Junta fails to distribute aid in Myanmar

Cyclone victims get spoiled food from Myanmar's junta instead of high-quality supplies delivered by foreign governments and charities.

May 13, 2008

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Many cyclone victims are getting spoiled food from Myanmar's junta instead of the high-quality supplies being delivered by foreign governments and charities, victims and aid workers said Tuesday.

A longtime foreign resident of Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, told The Associated Press in Bangkok by telephone that angry government officials have complained to him about the military misappropriating aid.

He said the officials told him that quantities of the high-energy biscuits rushed in on the World Food Program's first flights were sent to a military warehouse.

They were exchanged by what the officials said were "tasteless and low-quality" biscuits produced by the Industry Ministry to be handed out to cyclone victims, the foreign resident said.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because identifying himself could jeopardize his safety.

He said it was not known if the high quality food was being sold on the black market or consumed by the military.

A government spokesman did not immediately respond to an e-mailed query from the AP seeking a comment. The allegations were impossible to confirm independently because of the massive restrictions imposed by the junta on journalists.

The military - which has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1962 - has taken control of most aid sent by other countries including the United States, which made its first aid delivery Monday and sent in another cargo plane Tuesday with 19,900 pounds of blankets, water and mosquito netting. A third flight was to take in a 24,750-pound load. U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Douglas Powell said that the situation remained fluid, but that flights were expected to continue after Tuesday - which appears to broaden the original agreement for three flights on Monday and Tuesday.

Myanmar state television said navy commander in chief Rear Adm. Soe Thein told Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of the U.S. Pacific Forces, that basic needs of the storm victims are being fulfilled and that "skillful humanitarian workers are not necessary."

The U.N. said that the World Food Program is getting in 20 percent of the food needed because of bottlenecks, logistics problems and government-imposed restrictions.

CARE Australia's country director in Myanmar, Brian Agland, said members of his local staff brought back some of the rotting rice that's being distributed in the devastated Irawaddy Delta.

"I have a small sample in my pocket, and it's some of the poorest quality rice we've seen," he said. "It's affected by salt water and it's very old."

It's unclear whether the rice, which is dark gray in color and consists of very small grains, is coming from the government or from mills in the area or warehouses hit by the cyclone.

"Certainly, we are concerned that (poor quality rice) is being distributed," Agland said by telephone from Yangon. "The level of nutrition is very low."

Many survivors also said they were either not getting any aid or were being handed rotten, moldy rice.

"There is obviously still a lot of frustration that this aid effort hasn't picked up pace" 10 days after the cyclone hit, said Richard Horsey, the spokesman for the U.N. humanitarian operation in Bangkok, the capital of neighboring Thailand.

Still, the WFP said it had not heard of its supplies disappearing.

"We've had no reports whatsoever about any incidents of this kind," Marcus Prior, a WFP spokesman, said in Bangkok.

Cyclone Nargis devastated the delta on May 2-3, leaving about 62,000 people dead or missing according to the government count. The U.N. has suggested the death toll is likely to be more than 100,000.

With their homes washed away and large tracts of land under water, some 2 million survivors, mostly poor rice farmers, are living in abject misery, facing disease and starvation.

The survivors are packed into Buddhist monasteries or camping in the open, drinking water contaminated by fecal matter, with dead bodies and animal carcasses floating around. Food and medicine are scarce.

The foreign resident also said several businessmen have been told to give the government cash donations of no less than $1,800 each to aid cyclone victims.

Companies involved have included jade mining concerns in Hpakant, restaurants and construction companies in Yangon, he said.

The government has also barred nearly all foreigners experienced in managing such catastrophes from going to the delta west of Yangon, and is expelling those who have managed to go in.

Jean-Sebastien Matte, an emergency coordinator with Doctors Without Borders, said his foreign staff have repeatedly been forced to return to Yangon from the delta.

Armed police checkpoints were set up outside Yangon on the roads to the delta, and all foreigners were being sent back by policemen who took down their names and passport numbers.

"No foreigners allowed," a policeman said Tuesday after waving a car back.

Yangon was pounded by heavy rain Monday and more downpours were expected throughout the week, further hindering aid deliveries.

For many, the rainwater was the only source of clean drinking water.

