News & Articles on Burma-Tuesday, 29 March, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Tuesday, 29 March, 2011
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Ex-General and current PM Thein Sein will be sworn in as new President of Burma
Burma: Disastrous
Australian editor granted bail in Burma
Myanmar to swear in president in days
Thein Sein and Cabinet Scheduled to be Sworn in on Wednesday
Misery Continues for Earthquate Victims
Oil Companies Complicit in Burma Right Abuses: ERI
Praise for Burma's Quake Response
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Ex-General and current PM Thein Sein will be sworn in as new President of Burma
By Zin Linn Mar 29, 2011 11:20PM UTC

Burma will swear in its new president within two days – 30 or 31 March – paving the way for the imminent transfer of power from the ruling junta to a nominally civilian government, Burmese officials said on Tuesday,

‘The president will be sworn in tomorrow. If they cannot hold it tomorrow, it will be the day after tomorrow,’ the official told AFP. ‘After he is sworn in, the ruling State Peace and Development Council will hand over power to the new government.’

According to the Irrawaddy News, Members of Parliament, who are now attending Parliament meetings in Naypyidaw, said that officials invited them to be present at the swearing-in ceremony at the Parliament building tomorrow morning.

Parliament officials told us to come to the building by 10 a.m. tomorrow. They just told us it was for the swearing-in ceremony, but didn’t tell us exactly when it would take place. But some officials said it would be around 11 a.m, said a Lower House MP from the Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP), which won last November’s controversial election.

Burma’s current Prime Minister, Thein Sein (66), was chosen on 4 February as the country’s president. The Parliament in Naypyidaw announced Thein Sein as president after choosing him from a secret ballot of three vice-presidential nominees.

The elected president has the right to shape a cabinet, which is packed with members of the military-backed USDP. The president will also take a seat on the new National Defense and Security Council to control the armed forces.

Furthermore, the president, with the approval of the Union Parliament or combination of the upper and lower houses, has to designate the Ministries of the Union Government as necessary and can increase or decrease the number.

According to most political analysts, whoever turn out to be president, the fate of the people and the country may be maintained the status quo because military elite have seized all the business-opportunities and economic privileges prior to the legislative assemblies.

Moreover, infrequent armed clashes has been going on in recent months between the junta’s troops and armed ethnic groups such as the Karen National Union (KNU), the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) Brigade 5, the Shan State Army–North (SSA-North) and Shan State Army-South (SSA-South).

In state-run media, the junta also condemned the Second Panglong Initiative or National Reconciliation forum raised by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and some prominent ethnic leaders as an unnecessary approach.

The nation risks a return of armed conflict due to denial of a true federal system in the 2008 Constitution drawn by the incumbent military junta.

Prime Minister Thein Sein, who threw away his army uniform to contest controversial elections last year, was in February named for the top job in the new parliament, which critics fear is masking ongoing army rule.

Alongside the swearing-in ceremony for the president and the new cabinet, there will be declaration identifying who will be fixed to which ministry. Thein Sein has already nominated 30 would-be ministers for 34 ministries earlier without stating who was appointed to which ministry.

The perspective is clearly apparent that the departing junta’s power network is still energetic to keep on running the country for not less than next 5 to 10 years. The military will be at the helm as usual. Even though the governmental composition has to change, the military-first policies will be the same as always. And civil war with the ethnic armed groups will not be stopped beyond a doubt.

Therefore, the greater part of Burmese citizens does not observe anything good in these results although General Thein Sein changed himself into a civilian President U Thein Sein.

