundreds of thousands of individuals, the very ability to enjoy these rights is now in grave danger, which is greatly exacerbated by the callus indifference and obstructive attitude of their government...for their newly-pledged charter to have any meaning,asean governments must take all necessary steps to ensure that the myanmar government abandon this attitude and allow full access to international aid in order to save the life and wellbeing of these individuals...click here ask asean to help the people of myanmar...
peace out <3
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