Burma: Cyclone disaster relief operation - full text
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It was reported by the Associated Press (AP) news service on July 25 that Dan Baker, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Burma (official name Myanmar), had warned that as much as 20-25 per cent of the foreign relief aid given to the country in response to the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis in early May was being lost because of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC - the military government of Burma)’s foreign exchange system.
The SPDC required that foreign aid money was first converted into Foreign Exchange Certificates (FEC) with the nominal value of a US$1 each, which were then converted into the country’s national currency, the kyat, at a rate set by the SPDC. The certificates had been worth as much as 25 per cent less than the market value of an equivalent number of dollars. On July 25, a certificate costing US$1 was worth 900 kyat when exchanged at the government-controlled Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank while US$1 on the open market fetched 1,175 kyat.
Immediate Context
According to some media reports, the SPDC was allegedly profiteering from the discrepancy, but The Independent of July 26 reported that John Holmes, the UN under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, had said that it was unclear where the lost money was going or who was directly benefiting from the system. It was cited in the same report that the UN had so far lost about US$10 million of aid relief because of exchange rate system.
Although much of the relief money had not been converted into Burmese kyats because it was spent outside the country on imported food, medical supplies, and blankets, as the aid operation progressed from emergency relief to recovery, agencies warned that they would increasingly need to source their supplies locally.
A report by the UN, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Burmese government, released on July 21 at an ASEAN meeting in Singapore, estimated that it would take about US$1 billion over three years to meet the most urgent needs in Burma following Cyclone Nargis. The money was needed to replace houses, schools, and infrastructure destroyed by the cyclone, as well as to provide food for the survivors. The report said that in the Irrawaddy Delta region of Burma affected by the cyclone 75 per cent of hospitals and clinics were in ruins, 450,000 houses had been completely destroyed, and 350,000 others damaged, 600,000 hectares of agricultural land had been flooded, and 60 per cent of farming implements had been destroyed.
Although the SPDC had, after a delay of some days, opened up its cyclone-ravaged country to foreign relief missions led by international organisations, aid had been slowed by the isolationist SPDC’s refusal to give free entry to aid missions from Western governments.
Cyclone Nargis on May 2-3 ploughed into the south-west of Burma, causing a massive disaster in the low-lying delta of the Irrawaddy River and in the former capital city of Rangoon (Yangon). Much of the delta was inundated by a tidal surge that was 3 metres above the norm, flattening thousands of trees and buildings. The cyclone was estimated to have killed 133,000 people, making it the worst natural disaster in the country’s history. It was the worst natural disaster in the region since the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004.
The priority of the SPDC seemed to be to maintain an appearance of overall control of the situation, which would be compromised if it allowed foreign aid workers, and especially foreign military personnel, into the country. From early days after the cyclone, US, French, and UK naval ships waited outside Burmese territorial waters for permission to land relief. However, they were held at bay despite assurances by the foreign governments that the relief operations were not being used as a pretext for military action against the military regime. The SPDC only reluctantly granted visas to foreign relief experts and reportedly hindered logistical efforts to get emergency supplies to victims. The SPDC finally allowed US and Australian military flights into Burma on May 12-13, but only on the condition that Burmese authorities unloaded the aid for distribution.
However, after a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, on May 23 Senior Gen Than Shwe, chairman of the SPDC, surprisingly reversed the government’s position, saying that foreign aid workers, regardless of nationality, could now enter the country and work in the delta. Than also agreed that Rangoon could be used as a port for unloading aid, but only from civilian ships.
Food assistance and other relief supplies were successfully delivered by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Save the Children, and Care International, but on June 20 the WFP warned that it faced a "critical shortage of funds". So far the WFP said that it had received only about 60 per cent of the US$50 million it needed to fund its logistical operation.
Reaction and Outlook
The SPDC had drawn worldwide condemnation for the blocking of foreign aid in the crucial days after the cyclone, but following the government’s change of stance after the visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, criticism of the regime has been muted. However, fears that the SPDC was profiting from foreign aid through its exchange rate system caused concern that such actions would further hinder the already struggling efforts to raise vital foreign relief aid. "This is a big issue. This is a big concern" Dan Baker, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Burma, warned on July 25. "The donors aren’t going to give us money if they know they will [lose] a percentage of that. This is not an issue we can let go by."
