Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


0

Burma Rips 'Chocolate Bar' Aid; US Ships Threaten to Sail

Junta rails on stingy pace of int'l donations

Share

(Newser) – Burma's military junta ripped international cyclone relief efforts today, slamming demands for access to the disaster zone and proclaiming "The people from Irrawaddy can survive without chocolate bars donated by foreign countries," Reuters reports. The slam comes a day after a US admiral threatened to yank warships from the region if the junta wouldn't let in the aid they carried.

Without batting an eye, however, the junta railed on the world for being stingy. Current donations four weeks after the cyclone stand at $201 million, down steeply from the $2 billion pledged in the week after Indonesia's 2004 tsunami. Additionally, "There is one big nation that even extended economic sanctions although it had already been known that Myanmar was in for a very powerful storm."

People line up outside an aid tent in Yangon, Myanmar, Thursday, May 29, 2008 awaiting medical treatment.
People line up outside an aid tent in Yangon, Myanmar, Thursday, May 29, 2008 awaiting medical treatment.   (AP Photo)
Some 1,000 tons of humanitarian supplies for shipment to Myanmar by the United Nations are unloaded from the French warship Mistral on the resort island of Phuket, Thailand, Wednesday, May 28, 2008.
Some 1,000 tons of humanitarian supplies for shipment to Myanmar by the United Nations are unloaded from the French warship Mistral on the resort island of Phuket, Thailand, Wednesday, May 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/Daily News)
Homeless Burmese receive candy from a overseas donator at a monastery serving as a temporary shelter for cyclone victims on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, May 26, 2008.
Homeless Burmese receive candy from a overseas donator at a monastery serving as a temporary shelter for cyclone victims on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, May 26, 2008.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.24.09
Murdoch and Microsoft: The Mice Are Trying to Roar
11.23.09
Books Are Bad for You
0 comments
VIEWING:
 
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

140 Stories

 Obama to 
 Myanmar: 
 Free Suu Kyi 

First direct appeal for pro-democracy leader's release

Nov 15, 09 8:08 AM CST
(AP) - President Barack Obama today abandoned decades of Western avoidance and told Myanmar's prime minister to free opposition leader and fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a rare face-to-face meeting. The strong message, delivered during his summit with leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations, signals a further thawing in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
diplomacy • Asia • Myanmar • Burma • Aung San Suu Kyi • ASEAN • military junta • Southeast Asia • President Obama

deja vu

Burmese Junta Says It Will Release Suu Kyi

Junta claims it will spring activist to 'organizer her party'

Nov 9, 09 5:10 PM CST
(Newser) - Pro-democracy activists are responding skeptically to news that Burma’s ruling junta is considering releasing Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who has been under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years. "There is a plan to release her soon so she can organize her party,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
house arrest • Myanmar • Burma • Aung San Suu Kyi • military junta • election • Burma Campaign UK

Aung San Suu Kyi Meets US, Other Diplomats

Surprise permission may signal shift in Burmese junta

Oct 9, 09 5:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Burma's military rulers allowed Aung San Suu Kyi to meet with diplomats from the US, Britain and Australia today, an unexpected development that may reflect shifts in Western approaches to the regime. The hourlong meeting took place at a government guest house, after which she was returned to the home... More »

MORE ABOUT:
house arrest • diplomat • Myanmar • Burma • Aung San Suu Kyi • junta

140 Stories


Crisis has opened 'window of opportunity'
BBC

Burma refuses help from naval ships
Bangkok Post (Thailand)

Outrage over Aung San Suu Kyi won't affect aid
AFP


World 
TwitterFollow @NewserWorld on Twitter

 
cyclone • relief • Myanmar • Burma • military junta • disaster zones • Cyclone Nargis • Irrawaddy Delta

from our news partners