Brussels, 13/05/2008 (Agence Europe) - After an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday 13 May in Brussels, the development ministers of EU member states called on the Burmese junta to authorise unhindered access by humanitarian workers to the victims of cyclone Nargis. The Burmese junta is also invited to take urgent measures to facilitate the channelling of aid.
The EU calls on the authorities of Burma/Myanmar to allow free, unhindered access for humanitarian experts, including the rapid issuance of visas, ministers state in a text published after the meeting. Member states also call on the authorities to take urgent measures to facilitate the provision of aid to those who need it, and who should fully benefit from the assistance provided by the international community.
After this meeting, the European development commissioner, Louis Michel, announced that he had obtained a visa for entry into Burma/Myanmar. He was to leave on Tuesday evening to seek to convince the junta to open up its doors to international aid. However, he told AFP, “right now there is very little chance that my mission will be a total success”. The Commissioner, not wishing to compromise this journey, also highlighted the fact that his mission was “strictly humanitarian”. “It is in no way political. Let there be no doubt about its nature,” he said.
The great risk to this mission caused the EU, at its meeting on Tuesday, to reject France's proposal to call on the United Nations Security Council to adopt a resolution imposing humanitarian aid. Member states felt it sufficient to say that they supported any initiative, including from UN bodies, which could help meet the humanitarian needs of the people of Burma/Myanmar.
French Secretary of State for human Rights Rama Yade argued that there was a “responsibility for protecting” the victims of cyclone Nargis, and, thus, international aid had to be imposed on Burma/Myanmar. This idea of “responsibility for protecting” is the form of words adopted by the United Nations to respond to the concept of “the right of humanitarian interference”, one of the creators of which was French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
The Commissioner said that “if humanitarian access does not come very quickly, a disaster will be added to the disaster, and that is unacceptable”. He warned about the risk of cholera in those regions of Burma/Myanmar devastated by the cyclone and felt it “likely” that there would be a food crisis caused by the destruction of rice stocks.
The meeting also allowed ministers to take stock on the financial aid allocated up until now. This amounts to some €30 million (both national and Commission contributions). The Commission has already allocated €2 million in financial aid, and is shortly about to release a further €5 million in food aid. An expert group (two Swedes and two liaison officers) from the Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) is due to arrive in Burma/Myanmar on Wednesday morning and to begin assessing the situation and identifying needs. (A.By)