To the majority of people, the current parliamentary sessions will make no change to the living standard of the country. So, people will unavoidably have to hunt for valid political reform.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/51420/ex-general-and-current-pm-thein-sein-will-be-sworn-in-as-new-president-of-burma/
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Burma: Disastrous
How the Burmese government might exploit last week’s earthquake.
by David Scott Mathieson
Published in:
The New Republic
March 29, 2011

Burma's political isolation doesn't make it immune from nature. Thursday's major earthquake, of 6.8 magnitude, struck the northeast of the country, in Shan State. Preliminary reports put the death toll at more than 150, and there are reports of widespread destruction of buildings, bridges, and roads, including 250 houses and Buddhist monasteries destroyed. Given the rugged terrain and poor communication resources, it may be some time before the real human and material toll is known. But don't expect Burmese authorities to rush out with updated damage assessments and calls for assistance, or to hasten to the scene to help those affected: natural disasters are national security secrets in Burma. Complicating this particular disaster is the fact that the area where the earthquake struck is a zone of ongoing, violent conflict between the Burmese government and insurgent forces-a conflict that authorities are eager to eliminate. There's reason to believe that, among its many shameful responses to disaster, the government's reaction to the quake might prove its worst yet.

The Burmese military regime has a terrible record of managing recovery after natural disasters. Nearly three years ago, Cyclone Nargis destroyed large parts of the Irrawaddy Delta and parts of the former capital, Rangoon, leaving 140,000 people dead and destroying the homes and livelihoods of two million more. It took days for the real extent of the damage to get out, but, once it did, the international community reacted with generous offers of support. Yet the then-ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) wasn't interested, saying outside assistance wasn't necessary-when, in reality, it feared aid could compromise state security. Meanwhile, Burma's tiny civil society tried to work around official obstructions. A coalition of professional aid workers, political dissidents, cultural figures, businesspeople, and volunteers staged a major relief effort. Threatened by this group of independent actors, however, the military arrested and imprisoned scores of community aid workers who criticized the government's response to Nargis, including Burma's most famous comedian, Zargana, who received a 35-year sentence. Eventually, under the weight of concerted international pressure, the junta slowly opened its doors to international aid-but, once this aid finally rolled in, the SPDC took credit for most of it.

In October 2010, Cyclone Giri struck western Burma, devastating the town of Kyaukphyu, killing around 200 people, and rendering thousands homeless. The government acted marginally better than it did after Nargis, permitting international and Burmese aid workers access to the area, but it still retained strict controls on movement and numbers of personnel allowed into the affected area. And aid donors barely responded to Giri-it wasn't covered as extensively in the foreign media, and, by then, many donors had also become wary of the official neglect that had hindered Burma's response to previous disasters.

Nargis and Giri-and now, most likely, the earthquake-have laid bare Burma's desperate humanitarian needs and the contempt the junta shows for its own people. Decades of military mismanagement has pushed Burma into the bottom reaches of development statistics: the worst maternal health system in Asia after Afghanistan, one-third of its citizens in poverty, and a decaying education system that is producing a new generation of illiterate, no-skills labor. After sham elections in November 2010, the new government allocated 24 percent of the state budget to military spending, but only 1.3 percent to health and 4.1 percent to education. And, based on previous experience with disasters, the world shouldn't expect that anything will change after the earthquake: The government response will be virtually no assistance or compassion for the affected area. What's more, if the junta allows foreign agencies to spend money on relief work, it will likely take credit for and advantage of it.

The earthquake, however, does have a markedly different political dynamic than previous disasters. Eastern Shan State, around the epicenter of the quake, is a sensitive area. Apart from the main road to the regional capital of Kengtung, it is closed to foreigners, because it is home to continued armed conflict between the junta and anti-government rebels, as well as massive narcotics production and smuggling, protected in large part by the Burmese army. The country's incoming president, former Lieutenant General Thein Sein, was the regional army commander of this area from 1997 to 2001, and he oversaw an intensifying conflict between the Burmese army and ethnic Shan insurgents. His time in the region also saw a massive explosion in the manufacture of cheap methamphetamines by the United Wa State Army (UWSA), Asia's largest narco-army, which, unlike the Shan insurgents, has maintained a shaky ceasefire with the central government for 22 years in exchange for being allowed to expand its drug empire. Today, the ruling military provides limited social services to Shan State, spending more time fighting insurgents and accruing kickbacks from the drug trade, logging, and smuggling than fostering genuine development.

