By D. Arul Rajoo, Bernama,
Bangkok : With over 10,000 people feared dead and millions made homeless by the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, neighbouring countries like Thailand and Malaysia have been asked to provide humanitarian support by easing immigration rules to possible refugees, an exile leader said Tuesday.
Soe Aung, the spokesperson of the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) based in Thailand, said he could not rule out the possibility of thousands of people seeking refuge in other countries following the tropical cyclone that struck the military-ruled country.
“The people who are already suffering will be hard hit by this cyclone. This is a very very big devastation and the government is not prepared at all to undertake relief works,” he told a press conference here Tuesday.
Even before the cyclone, hundreds of Burmese had been seeking better life in neighbouring countries, including Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
The April issue of the Burma Bulletin produced by activists here claimed that the departures of Rohingya boat people to Malaysia has ended as the monsoon season begins while excodus of people from Arakan State to Bangladesh continues.
“We hope Malaysia and Thailand will ease restriction on these people who want to escape the devastation by not arresting them. We hope there will be some mechanism to help them,” he said.
According to reports, Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win had told Asean diplomats in Yangon that more than 10,000 people were killed by the cyclone which struck southeast Myanmar.
Soe said the military junta must allow foreign aid agencies access to affected areas without any condition as imposed previously, adding that the government underestimate the warning of the impending cyclone and was busy preparing for the much-criticised consitution referendum scheduled for this Saturday.
In fact, he said, there were much debate among the top military officials and other government agencies on whether to seek international assistance, before they finally announced that aid are welcomed.
Win Hlaing, the youngest elected representative of the National League for Democracy (NLD) who spent 10 years in prison for political activities, said there was an urgent need for water and food, adding that patients in hospitals were told to go back home as there were no electricity and water.
Both Soe and Win said the military government must postponed the referendum and concentrate on relief work, as well as opening the door for international assistance from experienced agencies who had undertaken similar rescue mission during the tsunami.
The Unicef, meanwhile said it was undertaking urgent preliminary assessments of the devastation caused by cyclone by dispatching five assessment teams to three of the affected areas and life-saving supplies are being moved into position.
The agency said it would would work with partners and the government to provide access to clean water, safe sanitation and improved hygiene, and would seek to protect children and assist them in returning to school as soon as possible.
“Immediate needs are likely to include water purification tablets, plastic sheeting, cooking sets, bed nets, emergency health kits and an emergency nutrition response. Prior to the disaster, Unicef had begun stockpiling crucial supplies in country,” it said in a statement Tuesday.
Unicef said preliminary reports suggest that thousands of people have been killed and thousands more are missing while electrical lines are down, affecting delivery of services and aid, blocking roads and access to rescue vehicles.
Women and children make up more than 60 per cent of Myanmar’s population, and are likely to be prominent among those affected, said Unicef which has been present in Myanmar since 1950, with nine zonal offices and a head office in Yangon.