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Ottawa offers DART to Burma while Canadians open wallets

CDN Aviator said:
OK so if they dont change their tune, what do you propose we do ?

Sanctions ?

Invasion ?

Sanctions would be counter-productive to what we want to achieve in Myanmar. Hurting the other inhabitants of the country just to pressure the Junta doesn't seem in line with being sympathetic to the plight of those affected by the cyclone. George Wallace suggested High Altitude Para Drops and I think that would be the only feasible thing to try short of a full-scale invasion (I'm certainly not advocating an invasion), which would most likely not pass the Security Council due to China's seat. If the government did fire on the Para Drops it would just increase the tension within the country and there might be a repeat of the anti-government protests on a larger scale and possibly not so non-violent. The people of Myanmar already dislike the Junta as it is and I don't think they would agree with destroying aid packages that would help their countrymen.

But all of this is speculation and there isn't an easy solution. Hopefully the government will start to open their doors, and the latest news is promising so we'll see what happens.
 
I find it very disheartening that after a such a HUGE natural disaster the Myanmar gov't would not allow other countries to help.  It is mind boggling that they would allow their own countrymen die because, for whatever reason, they don't want help.  It seems very unreasonable and very disappointing, especially when innocent people are dying. 
Hopefully, things will change soon and we will be able to help.
 
ENGINEERS WIFE said:
Hopefully, things will change soon and we will be able to help.

Well, I'm not hopefull on that. Miracles don't happen that way.But I hope that I'll be proven wrong.

Wesley  Down Under said:
Exactly, and from what i am hearing on teh news here, the junta is disgusting, including attaching the names ofsome  Generals on to some aid packaging.

It would not matter that much to me if at least they let in enough help to save their own people.


Add:

Waiting to Save Burma , 18 pictures on the Time
 
IMHO,

our best bet to help is China and civillian NGOs, not DART.

Myanmar's military leadership is , IMHO, more likely to accept civillian organizations rather than foreign ( specialy western) military forces on its teritory.
 
Well not about DART but still part of the Burma Relief.

Media Advisory
Canadian Forces to Transport Emergency Relief Supplies for Burma
MA-08.010 - May 13, 2008

TRENTON, ON – Forty metric tonnes of emergency relief supplies will be loaded onto a CC-177 Globemaster III aircraft at CFB Trenton tomorrow, for delivery to Bangkok, Thailand. This shipment is part of the initial $2 million commitment Canada made on May 5, 2008 to respond to Tropical Cyclone Nargis.

When: Wednesday, May 14, 2008. Aircraft loading will start at 0800 and aircraft will depart at 1300 hrs Eastern Time. Aircraft loading may only take 1-2 hours.

Where: CFB Trenton, 2 Air Movement Squadron Passenger Terminal, North off highway #2.

- 30 -

Note to editors / news directors: Members of the media planning to attend the event may contact 8 Wing PAO for more information. On the day of the event, members of the media are asked to liaise directly with Maj Isabelle Robitaille, Senior 8 Wing PAO, 613-392-2811 ext 4565

 
Meanwhile yet another tropical storm is forecast to hit the delta in the next 24 hours.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080513/burma_newstorm_080514/20080514?hub=TopStories


 
Gimpy said:
Sanctions would be counter-productive to what we want to achieve in Myanmar. Hurting the other inhabitants of the country just to pressure the Junta doesn't seem in line with being sympathetic to the plight of those affected by the cyclone. George Wallace suggested High Altitude Para Drops and I think that would be the only feasible thing to try short of a full-scale invasion (I'm certainly not advocating an invasion), which would most likely not pass the Security Council due to China's seat. If the government did fire on the Para Drops it would just increase the tension within the country and there might be a repeat of the anti-government protests on a larger scale and possibly not so non-violent. The people of Myanmar already dislike the Junta as it is and I don't think they would agree with destroying aid packages that would help their countrymen.

But all of this is speculation and there isn't an easy solution. Hopefully the government will start to open their doors, and the latest news is promising so we'll see what happens.

