Ministers say military a crucial element that can help in humanitarian crisesSINGAPORE: The military is a crucial element that can rally help effectively in humanitarian crises such as the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, according to both the Singapore and Malaysian defence ministers who were speaking at the final day of the Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday.
Myanmar's Deputy Defence Minister Major General Aye Myint told the gathering of top defence officials that his country had broadcast to the people a warning about the cyclone more than a week before it struck.
He also said the military government is ready to accept aid as long as there are no strings attached.
He said: "We are trying our best for relief, resettlement and rehabilitation because they are our people. But you have to understand that every process will not be totally perfect.
"And as I've explained earlier, we are welcoming assistance and aid from any country or organisation from around the world without any politicisation and without any pre-conditions."
His statements evoked a sharp response from some clearly frustrated members of donor nations.
A French parliamentarian even said that he would press his government to propose a UN resolution that could hold the Myanmar government liable to be brought before the International Criminal Court.
French Parliamentarian Pierre Lellouche said: "We need a system of sanctions to stop this scandal of having hundreds of thousands of people dying with help waiting outside and having a lecture about non-interference in domestic affairs.
"I'm sorry, maybe, to change the tone of this very polite international gathering, but I think it is my duty to do so."
Ministers from ASEAN focused on possible solutions. Malaysia's Defence Minister Najib Razak called for a greater role for ASEAN and the military, although he recognised that there are diverging views on military involvement.
He said: "The only viable organisation that can really act effectively is the military. I think I speak on behalf of my other colleagues that we certainly would like to see ASEAN being allowed to play a much bigger role because the situation is very, very serious in Myanmar."
Mr Najib even likened it to the scale of the 2004 Aceh tsunami, according to some ground reports coming out of there.
Defence Minister, Teo Chee Hean, said: "Armed forces too have a crucial role to play in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Armed forces can transport aid to where it is needed most in the affected locality and help in its distribution.
"It is not the value or quantity of the relief supplies. The question is whether they can be delivered in a prompt and effective manner to the last mile, down to the actual victims who need it, when they need it."
At a separate news conference, US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said that his country was within days of making a decision on whether or not to move out the aid ships that had been anchored off the coast of Myanmar for some time.
He said the only alternative was to force aid on Myanmar and that was something all the defence ministers had unanimously agreed was not an option.
Besides the clear respect for sovereignty, discussion also centred on the issue of responsibility after three aid principles were outlined on Saturday.
Mr Teo said: "John asked whether what the ministers discussed yesterday results in a new responsibility, that is, the "responsibility to invite". I would say that it is really a ‘responsibility to provide’ - a responsibility of all national governments to provide for the welfare of the people.
"If they are not able to provide for it, then it is their responsibility to see what other resources they can garner to help provide for their people."
The three-day Asia Security Summit, also known as The Shangri-La Dialogue, ended on Sunday. - CNA/vm
Impassive amid a raging stormHE APPEARED at the Shangri-La Hotel yesterday to give an update on Myanmar’s recovery efforts in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, which tore through the impoverished nation last month.
Instead, Myanmar’s Deputy Defence Minister, Major-General Aye Myint, drew sharp criticism over the regime’s slow response to the disaster.
The polite tone of the forum was shattered as the regime’s efforts in restricting international aid drew the ire of donor countries, including the United States, France and even some members of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), of which Myanmar is a member.
French Member of Parliament Pierre Lellouche was particularly acerbic.
Making no secret of his displeasure with the notoriously-reclusive Myanmar government, Mr Lellouche said: “We need a system of sanctions to stop this scandal of having hundreds of thousands of people dying with help waiting outside and having a lecture about non-interference in domestic affairs.”
Earlier, Maj-Gen Aye Myint had told the audience at the 7th International Institute for Strategic Studies Asia Security Summit — an annual conference of defence ministers, military officials and security experts from Asia, North America and Europe — that his country would “warmly welcome any assistance and aid which are provided with genuine goodwill from any country or organisation”.
However, this assistance must come with “no strings attached”. Since the cyclone hit Myanmar on May 2, relief workers have been unable to get to the worst-hit areas due to visa hurdles and other red tape imposed by the junta — a move that has hogged media headlines the world over.
Mr Lellouche said a French ship carrying 1,000 tonnes of aid supplies was dispatched to Myanmar immediately after Nargis struck but the ship was refused entry. After 10 days, the vessel turned to Thailand to unload its cargo.
Myanmar’s state-owned media have also ridiculed aid workers’ demand for access into the devastated Irrawaddy Delta, adding that cyclone victims could “stand by themselves” and did not need “chocolate bars” from foreign countries.
While the junta have given in to international pressure by allowing aid workers into the country, United Nations estimates that only around 40 per cent of an estimated 2.4 million displaced by the disaster have received foreign help in the form of fresh water, food and medical supplies.
Maj Gen Aye Myint said the latest toll stands at 77,738 dead and 55,917 missing, as well as an estimated US$10.67 billion in damages.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said that more people will perish from the disaster if the junta continues on its route of “criminal neglect”.
Mr Lellouche took a tougher line -- he would see to it his government proposes a UN resolution to bring the junta before the International Criminal Court.
“The principle of non-interference in domestic affairs is not right of regimes to have their populations killed in silence with nobody else to interfere,” he said.
Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak also came under Mr Lellouche’s barrage after he said countries should respect the sovereignty of the Myanmar and should not unilaterally go into Myanmar to force the junta to take action.
Still, Mr Najib proposed that the military of each Asean nation be involved in rescue efforts, as they would be able to deploy a large number of helicopter and boats.
His plea to the Myanmar leadership to open up to foreign help comes close on the heels of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong remarks on Friday that the situation in the cylcone-hit country is “regrettable” as more rapid international relief aid could have minimised the suffering of the victims.
said Mr Najib: “We would like to see Asean being allowed to play a much bigger role because the situation is very, very serious in Myanmar,” he said of the disaster he believes to be much more dire than the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed at least 232,000 people.
Throughout the fiery discourse, Maj Gen Aye Myint remained impassive. His government is “trying our best for relief and resettlement efforts, because the victims are our people” -- even if the process is “not totally perfect”.
