Barred ships leave cyclone-hit Burma
US Navy ships laden with relief supplies steamed away from Burma’s coast today, their helicopters barred by the ruling junta even though millions of cyclone survivors need food, shelter or medical care.
The USS Essex group, which includes four ships, 22 helicopters and 5,000 US military personnel, had been off the Burmese coast for more than three weeks hoping for a green light to deliver aid to the survivors.
“The ruling military junta in Burma have done nothing to convince us that they intend to reverse their deliberate decision to deny much needed aid to the people of Burma,” Lieutenant Denver Applehans said in an e-mail from the flotilla.
“Based on this, the decision was made to continue with previous operational commitments,” Lt Applehans said.
More than a month after the storm, many people in stricken areas still have received no aid at all and the military regime continued to impose constraints on international rescue efforts, humanitarian groups said.
Admiral Timothy J. Keating, head of the US Pacific Command, said in a statement yesterday that he was ordering the ships back to their previous missions following “at least 15 attempts” by the US to convince the junta to allow them to deliver aid directly to victims in affected areas.
He said he was “both saddened and frustrated” not to be able to help the cyclone victims.
Help from French and British naval ships which had similarly broken off from their missions to stand by off Burma was also rejected.
The US was allowed by the junta to fly in relief supplies to Rangoon, the country’s biggest city, and the flights by US Marine Corps C-130s temporarily based in Thailand are continuing.
