Should the International Community force humanitarian intervention in Burma?

by Mizzima News

Friday, 09 May 2008 16:41

Despite more than 100,000 deaths and over 1.5 million being rendered homeless in Burma's Irrawaddy delta after the killer Cyclone Nargis struck last weekend, United Nations said aid for the victims could not effectively reach the hapless because of the government imposed restrictions on entry. France, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, felt that the UN should not wait anymore for the military rulers of Burma to give permission but barge in and provide humanitarian aid to over 1 million homeless people and conduct a massive rescue mission for more than 60,000 people known to be missing. Mizzima presents some of the views and opinions that people have on the so-called 'Humanitarian Intervention'. Myint Aye – (Member of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters, Inside Burma) The Universal Declaration on Human Rights clearly states that in helping people in crisis, the right to cross borders exists and there is also the right to receive aid. I am talking about humanitarian aid here, it has nothing to do with politics. Nothing should hinder the aid groups, in their effort to help the millions of people in Burma, who desperately need aid. These people are waiting for death. We welcome every effort in helping these vulnerable people. I can't understand why there should be any kind of restrictions on entry of aid . The power of a country is dependent on peoples' lives. If the people are suffering and are in crisis, what is the use of having power? Aung Naing Oo – Burma observer According to the information I have been getting, the death toll could be up to 200,000. Moreover, there is massive devastation of properties. If the UN has not yet effectively gone in to help, other international community might lose patience. It could be possible that some countries might want to go in despite the restrictions and airdrop food and aid. There could be a 'Humanitarian Intervention'. That's why we are hearing that countries like France and the US are pushing the UN Security Council to take a resolution.  Bo Bo Kyaw Nyien – Burma observer This is the worst ever disaster in the history of Burma. In this crucial time, we need to think only of the suffering of the Burmese people. It is not fair that the government is still imposing restrictions when they cannot handle it themselves. I think the UN should not wait any longer and do anything and everything that could save lives. They could airdrop food and other aid materials. It is important that the survivors should get food to sustain themselves. There is no politics here, we need to save the over 1 million survivors. We should all put politics behind us and rush to the rescue of the survivors, otherwise they will all die. Nyo Ohn Myint – National League for Democracy – Liberated Area If the Burmese military junta is delaying entry of aid it will cost thousands of people their lives. At this time we need 'Humanitarian Intervention'. But it is important that the 'Big five' (permanent members of UN Security Council) need to agree on it. Even as there is diplomatic engagement, people are dying. The problem of the Burmese military junta is power. They are only concerned about sustaining their power, and are not concerned with the lives of the people. So, in this situation carrying out 'Humanitarian intervention' is already late. The UN has the responsibility in this regard. It is no point paying lip-service. Even if the UNSC cannot do anything, if the Secretary-General takes an active role, I believe thousands of lives can be saved. Aung Myo Min – Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) In normal times, a government should respect the rights of its citizens. But in times of crisis, it should not only protect their rights, but also provide humanitarian assistance. And if they are not capable, they should invite the international community's help and cooperate with the aid agencies. It is the worst kind of human rights violation to not accept assistance from international communities while they themselves are not capable of doing it. Denying humanitarian assistance for the suffering people is like killing them slowly. It is a crime against humanity. So, I think there needs to be immediate 'Humanitarian Intervention'. The current situation in Burma is even worse then the 2004 Tsunami. During the Tsunami, the governments appealed for assistance. Now in Burma even though there are more deaths then what the Tsunami had caused in the whole of Asia, the Burmese government is still restricting free flow of aid for the victims. So, I think the international community should no longer wait for the government's permission and apply the UN declaration of the right to provide and receive humanitarian assistance and go into the effected areas and give aid to the needy. I don't think we need further negotiations, if negotiations have failed we need to think of other options on how to reach the people. And if the Burmese military junta attacks humanitarian aid workers, that will be a crime and we will know who the world will support. The Seven Alliance The Seven Alliances, a network of seven anti-junta organizations based outside the country, pointed out that the delay in reaching aid to cyclone victims is contributing to what is already a catastrophic situation in Burma. "We urge the UN and the international community to carry out high-level negotiations with the leaders of the SPDC, to persuade them to open up the country and allow international aid teams unrestricted access," said Dr. Naing Aung, Secretary General of the Forum for Democracy in Burma. "If the SPDC continues to obstruct international assistance, then the world has a responsibility to respond to the life-threatening situation in Burma by invoking the 'Responsibility to Protect' clause, a concept the UN recognized in 2005," he added. Kyaw Than – President, All Burma Students League The United Nations has a mandate that allows the UN to carry out humanitarian intervention, when a nation cannot handle it or is short of resources to handle a humanitarian crisis. The Burmese government is ruthless, even when they knew the storm was coming nearly a week ahead from the Indian meteorologists, they did not inform the people properly. So, the people were not prepared and died. And the death toll is unnecessarily high due to the fault of the government. The death toll now has crossed 100,000 but it seems like another 100,000 will die soon, if aid does not reach them. So, in this time of crisis, the UN should intervene. Because what the junta is doing is genocide. Dr. Tint Swe - Member of Parliament, National Coalition Government of Union of Burma (NCGUB) The international community has been underestimating Burma for a very long time. And in the meantime many things have been happening in Burma. When the natural disaster struck a lot of people lost their lives, and I think the government should not be selfish and must protect people's lives. So, I think the UN should intervene and help people who are suffering. The government today announced that they welcome aid but not aid workers, because of two reasons. They want to take the aid and distribute it themselves in their uniforms and take the credit. The junta wants to utilize this as a political tool, and they are also afraid that the international community might find out the unfair means that they are using to gain supporting votes in the referendum. Thawng Kho Thang – United Nationalities Alliance (UNA) Cyclone Nargis is a natural disaster, and is not man-made. There are countries which suffer due to these kinds of disasters. It is really appalling that the junta should reject help when the international community is offering it. It shows that the junta has no sympathy for the people. This junta is not fit to rule Burma, They do not care about what people think and are only concerned about clinging to power, so they are rejecting help for the people. They should allow aid workers if they really care for the people. They should invite and request help. We are in a crisis and by next week there will be more people dying. So, instead of letting people die, the international community should force their way in and help the people in need without waiting for permission from the government. < Prev   Next >