The Burma Campaign UK today condemned the regime in Burma for spending just £2.5m ($5 million) on aid for people affected by the cyclone, despite receiving £1.35bn (2.7bn dollars a year) from gas exports. The figures were revealed in a UN document following a meeting regime officials held with the UN and diplomats on May 5th.
“Not only are the regime blocking international aid, they are not mobilising their own resources either,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of the Burma Campaign UK. ӣ2.5m is pathetic given the scale of this crisis. This is less than was spent on presents for the wedding of the daughter of Than Shwe, the dictator of Burma.”
The regime in Burma spends around half its budget on the military, while ninety percent of the population live in poverty. The generals and their families live in luxury houses and go on shopping sprees in Singapore, while most people struggle to feed their families.
As the death toll keeps rising and 60,000 are feared dead, the regime is still blocking aid workers from getting into the country.
The regime says it should be given aid money to distribute, but western governments and charities refuse to give aid through the regime as it will misuse and steal it.
“We are five days into the disaster and most people have still not received any aid,” said Mark Farmaner. “If this carries on, more lives will be lost from hunger and disease than from the cyclone itself. The international community must do more to challenge aid restrictions by the regime. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon needs to get on a plane to Burma and insist on access, not leave negotiations to junior UN officials who happened to be in Rangoon at the time.”
For more information contact Mark Farmaner, Director of the Burma Campaign UK, on 020 7324 4713