စိတ္ပုပ္ေနတဲ့ေကာင္ကိုမေခၚခ်င္ေပမဲ့လည္း..ျပည္သူကိုၾကည့္တဲ့ အေမရိက..လက္ကမ္းရျပန္ုျပီ
U.S. military extends aid offer to Burma
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-06-06-burma_N.htm?csp=34
BANGKOK (AP) — The U.S. military has offered Burma 22 helicopters that could ferry relief to the majority of hungry and homeless cyclone survivors within three days — but the junta hasn't responded yet, military officials said Friday.
U.S. Navy ships laden with helicopters and emergency supplies sailed away from the coast of Burma on Thursday after being ignored by the junta for three weeks, but the American offer to help still stands, said Lt. Gen. John Goodman, commander of Marine Forces Pacific and head of the U.S. relief operation for Burma.
More than one month after Cyclone Nargis battered Burma, more than 1 million survivors are still in need of food, water and temporary shelter in the hard-to-access Irrawaddy delta, the U.N. says.
"Of the 1 million or 1.5 million people in need of relief support, we think that between 450,000 to 750,000 are in emergency need," Goodman said, adding that they could be reached "over the course of a three-day period" by American helicopters and landing craft.
The offer includes 10 helicopters aboard the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship currently steaming toward Thailand, and another 12 at a makeshift headquarters in Utapao, Thailand, said Lt. Col. Douglas Powell, a spokesman for what has been dubbed operation Caring Relief.
With only seven Burma government helicopters flying, relief supplies are mostly being transported along dirt roads and then by boat. International aid agencies say boats able to navigate the delta's canals are scarce and efforts to import vehicles have been hampered by government red tape.
Burma's xenophobic military rulers have allowed Marine Corps C-130 cargo planes to fly 116 flights, delivering more than 2.2 million pounds of aid to Rangoon, the largest city, Goodman said. But the relief effort lacks helicopters to access hard-to-reach areas in the devastated Irrawaddy delta.
The junta is particularly sensitive to letting in U.S. helicopters, which would highlight the American effort in a country where the people have been taught to see the U.S. as a hostile aggressor. Burma's state media have hinted that the junta fears a U.S. invasion aimed at seizing the country's oil deposits.
Goodman said he sought to dispel those concerns during two meetings in Burma, the most recent on Monday, with high-ranking junta official Lt. Gen. Myint Swe.
"We tried to address each and every one of their concerns in a logical fashion to help them find a way to say yes," Goodman said in a telephone interview from Utapao.
The U.S. offered to allow Burma officials aboard all American helicopters to monitor their routes and to unload relief supplies and said no U.S. soldiers would stay overnight in the country, Goodman said.
"We offered them everything you can logically think of, and they're still considering it," he said.
The junta official responded by saying "that his government felt they had the capability and capacity to provide the support for their country," Goodman said, adding that the meeting was pleasant and the two exchanged gifts.
Goodman said he gave the Burma official a porcelain candy dish emblazoned with the U.S. Marine logo.
"He gave me a picture of a man steering a boat through the delta," he said. "He thought that was appropriate."
BANGKOK (AP) — The U.S. military has offered Burma 22 helicopters that could ferry relief to the majority of hungry and homeless cyclone survivors within three days — but the junta hasn't responded yet, military officials said Friday.
U.S. Navy ships laden with helicopters and emergency supplies sailed away from the coast of Burma on Thursday after being ignored by the junta for three weeks, but the American offer to help still stands, said Lt. Gen. John Goodman, commander of Marine Forces Pacific and head of the U.S. relief operation for Burma.
More than one month after Cyclone Nargis battered Burma, more than 1 million survivors are still in need of food, water and temporary shelter in the hard-to-access Irrawaddy delta, the U.N. says.
"Of the 1 million or 1.5 million people in need of relief support, we think that between 450,000 to 750,000 are in emergency need," Goodman said, adding that they could be reached "over the course of a three-day period" by American helicopters and landing craft.
The offer includes 10 helicopters aboard the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship currently steaming toward Thailand, and another 12 at a makeshift headquarters in Utapao, Thailand, said Lt. Col. Douglas Powell, a spokesman for what has been dubbed operation Caring Relief.
With only seven Burma government helicopters flying, relief supplies are mostly being transported along dirt roads and then by boat. International aid agencies say boats able to navigate the delta's canals are scarce and efforts to import vehicles have been hampered by government red tape.
Burma's xenophobic military rulers have allowed Marine Corps C-130 cargo planes to fly 116 flights, delivering more than 2.2 million pounds of aid to Rangoon, the largest city, Goodman said. But the relief effort lacks helicopters to access hard-to-reach areas in the devastated Irrawaddy delta.
The junta is particularly sensitive to letting in U.S. helicopters, which would highlight the American effort in a country where the people have been taught to see the U.S. as a hostile aggressor. Burma's state media have hinted that the junta fears a U.S. invasion aimed at seizing the country's oil deposits.
Goodman said he sought to dispel those concerns during two meetings in Burma, the most recent on Monday, with high-ranking junta official Lt. Gen. Myint Swe.
"We tried to address each and every one of their concerns in a logical fashion to help them find a way to say yes," Goodman said in a telephone interview from Utapao.
The U.S. offered to allow Burma officials aboard all American helicopters to monitor their routes and to unload relief supplies and said no U.S. soldiers would stay overnight in the country, Goodman said.
"We offered them everything you can logically think of, and they're still considering it," he said.
The junta official responded by saying "that his government felt they had the capability and capacity to provide the support for their country," Goodman said, adding that the meeting was pleasant and the two exchanged gifts.
Goodman said he gave the Burma official a porcelain candy dish emblazoned with the U.S. Marine logo.
"He gave me a picture of a man steering a boat through the delta," he said. "He thought that was appropriate."
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