European Union nations appealed to Myanmar's military leaders Tuesday to let in international aid to cyclone victims, saying that failing to do so could amount to a crime against humanity.

"At this moment the most important objective is to get the humanitarian aid inside the country. There are many people that are suffering and therefore to help them ... we have to use all the means to help those people," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters ahead of special EU talks meant to coordinate aid efforts for Myanmar.

------- (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The following aid agencies are accepting contributions to help those affected by the cyclone in Myanmar. The list is from InterAction, a coalition of aid agencies, which can be contacted at InterAction at (202) 667-8227 or www.interaction.org.

ADRA InternationalMyanmar Cyclone Fund
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spring, MD 20904
(800) 424-ADRA ext. 2372

Action Against Hunger
247 W. 37th St., 10th Floor
New York, NY 10018
(877) 777-1420

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
JDC: Myanmar Cyclone Relief
P.O. Box 530
132 East 43rd St.
New York, NY 10017
(212) 687-6200

American Jewish World Service
45 W. 36th St., 11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
(800) 889-7146

American Red Cross
International Response Fund
P.O. Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013
(800) HELP-NOW

American Refugee Committee
430 Oak Grove St., Suite 204
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 872-7602=

AmeriCares
88 Hamilton Ave.
Stamford, CT 06902
(800) 486-4357

Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team
6810 Tilden Lane
Rockville, MD 20852
(301) 984-0217

Baptist World Aid
Myanmar (or Burma) Relief
405 North Washington St.
Falls Church, VA 22046
(703) 790-8980

CARE
151 Ellis Street N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30303
(800) 521-2273

CHF International
8601 Georgia Ave., #800
Silver Spring, MD 20910
(866) 779-2CHF

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC)
2850 Kalamazoo Ave., S.E.
Grand Rapids, MI 49560-0600
(800) 55-CRWRC

Church World Service
28606 Phillips St., P.O. Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515
(800) 297-1516

Concern Worldwide U.S.
104 East 40th St., Suite 903
New York, NY 10016
(212) 557-8000

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
(805) 964-4767

Episcopal Relief and Development
815 Second Ave., 7th Floor
New York, NY 10017
(800) 334-7626

Food for the Hungry
1224 East Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85034
(800) 248-6437

Habitat for Humanity International
Cyclone Nargis
121 Habitat St.
Americus, GA 31709-3498
(800) HABITAT

International Medical Corps
1919 Santa Monica Blvd.
Suite 400
Santa Monica, CA 90404
(800) 481-4462

International Relief Teams
Attn: Myanmar Cyclone
4560 Alvarado Canyon Road, Suite 2G
San Diego, CA 92120
(619) 284-7979

International Rescue Committee
(Note on checks: Myanmar)
P.O. Box 96651
Washington, DC 20090-6651
(877) REFUGEE

Latter-day Saint Charities
50 East North Temple, 7th Floor
Salt Lake City, UT 84150
(800) 453-3860, ext. 23544

Lutheran World Relief
P.O. Box 17061
Baltimore, MD 21298-9832
(800) 597-5972

MAP International
Donor Member Services
Myanmar Assistance
P.O. Box 7020
Albert Lea, MN 56007-9931
(800) 225-8550

Operation USA
Memo "Myanmar Cyclone" 3617 Hayden Ave., Suite A
Culver City, CA 90232
(800) 678-7255

Project HOPE
255 Carter Hall Lane
Millwood, VA 22646
(800) 544-4673

Relief International
1575 Westwood Blvd., Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 478-1200

Save the Children USA
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
(800) 728-3843

United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR)
#3019674 Myanmar Emergency
P.O. Box 9068
New York, NY 10087 (800) 554-8583

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
UUSC-UUA Burma Cyclone Relief Fund
P.O. Box 845259
Boston, MA 02284-5259
(800) 388-3920

U.S. Fund for UNICEF
125 Maiden Lane, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10038
(800) 4UNICEF

World Concern
19303 Fremont Ave. North
Seattle, WA 98133
(800) 755-5022, ext.7706

World Emergency Relief
P.O. Box 131570
Carlsbad, CA 92013
(888) 484-4543

World Vision
P.O. Box 9716
Federal Way, WA 98063
(888) 56-CHILD