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Open Society Institute Denounces Burmese Junta's Slow Response to Cyclone Nargis

NEW YORK—The Open Society Institute calls on Burma's military rulers to lift their unjustifiable restrictions on the movement of aid organizations in the wake of Cyclone Nargis. To date, Burma's military regime—the State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC—has refused to allow foreign aid workers access to the most devastated areas of the Irrawaddy delta region, preventing help from reaching those most in need. The regime continues to stall on issuing visas to aid personnel from the United Nations and international nongovernmental organizations that stand ready to provide assistance.

The devastating cyclone on May 2 plunged Burma into the worst humanitarian disaster in the country's modern history. The hardest-hit areas of the country are also its most populous; 24 million of the country's 53 million people live in the five regions where the cyclone caused the most damage. The junta now admits that upwards of 41,000 dead, 60,000 missing persons, and 1.5 million homeless. In the coming days, this toll may once again prove to be too low—the International Federation of Red Cross today estimated that nearly 128,000 Burmese citizens have died.

"The Burmese regime's refusal to allow critical international aid and assistance into the stricken area is unconscionable, but sadly consistent with the neglect of health care for the population even without a disaster," said Maureen Aung-Thwin, director of the Open Society Institute's Burma Project.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), a large span of the coastal region still remains submerged under floodwaters—unreachable because the SPDC has prohibited helicopter access. InterAction, an umbrella network of non-governmental organizations, reports that upwards of 200 camps have sprung up along the outskirts of the delta region, each sheltering as many as 3,500 storm refugees.

If you would like to make personal donations, we recommend supporting the following organizations:

U.S. Campaign for Burma
Avaaz
World Vision
Save the Children
MSF Holland
Mae Tao Clinic

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