May 21, 2008
There is no end to the criminal behavior of Myanmar's generals. Nearlythree weeks after Cyclone Nargis killed more than 100,000 people, thejunta's refusal to open the country to international help iscondemning many more thousands to malnutrition, disease and, unlesssomething is done quickly, death.
The generals have now grudgingly agreed to allow their Asian neighborsto oversee distribution of foreign relief and granted the UnitedNations World Food Program permission to fly nine helicopters. Giventhe horrifying size and complexity of the disaster, that's not nearlyenough.
Most international disaster specialists are still banned from thestorm-devastated area. So, largely, are the United States and France,which have ships loaded with heavy-lift helicopters, food, water,medicine, field hospitals and other supplies waiting in nearby waters.
The generals are similarly determined to subvert a donors conferenceset for this weekend in Yangon. State-run media claimed that thegovernment has already met victims' immediate needs and would now bemoving into the reconstruction phase. Diplomats who attend theconference must make clear that until the junta opens up the countryto a full relief effort, there will be no reconstruction help — andeven after that, any rebuilding projects must be controlled byinternational organizations not the corrupt regime.
The international community has been walking a fine line, trying tocajole the generals, who only care about staying in power, intocooperating. That hasn't worked, and more lives are lost every day. Ifthe junta does not quickly open up its ports and airports, the UnitedStates and France must begin airdropping aid to victims. No one wantsa confrontation, but the world cannot sit by while tens of thousandsmore people die.
We hope that the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon,delivers that tough message when he visits Myanmar this week. That isassuming the junta's leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, agrees to meetwith him. So far, he has refused to accept Mr. Ban's telephone calls.