The calls to the SPDC to abandon the certificate system came as the UN was pressing for countries to donate another US$290 million for the relief effort. The UN had hitherto raised about US$191 million following an initial appeal for US$201 million in aid. On top of the $10 million shortfall, the organisation said that it needed a further US$280 million for the work of 13 UN agencies and 23 non-governmental organisations (NGOs). More than 100 projects were planned to deliver food, shelter, clean drinking water, sanitation, education, and other needs. AP reported on July 27 that Burmese officials had said that only about 30 per cent of the rice fields affected by the cyclone had been planted and that the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had warned that about 75 per cent of farmers lacked sufficient seed, with little time left before the planting season ended in August. In the same report, Mona Chaya of the FAO in Burma said that she expected yields to be down 20 per cent from previous years and that it would take at least two further seasons to get rice production in Burma back to normal levels.
On July 20, delegates at the ASEAN meeting in Singapore issued a rare statement criticising the SPDC, urging it to release political prisoners. They expressed "deep disappointment" over the SPDC’s recent one-year extension of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention and called on the SPDC to hold "meaningful dialogue" with opposition figures. Voice of America (VOA—a US-government funded broadcasting service) in a report on July 28 claimed that the regional grouping had been encouraged to make the public rebuke by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who credited ASEAN with growing influence in Burma. Rice said that ASEAN had been instrumental in persuading the SPDC to reverse its initial obstruction of international aid and assistance after Cyclone Nargis.
On July 29 US President George W. Bush signed legislation renewing import restrictions on Burma. The USA had banned imports from Burma for 5 years to protest at the suppression of democracy in the country, including the continued house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi. Bush also signed a separate bill prohibiting the importation of Burmese gemstones through third countries. He said "On the Burmese regime, our message is: the United States believes in democracy and freedom."
Historical Context
Burma’s military government was generally considered by the Western world to be one of the most repressive in the world, a reputation that it had earned following repeated crackdowns on opposition political parties, the imprisonment of politicians, as well as the alleged use of forced labour as a form of political repression.
Burma achieved independence from the UK in October 1947, after more than 100 years of colonial rule, under the leadership of Gen. Aung San. However, only months before independence, on July 19, 1947, Aung San and six of his cabinet members were assassinated by political opponents. U Nu became the first prime minister of the independent Burma.
After independence, non-Burmese nationalities, including Nagas, Karenni, Shan, and Mon groups, opposed the new government, as did communist groups. In 1958 Gen. Ne Win formed a new government after promising the Mon and Rakhine peoples semi-autonomy. Elections in 1960 gave power back to U Nu but his tolerance of separatism angered the military. His refusal to grant the same status to the Shan and the Kayins prompted rebellion, and in a military coup in 1962 Gen. Ne Win assumed control.
Ne Win abolished Burma’s federal system and with his Revolutionary Council government inaugurated "The Burmese Way to Socialism". The new ideology included draconian political and economic measures such the nationalisation of the economy, the forming of a single-party state (the Socialist Programme Party), and the banning of independent newspapers. The military government’s suppression of discussion--on such topics as the representation of the nationalities that comprised Burma; the balance of power between central and regional governments; and the lack of democratic elections--led to instability and violence. Throughout the 1970s, there were repeated student uprisings in key Burmese cities. These in turn resulted in crackdowns and university closures.
In 1974 a new constitution came into effect, transferring power from the armed forces to a People’s Assembly headed by Ne Win and other former military leaders. In 1988, a huge demonstration led by students resulted in a violent crackdown by the military, who agreed to hold democratic elections in 1989. The State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) was formed. The following year (1989) SLORC declared martial law and arrested thousands of people, including advocates of democracy and human rights. The SLORC renamed Burma Myanmar, and Rangoon became Yangon. Opposition National League for Democray (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Gen. Aung San, was put under house arrest.
Elections were held in May 1990, but when the opposition NLD won 60 per cent of the vote, the military declared the poll to be invalid. Subsequently, the military government made repeated gestures towards introducing democratic government, but made no real moves in that direction. NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 but remained under house arrest.
In 1997 Burma was admitted to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and SLORC was renamed the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). In 2003 new Prime Minister Khin Nyunt proposed holding a convention on drafting a new constitution as part of "road map" to democracy. The convention opened in 2004.
In January 2007, China and Russia vetoed a draft US resolution at the UN Security Council urging Burma to stop persecuting minority and opposition groups. In a rare departure from its normally neutral stance, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in June 2007 accused the SPDC of abusing the rights of the Burmese people.
During August-October 2007 public protests, sparked by fuel price hikes, led to dozens of activists, including many monks, being arrested. The UN Security Council on Oct. 11, 2007, adopted a non-binding presidential statement condemning the military crackdown on the peaceful protesters.
In April 2008 the SPDC finally published its proposed new constitution, which allocated a quarter of the seats in the legislature to the military and banned opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from holding office. The constitution was to be put to national referendum the following month. In May, despite the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis, the referendum proceeded. The SPDC announced that 92 per cent of voters had voted in favour of the draft constitution. The SPDC renewed Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest.
