The Guardian view on Myanmar’s earthquake: aid must reach beyond the junta
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Version 0 of 1. International donors will need to work with the country’s fragmented local administrations as well as its military rulers Restrictions on the press and internet imposed by the military junta that rules Myanmar mean that information about the powerful earthquake that struck the country on Friday, just before 1pm local time, was even more incomplete than usual in the aftermath of a disaster. At least 144 people are reported to have been killed – a death toll that is certain to rise – while a state of emergency was declared in the Thai capital, Bangkok. There, eight people are confirmed to have died while dozens of construction workers are feared trapped after the high-rise building that they were working on collapsed. Further aftershocks are expected and will make the work of rescuers and those delivering humanitarian assistance in both countries harder. The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.7, is the most severe to hit the region since 1956, which means buildings are unlikely to have been designed with this threat in mind. The disaster could not have come at a worse time for Myanmar’s people, with more than 18 million already either displaced or facing hunger, according to the UN. In Rakhine state, 2 million people are at risk from famine, with the junta accused of inflicting “collective punishment” on them. An estimated 6.7 million children live in earthquake-affected areas, including the country’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, which is 17km from the epicentre. As this was a Friday, during Ramadan, many people are thought to have been crushed as busy mosques fell down. Four years after the military seized control in a coup, fighting between the army and rebel groups, many of which support a parallel national unity government formed from remnants of the deposed National League for Democracy, make the election promised by the junta an alarming prospect. Last year an investigation by the BBC estimated that resistance groups, known as the People’s Defence Force, were in charge of 42% of the country’s landmass, with just 21% under the junta’s control. Elections held in such circumstances, partly at the urging of China, will not relieve the population’s hardships and there are fears of an intensification of the country’s civil war. The earthquake is another huge setback, just six months after many villages were destroyed and at least 226 people were killed in floods and mudslides caused by Typhoon Yagi. Now, as then, Myanmar’s isolated military rulers have requested international help. With Amnesty and others warning of the impact of US aid cuts on relief efforts, the EU and other countries must do all they can do ensure that life-saving food and medical supplies are delivered, along with the secure access being demanded by human rights organisations. An assurance from Zin Mar Aung, the top diplomat of the national unity rebels, that the People’s Defence Force will provide aid in the areas it governs was welcome. But efforts to coordinate support and channel resources will be fraught with difficulty. Central Myanmar, including Mandalay, is run by the junta, meaning international aid efforts can be delivered there with its cooperation. To find out what is going on elsewhere, and get aid to less accessible areas, the UN and international donors will have to work with the local administrations that govern them. The junta cannot be allowed to control the flow of aid. By doing so, it could use the disaster to intensify its hold on power and the suffering of its opponents among the people of Myanmar. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. |