What will this mean going forward after the quake? United Nations agencies are already starting impact assessments in the affected area, but it is unlikely that any relief operation will be able to access areas deemed security zones by the Burmese army, which includes most of the area north of the border town of Tachilek, which was badly damaged. Aid workers are already being hampered from delivering assistance due to damaged roads and travel restrictions imposed by the army. The junta could also send in even more troops under the auspices of humanitarian relief, in an effort to clamp down more tightly than ever on the Shan rebels. A complex conflict, in other words, could take on yet another layer of tension-kicking the possibility of peace even further down an already long road.

As other disasters in Burma have shown, the junta's response to its people's desperation is predicated on self interest and regime survival. In Shan State, their quality of mercy will likely be even worse than usual.

David Scott Mathieson is a senior researcher in the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/03/29/burma-disastrous
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Australian editor granted bail in Burma

Posted 28 minutes ago

A Burmese court has granted bail to an Australian newspaper boss, who said he would continue to fight a prosecution that some have suggested stems from a power struggle.

Ross Dunkley, co-founder of the Myanmar Times, the country's only newspaper with foreign investment, is on trial in Kamaryut Township court on charges of assaulting a 29-year-old woman and breaching immigration rules.

He was arrested in the military-dominated country on February 12 and held in Rangoon's notorious Insein prison until he was bailed on Tuesday for 10 million kyat.

"I'll be staying in the country and will continue to fight the case. I just can't believe there is a case," Mr Dunkley said after his release.

"There is no witness, there is no evidence. I have no intention to let this go on."

Paul Downie, a friend of Mr Dunkley, said the Australian's lawyers argued that no court had passed any order that he had committed a crime in relation to alleged immigration breaches.

"They argued that filing these proceedings amounted to unilaterally passing judgment upon Ross before any court had done so and therefore was against the law and Ross should be discharged," he said in a statement.

The woman Mr Dunkley is accused of assaulting, Khine Sar Win, has previously asked for her complaint to be withdrawn, saying she was pregnant and unable to travel to court, but her request was rejected.

Shortly after Mr Dunkley's arrest, a business partner in Cambodia, David Armstrong, suggested the newspaper editor was the victim of a dispute at his company.

His arrest "coincides with tense and protracted discussions" between foreign and domestic investors in the paper, Mr Armstrong said in a statement.

Mr Dunkley co-founded the Myanmar Times in 2000 with local partner Sonny Swe, the son of an influential member of the junta's military intelligence service.

But Sonny Swe was jailed in 2005 and his 51 per cent stake in the paper's publisher Myanmar Consolidated Media (MCM) handed to Tin Tun Oo, who is thought to be close to the regime's information minister.

Since his jailing, Mr Dunkley has been replaced by Tin Tun Oo as chief executive of MCM, which is 49-per cent controlled by the Australian and his foreign partners.

Tin Tun Oo paid half of Mr Dunkley's bail sum, having said earlier this month that there was no business dispute.

Some observers believe that Mr Dunkley - who as a foreigner blazed a trail in Burma's tightly controlled media industry - fell out of favour with the ruling elite in the authoritarian country.

Trevor Wilson, an academic and former Australian ambassador to Burma, said last month the brash Australian may be the victim of a bid to secure control of the Myanmar Times.

"It has been suggested to me that they want to get him out of the country and get control of his magazine all for free and if that is the case they will probably succeed," he said.

Mr Wilson was doubtful that the case would have much impact on foreign investors' stance towards the country - the target of Western sanctions - as "there is enough to put them off anyway".

"But it is a very important case - a tiny media outlet pushing the boundaries where they haven't been before," he said.

The next hearing is on April 4.

- AFP http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/30/3177188.htm?section=justin
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STRAITS TIMES
Myanmar to swear in president in days

Prime Minister Thein Sein, who shed his army uniform to contest controversial elections last year, was in February named for the top job in the new parliament, which critics fear is masking ongoing army rule. -- PHOTO: AP

YANGON - MYANMAR will swear in its new president within two days, paving the way for the imminent transfer of power from the ruling junta to a nominally civilian government, officials said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Thein Sein, who shed his army uniform to contest controversial elections last year, was in February named for the top job in the new parliament, which critics fear is masking ongoing army rule.

