| Myanmar: Cyclone relief -- Asian governments must insist on swift action |
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AMNESTY
INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release: 12 May 2008
Myanmar: Cyclone relief -- Asian governments must insist on swift
action
(Hong Kong)
Leaders of Amnesty International in Asia Pacific, meeting in Hong Kong, called
on their governments to use every means possible to pressure the Myanmar
authorities to focus on disaster relief and facilitate international assistance
to protect the rights to life, food and health of its citizens.
“Our governments, from the ASEAN countries,
Japan, India, South Korea and China are best placed to influence the Myanmar
authorities to lift the blockages and allow aid, expertise and materials to
reach the millions now in need. Time is of the essence if lives are to be
saved,” said Mika Kamae, chair of Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific Forum.
It is now over a week since Cyclone Nargis
devastated the Irrawady delta, killing tens of thousands and leaving over a
million homeless, without essential food, shelter or healthcare. A UN flash
appeal has attracted millions in government donations, and many disaster relief
agencies are assembled on standby in Thailand. However, the Myanmar
government is still impeding such life-saving assistance. It has yet to issue
sufficient visas to the three international agencies it has approached for
assistance (World Vision, JICA and UNICEF).
Amnesty International believes that by
deliberately blocking life-sustaining aid, the government of Myanmar may be
violating the right of its citizens to life, food, and health.
“The Myanmar authorities must also give
complete priority to mobilizing their own resources for disaster response.
Instead, yesterday considerable government resources were tied up
conducting the constitutional referendum, even in close proximity to the devastation.
There can be no clearer message to the destitute about the priorities of those
in power,” said Milabel Cristobal, Director of the Amnesty International Hong
Kong section.
Children are the most vulnerable to the
after effects of natural disasters. As a State Party to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, the Myanmar
authorities also have legal obligations to uphold their rights to life, food
and health “to the maximum extent of their available resources, and where
needed within the framework of international co-operation”. Swift facilitation
of assistance from the region is also necessary to uphold the ASEAN Agreement
on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (2005) which Myanmar has
ratified.
/ENDS
Public Document
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For more information please call Amnesty
International's press office in London, UK, on 44 20 7413 5566 or contact AI's Myanmar researcher currently in Thailand on 66
(0)81 138 1912.
Working to protect human rights worldwide
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| Posted: 5/12/2008 at 09:49 | Read 53 times | 3 comments | Leave Comment |
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