Burma march largest in 20 years

[danielf]

Some people have all the bad luck...

Burmese storm toll 'tops 10,000'

More than 10,000 people were killed in a devastating cyclone that hit western Burma on Saturday, Foreign Minister Nyan Win has said on state TV.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/7384041.stm

[Maggy J]

Originally Posted by danielf

Some people have all the bad luck...



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/7384041.stm

The BBC is not permitted to report from Burma, also known as Myanmar.

I bet the government of Burma might just be kicking themselves for that oversight..The aid might just have come in quicker.

"Where are the soldiers and police? They were very quick and aggressive when there were protests in the streets last year," a retired government worker complained to Reuters news agency

.

Good question..but maybe even a repressive government is no match for a natural disaster.

The US, which released an immediate funding package of $250,000 (£127,000) to be channelled through the UN, said that Burmese authorities had refused permission for an American disaster assistance response team to enter.

Meanwhile, Burma's military junta has said a referendum on a new national constitution will go ahead on Saturday. People were "eagerly looking forward to voting", it said.

Well glad to see the Burmese authorities have got their priorities right...

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

Good question..but maybe even a repressive government is no match for a natural disaster.

Anyone else notice that it seemed to be the monks co-ordinating things, that poxy junta didn't even bother to warn people, the only reason they are worried now is because all the food is gone, hunger makes people lose their fear of oppressors.

[punky]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

I bet the government of Burma might just be kicking themselves for that oversight..The aid might just have come in quicker.

Its no oversight. Even at last night, the BBC (and ITV, I think) were banned from reporting from Burma, even though British aid agencies were already in there and working.

[Maggy J]

Originally Posted by Gavin

Its no oversight. Even at last night, the BBC (and ITV, I think) were banned from reporting from Burma, even though British aid agencies were already in there and working.

Of course not!The government don't want the rest of the world to see that they are doing nothing and will leave it all to the rest of the world to sort out and then claim the responsibility for other's efforts.And continue along the same old path.

[danielf]

Originally Posted by BBC

The death toll from Burma's devastating cyclone has now risen to more than 22,000, state media say.

Some 41,000 people were also missing, three days after Cyclone Nargis hit the country on Saturday, state radio said.

The announcement came as international aid agencies pushed to launch a massive operation in the worst-affected areas of the country.

Hundreds of thousands of people are said to be without clean water and shelter, with some areas still cut off.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/7385662.stm

[danielf]

The British Red Cross have launched a Burma cyclone appeal

[Matt D]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7420960.stm


Well, what a surprise...

Originally Posted by BBC News

Burma's ruling junta has renewed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest.

Police earlier detained about 20 activists as they marched to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's home in Rangoon, where she has been held since May 2003.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon said he regretted the extension of the detention, while US President George W Bush said he was "deeply troubled" by the decision.

Ms Suu Kyi's party won 1990 elections, but she was denied power by the junta.

The 62-year-old National League for Democracy (NLD) leader has spent more than 12 of the last 18 years in detention.

Police bundled a number of opposition activists into a truck as they marched on Tuesday from the NLD party headquarters to her lakeside villa in Rangoon.

(snip)