'The president will be sworn in tomorrow. If they cannot hold it tomorrow, it will be the day after tomorrow,' the official told AFP.

'After he is sworn in, the ruling State Peace and Development Council will hand over power to the new government.' -- AFP http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_650666.html
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Thein Sein and Cabinet Scheduled to be Sworn in on Wednesday
By WAI MOE Tuesday, March 29, 2011

While local authorities in Rangoon and other cities remove the signs of local “Peace and Development Councils,” Burma's president-elect, Thein Sein, and his cabinet are preparing to be sworn in on Wednesday in Naypyidaw ahead of the start of the 2011-12 financial year.

Members of Parliament who are currently attending Hluttaw, or Parliament, meetings in Naypyidaw said that officials invited them to attend the swearing-in ceremony at the Hluttaw building tomorrow morning.

“Hluttaw officials told us to come to the building by 10 a.m. tomorrow. They just told us it was for the swearing-in ceremony, but didn't tell us exactly when it would take place. But some officials said it would be around 11 a.m,,” said a Lower House MP from the Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP), which won last November's controversial election.

Another Lower House MP from a pro-democracy party said he was also told by Hluttaw officials to show up at the appointed time, but only learned later, after speaking to a USDP MP, the purpose of the gathering.

Alongside the swearing-in ceremony for the president and the new cabinet, there will be announcements specifying who will be appointed to which ministry.

The names of 30 ministers came out in February, but since then there has been no clarification as to which of the government's 34 ministries they will head. Only three ministers appointed by the command-in-chief of the armed forces, Snr-Gen Than Shwe—Lt-Gen Ko Ko, Maj-Gen Hla Min and Maj-Gen Thein Htay—have been assigned to specific ministerial posts.

Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony in Naypyidaw, sources in Rangoon and Pegu reported that local authorities had taken down signs at the offices of township- and ward-level Peace and Development Councils.

“The sign of the Ward Peace and Development Council was replaced with the sign of the ward administration office,” said a resident of Pegu.

Meanwhile, Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of North Korea’s Supreme People's Assembly, sent a message of condolence to Thein Sein, addressing him as “President of Myanmar,” on Monday, according to Pyongyang’s Korean Central News Agency.

“He [Kim Yong Nam] expressed the belief that the President and the government of Myanmar [Burma] would eradicate the aftermath of the disaster and stabilize the living of the earthquake stricken people at an early date,” the North Korean media reported. http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21032
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Misery Continues for Earthquate Victims
By SAW YAN NAING Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Five days after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake which devastated eastern Shan State, aid groups have reported that thousands of survivors are lacking clean drinking water while being forced to live in shelters hit by serious diarrhea outbreaks.

Reporters for The Irrawaddy visited some of the affected regions and revealed that relief supplies are only being distributing to victims in vehicle-accessible areas, such as Tarlay. But inhabitants of several remote villages, especially the ethnic Lahu village of Jakuni, have been largely forgotten.

According to local sources, 85 people died in Jakuni Village alone although only 31 dead bodies have been recovered so far. And the whole village has developed a putrid stench owing to the remaining corpses jammed underground.

One of the most important jobs now is to provide access to purified drinking water and temporary shelters, according to Chris Herink, a spokesperson at World Vision in Shan State.

He said that 96 cases of diarrhea were discovered yesterday in three of the most affected settlements along Nar Yaung Village track.

“In response to this, we distributed 500 packages of oral rehydration solution. We also continue to contribute water purification tablets,” he added.

Despite aid being delivered, it is currently in insufficient quantities, and there is dire need for purified drinking water and shelters in the 13 most affected villages.

Herink said that World Vision will focus on trying to support 175,000 households in these 13 villages.

The government has so far reported that some 305 houses, 11 schools and 31 religious buildings have been destroyed in the region. However, residents expect the true loss of life and property will be much higher. Some believe as many as 200 people have died in the vicinity.

Ca Mu, a resident of affected Yanshin Village, told The Irrawaddy: “Drinking water is urgently needed now. People in Jakuni are suffering worse than most. We appeal for help to anyone who can help us in any way possible.”

