Donors conference in Rangoon

by Mizzima News

Sunday, 25 May 2008 22:27

Rangoon - Sunday's international pledging conference in Rangoon regarding cyclone relief, and attended by representatives of approximately 50 countries, continued to be plagued by the shadowy machinations of politics behind both words and amidst rumors.  Despite public appeals from humanitarian actors and the Burmese government, among others, that politics should play no role in the dispersion of relief following May 2nd's devastating cyclone that left at least 135,000 dead and well over two million in need of assistance, politics is very much still the name of the game in conflict raven Burma.   The most obvious political card in play revolves around the future of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose fifth year of detention came to a close on May 24th. Under existing Burmese law, she cannot be further detained under the accusation of her being a threat to the security of the state. Rumors circulated Rangoon yesterday through communities linked with the political opposition that she had been released to visit the storm hit region of the delta. These proved untrue. However, sources close to local opposition party officials today stated she had in fact been visited by officials on Saturday, albeit with the content of presumed discussions remaining unknown. What is known, however, is that the junta's constitutional referendum is in the books and assured passage; a result that Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy says they will contest in court. In the face of the junta's apparent success in its referendum polling, Suu Kyi's hoped for release is not simply a function of international pressure resulting from a flawed cyclone relief strategy, it is instead very much a function of the changing domestic political scene. If the referendum is left to stand, it will restrict political space and considerably diminish the potential impact for opposition parties within the legally defined political theater and, as a corollary, cement the military's role in Burmese politics. Responding to today's international relief conference, the National League for Democracy issued a statement today stating that "effective international assistance will not be possible until the junta supports general democratic change", an official position that assuredly will not bring the disparate sides closer together in the face of a national emergency. However, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his opening speech pleaded not to politicize the issue but to focus on saving lives. "Our focus should be on saving lives and helping Myanmar [Burma] rebuild. We must think about people, just now, not politics," Ban said. "I have said repeatedly, both in remarks to the international community and in my recent conversations with Myanmar authorities, that our immediate challenge is humanitarian," added Ban. Meanwhile, longstanding opponents to the junta's rule continue to rail for more concessions in the wake of the natural disaster. Most vociferously, the United States, - who along with Britain and France are maintaining a naval presence just off Burmese waters purportedly designed for cyclone assistance - are demanding unconditional access to disaster afflicted areas. But such a Western, foreign military presence on Burmese soil, short of an invasion, seems highly imaginative at present. For its part, the United States has boasted that it has already committed over 20 million dollars in aid to cyclone victims. While the final number of money pledged at the conference is still unclear, the European Community, which has already given $72.5 million, offered another $26.8 million. China reportedly pledged a total of $11 million, while Australia and the Philippines pledged $24 and $20 million respectively. South Korea upped an earlier pledge for a total of $2.5 million. As for the Burmese government, its initial announcement of access to the delta region for all aid workers has met its first caveat in the face of an already largely incredulous international community. It transpires that all aid workers will first have to apply for a visa in Bangkok, the logistics and procedure of which are yet to be sufficiently clarified.  On the surface, outside of the obligatory heightened security in the vicinity of Sunday's conference, Rangoon does not appear under any considerable security alert despite the recent conclusion of the potentially momentous events of the constitutional referendum and international aid conference. Yet just under the surface, rumblings of discontent remain distinctly audible at both the relief effort and the political direction of the country. < Prev   Next >