Myanmar Spring Chronicle – June 30 Scenes
MoeMaKa, July 01, 2023
Not allowed to provide aid freely to Mocha-affected victims
It has been a month and a half since the powerful Cyclone Mocha hit Rakhine State, but according to UN aid agencies, it is still difficult to provide aid to hundreds of thousands of people because the military council has imposed restrictions on emergency aid to restore food, shelter, and livelihoods.
Due to the background political situation since the time of Cyclone Mocha, the concern that Rakhine State will face the same fate as the Ayeyarwady Region that was hit by Cyclone Nargis in 2008 during the junta’s military regime has been encountered again in real life.
When the cyclone hit Rakhine State, the military dictator Min Aung Hlaing proudly said that compared to the previous Cyclone Nargis, the loss of human life was minimal due to their good management. In reality, compared to 2008, the development of IT technology, the Internet, social media communication, and information distribution communication channels in the community, the differences in topography, such as the highlands and mountains in Rakhine than the Ayeyarwady region, which is only a few feet above sea level, prevented many human lives from dying. In reality, the people of Rakhine state have very little faith and trust in the military council government, and they moved on their own. It is seen that only a small percentage of the emergency evacuation plans by the military council are actually implemented.
Although there were few casualties during the storm, people are facing difficulties getting emergency aid after the storm and being able to stand on their own feet and eat. International aid and domestic aid are hindered by the military council’s talk of helping through their own hands, and the recent announcements of the United Nations have emerged.
Recently, in the press release of the United Nations on the issue of refugees, the military council has used a 4-cut strategy; restricting the transportation of food, medicine, and fuel aid that it believes may go to the armed groups opposing them, as well as restricting trade, asking for bribes, and collecting taxes illegally from villages and townspeople believed to support the opposing armed groups, making it difficult for the UN to provide humanitarian aid to those suffering from the armed conflict and natural disasters in Myanmar.
Rakhine state is facing both armed conflict and natural disaster, and currently, the armed conflict has been suspended not officially on paper, but verbally, so it could reoccur at any time. There is also a sign that the military council is monitoring the recent natural disaster aid with great suspicion so that it does not reach the opposing Arakan Army’s (AA) side.
On the other hand, the aid provided by the United Nations agencies is monitored and restricted by the military council due to the suspicion or political accusations of giving priority to the Rohingya Muslim refugees.
The military council’s propaganda newspapers and state-owned television are full of reports showing that the military council’s aid convoys left a day before the storm hit, and that after the storm hit, civilian departments such as the army, fire department, electricity, and construction carried out food, medicine, and construction materials by various means of transportation, such as cars, water vehicles, and airplanes, and cleared the debris in Sittwe.
Independent news media reported that on the actual ground, it took weeks to get drinking water, food, and shelter to sleep in townships such as Rathedaung, Ponnagyun, and Kyauktaw, which urgently needed help.
When schools reopened 15 days after the storm, students sitting in open-roofed classrooms with umbrellas and teachers preparing to teach with umbrellas were seen in news photos. These open-roofed schools are located in nearby villages not far from Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State.
If you look at these, it is clear that the military council has banned the aid that will help the victims of the natural disaster in Rakhine State. The UN statement stated that these bans will become war crimes against humanity, and in reality, the military council has committed many war crimes in the past two years. So, it is only a matter of committing more war crimes by restricting aid to the victims of natural disasters.