He said that sewage came out of the ground and polluted water supplies after the earthquake, and two children then became sick after drinking this unclean water. People in Jakuni Village are now in great need of food, clothes, water, medicine, raincoats and shelter.

It was also reported that the government is afraid of delivering aid to Jakuni Village as it is close to ethnic armed groups such as the Wa and Shan armed factions. There has recently been stoked tensions in the region due to some groups rejecting the junta's Border Guard Force plan.

Neighbors have been forced to help each other through the crisis as NGO aid organizations apparently did not reach Jakuni Village. Residents claim this is because the area was not in their mission list.

Ca Mu said, “We, the Lahus people, collected some money and bought them 700 pieces of clothing. World Vision only help their target villages, but Jakuni is not one of them.”

While the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs praised the Burmese government for quicky getting aid and supplies to earthquake victims, Ca Mu said that junta troops forcibly seized some raincoats destined for survivors. They were being taken from a village—known as Me Yan Gate locally—to earthquake victims in Jakuni Village.

“I dont know what they are going to do with them, but it seems like they are going to use them for military purposes,” said Ca Mu.


“Many people do not want to donate things because they [government troops] control all the donations. If they didn’t do this then lots of people would want to donate,” he added.

Residents in Tarlay said that a damaged bridge in the town was temporarily rebuilt by local authorities and small vehicles such as taxis and motorbikes are now able to cross.

Herink said that World Vision also built six child-friendly humanitarian bases in Shan State. Youngsters can take shelter for safety, play and learning while receiving nutritional support. Their parents can then try to make a living to reestablish their livelihood, he added.

Herink said, however, that he found logistic difficulties in transporting additional supplies and aid from Rangoon to Shan State.

“It is a very long distance. It is estimated that the supplies convoy takes between five to six days to reach affected areas,” he said.

In order to support the speedy transfer of aid, Herink also said that World Vision is enquiring about sourcing some imported relief supplies from Thailand. World Vision is therefore attempting to negotiate concessions from both the Thai and Burmese border authorities to facilitate the move.

“We are now in the process of assessing whether or not it is possible because it is a shorter distance than Rangoon,” he said. Local authorities at the Mae Sai border said that Burmese authorities have not yet officially allowed aid groups to cross the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge to enter the Burmese town of Tachilek and help the earthquake victims. http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21033
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Oil Companies Complicit in Burma Right Abuses: ERI
By HTET AUNG Tuesday, March 29, 2011

A report released on Tuesday by EarthRights International (ERI) claims that the multinational oil companies involved in the Sino-Burmese oil and gas pipeline project are complicit in land confiscation, forced labor, arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as various violations of indigenous rights of the ethnic minorities in the affected regions.

“The contracts between the foreign companies and the Burmese state-owned company MOGE specify that the Burmese Army will provide security for the projects,” said Paul Donowitz, the campaign director of US-based ERI and co-author of the new report titled, “The Burma-China Pipelines: Human Rights Violations, Applicable Law, and Revenue Secrecy.”

“There are at least 28 army battalions already stationed along the pipeline route, and ERI is deeply concerned that the project will inevitably lead to more serious human right abuses against local population,” he said.

According to the report: “The companies are on notice that if such abuses do occur, they will be complicit. The French oil giant Total and the American oil major Unocal (Chevron) ignored warnings about their projects in Burma. As a result, local people suffered terrible [harm] and the companies were forced to compensate local victims of human rights abuse while their international reputations suffered greatly. We hope the Chinese, Korean, and Indian companies learn a lesson and postpone their projects.”

Asked about any possible legal action against the companies involved in the pipeline construction, Matthew Smith, a senior consultant with ERI and a co-author of the report, said, “There is no legal action plan currently being undertaken, but it is not outside the realms of possibility that these companies will be legally accountable in the future.”

The March 29 report highlighted that the most common human rights violations to date due to the pipeline construction have been “land confiscation, inadequate compensation, [and] a lack of … informed consent of the local people.”

ERI noted, however, that it still hasn't conducted an overall social impact assessment along the pipeline.

