The Catastrophe in Burma/Myanmar Continues

Now, the UN is suspending its humanitarian aid shipments to Burma because the junta is now seizing supplies provided.

Myanmar's junta seized U.N. aid shipments Friday meant for a multitude of hungry and homeless survivors of last week's devastating cyclone, forcing the world body to suspend further help.

The aid included 38 tons of high-energy biscuits and arrived in Myanmar on Friday on two flights from Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.

"All of the food aid and equipment that we managed to get in has been confiscated," U.N. World Food Program spokesman Risley said.

"For the time being, we have no choice but to end further efforts to bring critical needed food aid into Myanmar at this time," he said.

At least 62,000 people are dead or missing in Myanmar, entire villages are submerged in the Irrawaddy delta and aid groups warned that the area is on the verge of a medical disaster.

The U.N. has grown increasingly critical of Myanmar's military rulers' refusal to let foreign aid workers into the country while the junta appeared overwhelmed and more than 1 million homeless people waited for food, medicine and shelter.

The junta is more concerned about its own survival than that of the citizens of Burma.

And the death toll will only continue growing as the junta continues down this path. The seizures were from aid delivered by the World Food Program, which could have fed 95,000 people. The Thai government is trying to play intermediary to get the junta to allow humanitarian relief workers access to the country so that the relief and recovery efforts can begin in earnest.

The Thai leader is acting as a go-between for Britain and the United States, as well as major aid donors which have been frustrated by the Burmese military's insistence that it alone control the distribution of relief supplies.

So far only 11 regime-approved aid fights have landed in Rangoon.

But Thailand's foreign minister says Burma's position on international aid is becoming "more flexible" and he is sure Burma's government will welcome foreign humanitarian assistance.

He made the statement after a telephone conversation with his Burmese counterpart.

The Burmese government has deported a number of foreign aid workers, including two United Nations disaster experts.

It says it wants cash and supplies, not personnel.

Cash and supplies can very quickly disappear into the ether. Personnel on the ground can make it more likely that the aid goes where it is supposed to - the victims of the cyclone.

The idea that the Pentagon might consider food drops into Burma without permission is a very sticky subject as they do not have permission to conduct such operations. While the US military has airlift capabilities in the region, conducting any air drops without permission is not something being considered at this time.

'I cannot imagine us going in without the permission of the Myanmar government,' Gates said at a Pentagon press conference with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Asked if it would be helpful to victims for the U.S. to drop supplies, Mullen said: 'We could. Typically, though, it's sovereign airspace and you'd need their permission to fly in that airspace.'

'It's all tied to sovereignty, which we respect whether it's on the ground or in the air,' Mullen said.

Luu told a State Department press conference earlier that air drops are often inefficient, could have broader international legal implications and that the best option would be for Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, to accept the aid.

At least one commenter on this blog wondered about whether we could do airdrops into Burma along the lines of the Berlin airlift. The key difference between the situations is that Berlin was an international city divided between the Soviets and the West with established air corridors. The planes could fly through those corridors without violating sovereignty. Here, we would be flying into Burma violating the sovereignty of the country.

UPDATE:
The UN now says that relief flights will resume tomorrow, as more bad weather is expected in the region. That's despite the fact that negotiations are continuing over the tons of relief aid seized by the junta.