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Bush Plans Call to Chinese Leader Over Burma's Stance on Aid
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But yesterday, Burma's deputy foreign minister told the head of the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon, Shari Villarosa, that only one flight would be permitted and not until Monday. The announcement helped take the steam out of a nascent U.S.-British-French effort to win passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution that asks nations to assist Burma and calls on Burma to accept humanitarian aid. China frequently blocks resolutions on Burma, but there had been hope that a relatively mild resolution focused on the relief effort had a chance at passage, officials said.
U.S. officials and humanitarian advocates said the continued resistance to outside help underscores the irrational nature of the government, which has ruled Burma by force for nearly half a century, pilfering its treasures and routinely jailing or killing opponents. The ruling generals also declined to postpone a constitutional referendum today that international observers have denounced as a sham.
"So far, the signs from the military regime are that they are not willing to open up to the outside world," said Jeremy Woodrum, co-founder of the U.S. Campaign for Burma. "Essentially, this is pulling back the curtain on this regime and its repressive policies."
Sean Turnell, of the Burma Economic Watch newsletter at Macquarie University in Australia, said the country's ruling generals are sitting on substantial foreign reserves, which are growing at a rate of $200 million a month and could be used to address humanitarian needs.
He and other experts also noted the contrast between the government's laggardly response to the cyclone and its brutal, rapid crackdown on an uprising of Buddhist monks last year.
Michael Green, former senior director for Asia at the National Security Council, said it is unclear what impact the crisis might have on the junta's hold on power. For example, he said, the catastrophic tsunami in 2004 arguably moved along political reconciliation in Indonesia while worsening conditions in Sri Lanka.
"This regime has shown callous indifference to suffering in the past," Green said.