“There are significant populations affected by the project,” said Smith. “But we don't have any specific assessment figure of the overall population because there is no transparency on the part of the companies involved in the project nor from the Burmese government.”

Regarding the aims of the report, Smith said, “The primary goal is to prevent negative impacts from the project, and to raise awareness among the investors who will eventually be accountable for the abuses.”

Asked whether he thought the multinational companies will take action after reading the ERI report, Smith said, “In some way, we hope that the companies will make attempts to maintain their international reputation because they are aware of the negative impacts happening [in the projects].”

According to ERI, Daewoo International of South Korea is currently the main investor in the pipeline, possessing a 51 percent share in the offshore Shwe Gas fields in the Bay of Bengal, while China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is the main investor and operator on the onshore gas pipeline construction, possessing a 51 percent share.

Other oil companies involved in the project are: Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS); onGC Videsh; the Gas Authority of India (GAIL); and Burma's state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).

Last year, the China Development Bank Cooperation signed a contract with the Burmese junta for a loan of US $2.4 billion to construct the dual oil and gas pipelines, which will be able to carry 12 million tons of crude oil per year and 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas to China through pipelines more than 1,000 kilometers in length, from Kyaukpyu on Ramree Island in Arakan State to Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan Province.
http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21030
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Praise for Burma's Quake Response

Daniel Schearf | Bangkok March 29, 2011
A soldier injects medicine into an earthquake survivor at a temple in Minelin March 27, 2011.
Photo: Reuters

Humanitarian organizations giving relief for last week’s deadly earthquake in Burma have praised authorities for their quick response and the sharing of information.

At least 74 people in Burma, and one woman in Thailand, were killed and over 100 injured. But aid organizations say there was a noticeable change in government attitude from past disasters when foreign help was hindered by red tape and suspicion.

Aid organizations in Burma are complimenting the way authorities reacted to a deadly earthquake that hit the country last week.

The 6.8 magnitude quake late Thursday rocked a remote area near Burma's eastern border with Laos and Thailand and was felt as far away as Bangkok and Hanoi.


Hundreds of houses in Shan State, home to the Shan minority, were destroyed or damaged along with schools and monasteries.

Humanitarian organizations scrambled to get emergency supplies to the disaster area. But, unlike past disasters, they say they were impressed by the government’s response.

Chris Herink, Burma country director for World Vision, a Christian aid organization that has staff members living near the earthquake hit area, says Burma’s Relief and Resettlement Department contacted them about providing emergency supplies.

"Very soon after the quake they actually made a request to World Vision to provide food and water," he says. "Subsequently the Ministry of Health has asked us to provide the water purification tablets. It's actually at their request that we've done this. So, that's very positive first and foremost in that they are relying not only on their own capacity but the expertise and resources of other partners to help in this response."

Herink says World Vision was able to quickly provide food and water for over 1,000 villagers left homeless by the earthquake as well as materials for hundreds of temporary shelters.

Burma authorities allowed World Vision and other aid groups as well as the United Nations to quickly access the areas most affected in Tachileik, Tarlay and Mong Lin.

Humanitarian organizations say they are also sharing information on causalities and damage to infrastructure faster than past disasters.

Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva, says authorities in Burma, also known as Myanmar, reacted swiftly and efficiently to the emergency.

"Since the last major disaster in Myanmar I think step by step the authorities have understood what the UN and the NGO can do for them and the kind of neutral and impartial assistance they can deliver to the population," says Byrs.

The cooperation stands in stark contrast to May 2008 when Burma was hit by Cyclone Nargis, the worst natural disaster in the country's history.

Nargis swept across the Irrawaddy Delta killing 140,000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless. But Burma’s military rulers for weeks obstructed emergency aid and foreign workers from reaching those in need.

Herink says they learned a lot from Cyclone Nargis and hopefully trust more in humanitarian groups.

Relief workers say the focus now in the earthquake disaster area is to provide clean drinking water. The quake damaged water storage tanks and pipes and water supplies were contaminated.

Burma is also entering its rainy season raising the risk of landslides which could further complicate relief efforts.
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Praise-for-Burmas-Quake-Response--118833949.html