Malaysia's deputy leader yesterday urged Myanmar's junta to let Southeast Asian militaries play a bigger role in providing aid to cyclone victims, a rare plea for foreign intervention in a region where nations generally stay out of each other’s affairs.
The appeal by Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak at an international security conference came after Myanmar’s Deputy Defense Minister Aye Myint used to forum to claim his government acted promptly to provide relief in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, which struck on May 2.
Najib said the tragedy is of such a huge scale that it is “something that we cannot take lightly.”
PHOTO: AFP
More than 75,000 people died from the cyclone and some 2.4 million survivors are in need of fresh water, food and medical care.
Myanmar has not allowed foreign militaries to deliver aid directly to cyclone victims, but Najib suggested that militaries of the 10 member ASEAN be allowed to do so.
“Certainly ... we would like to see ASEAN being allowed to play a much bigger role because the situation is very, very serious in Myanmar,” Najib said, sitting on the stage with Aye Myint.
“The only viable organization that can really be effective is the military,” he said, because of its ability to deploy a large number of helicopters and boats.
“At the risk of offending my colleague here I would certainly speak on behalf of ASEAN that we do want to play a bigger role in the context of tragedy in Myanmar,” Najib said.
It was the most direct public appeal so far by a member of ASEAN for Myanmar’s military rulers in to give up their stubborn refusal to allow foreign intervention. ASEAN has generally followed the principle of noninterference in each other’s affairs, and Najib’s plea was unprecedented.
Najib, however, rejected the suggestion that countries should unilaterally go into Myanmar to provide relief if the junta does not provide help for its people quickly.
“You cannot simply override [national sovereignty] no matter how strongly you feel about the need to provide support,” he said.
Several people in the audience spoke up after Najib’s comments to criticize Myanmar, with one questioner calling its actions “a scandal.”
Aye Myint sat stoically through the verbal attack.
He also did not respond to Najib’s plea, saying only that his government is not preventing aid workers from doing their work.
Earlier in a speech, Aye Myint said his government acted promptly in rescuing and providing relief the 2.4 million cyclone survivors.
He said that food, water and medicines had been provided to all victims, and added that the government had now moved to a rehabilitation phase.
Many international aid agencies and foreign governments say little government aid had reached most of the survivors.
Aye Myint said the cyclone killed 77,738 people and left 55,917 missing. At least 19,359 were injured.
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