They seem to be allowing the US to send in supplies, so thats a start (or maybe the US are just sending it anyway). 

I think a certain US government agency should do something that they haven't done since the Cold war and solve this problem  ;D



Edited to fix typo
 
NL_engineer said:
I think a cretin US  government agency should do something that they haven't done since the Cold war and solve this problem  ;D

I hope that "cretin" is a typo for "certain" otherwise that agency might be paying a classified visit to your house for insulting them.  ;)
 
Hey, THIS'LL increase donors' confidence in the help being put to good use...

Burma cyclone: Burmese officials selling emergency aid supplies in local marketsBy Alan Brown in Yangonpauk
Last updated: 7:48 AM BST 13/05/2008

Officials in Burma's cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta area are appropriating emergency aid supplies and selling them in local markets, it was claimed on Monday.

Burmese volunteers who are operating their own private aid missions to the area have said that they are having to hide from local apparatchiks in order to prevent them commandeering their aid and selling it on at markets.

The Telegraph learned of the alleged scam from a Burmese businessman from Rangoon, who was leading one of dozens of private relief missions distributing supplies of rice, biscuits and clothing around the flood-hit delta area on Monday.

The volunteers had covered the back of their pick up truck with a tarpaulin so that local officials could not see what they were doing.

"If they see our relief supplies, they will come over and say 'don’t worry, give that to us, we will distribute it for you',” he said.

"But we know that for every ten sacks of rice we give them, only four will reach the people.

"The other six will end up being sold by that official on a market in some local town. Rice prices are very high right now and that official will then make a good profit ....
 
Canadian shelters headed for Burma arrive in Thailand
Last Updated: Saturday, May 17, 2008 | 4:59 PM ET
CBC News
The first Canadian aid shipment to help people in Burma cope with a devastating and deadly cyclone arrived in Thailand on Saturday morning, two weeks after the storm hit.

A military C-17 aircraft containing about 2,000 shelter kits — which include tarps, ropes, hammers, nails and other equipment to construct temporary homes — landed in Bangkok after a flight that began Wednesday at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in eastern Ontario.

The supplies will be transferred onto cargo flights into Burma over the next two days, under the supervision of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent.

The Canadian Red Cross said once the smaller shipments reach Rangoon the kits will be distributed by Red Cross volunteers on the ground.

The aid shipment is part of a $2-million Canadian commitment to the relief efforts in Burma.

"It's very rewarding to be able to bring this to people who really need it and hopefully save lives," said Maj. Jeremy Reynolds, a pilot for Canada's Armed Forces.

Despite the two million people in Burma without shelter, most in the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta region, the isolationist junta that controls the country continues to refuse entry to foreign aid workers.

The military regime says Cyclone Nargis left about 78,000 people dead, while the Red Cross says the number is probably 128,000, with many more deaths possible from disease and starvation unless help is provided quickly to survivors.

In an effort to showcase its relief efforts, the junta flew a group of diplomats to Irrawaddy on Saturday, diplomats and UN officials said. It is not clear if the diplomats will be allowed to see anything more than the stage-managed relief camp the junta is expected to put on display.

The diplomats were expected to return to Rangoon later Saturday.

Heavy rains have lashed the delta for the last two days, hampering relief operations. While some aid is getting to the disaster zone, rainy weather and washed-out roads are slowing vehicles.

Lack of clean water will be the "biggest killer" in the Irrawaddy Delta in the coming days, Thomas Gurtner, the head of operations for the International Red Cross, told the Associated Press in Geneva.
 
Some countries have been critical about the amount of aid Canada has committed itself to providing.

What they don't consider is that the 2 milion was only an initial committment AND until such time as we can see where the money is going to go, it would be silly to committ more.... IMHO
 
The Red Cross and CIDA material that is being transported to Thailand by our C-17s is begin handed directly over (through Canada's Ambassador) to the Red Cross.  They will be distributing the material directly to the people who need it through their indigenous network in SE Asia.

The material we deliver does NOT go into the hands of the Burmese Govt.

 
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