This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7406023.stm
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Burma 'guilty of inhuman action' | Burma 'guilty of inhuman action' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has condemned Burma's military government for not allowing international aid to reach the victims of Cyclone Nargis. | UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has condemned Burma's military government for not allowing international aid to reach the victims of Cyclone Nargis. |
| Mr Brown told the BBC that a natural disaster had been turned into a "man-made catastrophe" because of the negligence of the ruling generals. | Mr Brown told the BBC that a natural disaster had been turned into a "man-made catastrophe" because of the negligence of the ruling generals. |
| There is growing condemnation of Burma's response to the 2 May cyclone, said to have killed at least 78,000. | There is growing condemnation of Burma's response to the 2 May cyclone, said to have killed at least 78,000. |
| France has said Burma is on the verge of committing a crime against humanity. | France has said Burma is on the verge of committing a crime against humanity. |
| France and the US both have ships carrying large consignments of aid waiting off the Burmese coast, but so far the government has refused to allow relief aid arriving by sea directly to the worst affected areas. | France and the US both have ships carrying large consignments of aid waiting off the Burmese coast, but so far the government has refused to allow relief aid arriving by sea directly to the worst affected areas. |
| Some 56,000 people are thought to be missing, according to the latest official figures - double the previous estimate. | Some 56,000 people are thought to be missing, according to the latest official figures - double the previous estimate. |
| The government of Burma took foreign diplomats on a tour of the worst-hit region, the Irrawaddy Delta, on Saturday but the visit was dismissed by a senior US envoy as a "show". | |
| 'This is inhuman' | |
| In an interview for the BBC World Service, Mr Brown said that Burma's ruling generals would be judged by the world and their own people for thwarting the assistance offered by the rest of the world. | In an interview for the BBC World Service, Mr Brown said that Burma's ruling generals would be judged by the world and their own people for thwarting the assistance offered by the rest of the world. |
| "This is inhuman. We have an intolerable situation, created by a natural disaster," he said. | "This is inhuman. We have an intolerable situation, created by a natural disaster," he said. |
| "It is being made into a man-made catastrophe by the negligence, the neglect and the inhuman treatment of the Burmese people by a regime that is failing to act and to allow the international community to do what it wants to do. | "It is being made into a man-made catastrophe by the negligence, the neglect and the inhuman treatment of the Burmese people by a regime that is failing to act and to allow the international community to do what it wants to do. |
| "The responsibility lies with the Burmese regime and they must be held accountable." | "The responsibility lies with the Burmese regime and they must be held accountable." |
| Aid agencies have also become frustrated by the slow progress at which relief supplies are getting to the areas worst hit, with many survivors still without food, water and shelter. | Aid agencies have also become frustrated by the slow progress at which relief supplies are getting to the areas worst hit, with many survivors still without food, water and shelter. |
| Aid workers already inside Burma have been prevented from entering some areas. | Aid workers already inside Burma have been prevented from entering some areas. |
| The cyclone has filled rice fields with sea water, destroying vital crops UK aid 'reaching cyclone victims'Burma: How you can help | The cyclone has filled rice fields with sea water, destroying vital crops UK aid 'reaching cyclone victims'Burma: How you can help |
| However, the Burmese authorities have allowed the UN and some other agencies to hand out supplies directly. | However, the Burmese authorities have allowed the UN and some other agencies to hand out supplies directly. |
| A team of 50 Indian medical personnel is also being allowed to fly into Rangoon on Saturday, equipped with medical supplies. | A team of 50 Indian medical personnel is also being allowed to fly into Rangoon on Saturday, equipped with medical supplies. |
| Foreign diplomats were flown to several sites in the delta by helicopter where they were shown survivors receiving aid in camps. | |
| "It was a show - that's what they wanted us to see," Shari Villarosa, the top American diplomat in Burma, told The Associated Press. | |
| But Bernard Delpuech, head of the European Commission Humanitarian Office in Rangoon, said the trip had at least shown "the magnitude of the devastation". | |
| "For the recovery you can't expect it to be six months or a year. It will take longer," Reuters quoted him as saying. | |
| 'Rule nothing out' | |
| Asked if he believed it was time for forced air-drops of aid, Mr Brown said it remained an option. | Asked if he believed it was time for forced air-drops of aid, Mr Brown said it remained an option. |
| "We rule nothing out and the reason we rule nothing out is that we want to get the aid directly to the people." | "We rule nothing out and the reason we rule nothing out is that we want to get the aid directly to the people." |
| But he said aid bodies were advising that the most effective course of action was to apply international pressure on Burma to force it to accept foreign aid. | But he said aid bodies were advising that the most effective course of action was to apply international pressure on Burma to force it to accept foreign aid. |
| The UK government was working with the international community to channel British aid through China and the countries forming the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), Mr Brown added. | The UK government was working with the international community to channel British aid through China and the countries forming the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), Mr Brown added. |
| "That's what we're trying to do as quickly as possible and with great speed." | "That's what we're trying to do as quickly as possible and with great speed." |
| Addressing the general assembly of the Church of Scotland on Saturday, Mr Brown added: "The monks of Burma with only a begging bowl and their blogs persuaded the world to bear witness to their fight against oppression - and now tell us of their struggle to survive in the face not only of natural disaster but an unnatural dictatorship that care more about its survival than theirs." | Addressing the general assembly of the Church of Scotland on Saturday, Mr Brown added: "The monks of Burma with only a begging bowl and their blogs persuaded the world to bear witness to their fight against oppression - and now tell us of their struggle to survive in the face not only of natural disaster but an unnatural dictatorship that care more about its survival than theirs." |
| Asean is due to hold a high-level meeting on Monday that is expected to lay the framework for a broader aid donors' conference. | Asean is due to hold a high-level meeting on Monday that is expected to lay the framework for a broader aid donors' conference. |
| 'Crime against humanity' | |
| Earlier, France's UN envoy angrily rejected Burmese allegations the French ship in international waters off Burma's coast was a warship, saying it was carrying 1,500 tonnes of food and medicine. | Earlier, France's UN envoy angrily rejected Burmese allegations the French ship in international waters off Burma's coast was a warship, saying it was carrying 1,500 tonnes of food and medicine. |
| EXTENT OF THE DEVASTATION See map and satellite imagesEyewitness: Barred from BurmaSend us your comments | EXTENT OF THE DEVASTATION See map and satellite imagesEyewitness: Barred from BurmaSend us your comments |
| Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Jean-Maurice Ripert warned that the Burmese military's refusal to allow aid to be delivered to those who needed it "could lead to a true crime against humanity". | Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Jean-Maurice Ripert warned that the Burmese military's refusal to allow aid to be delivered to those who needed it "could lead to a true crime against humanity". |
| "Hundreds of thousands of lives are in jeopardy and we think that the primary responsibility of the government of Myanmar is to help and open the borders so that the international aid could come into the place," he said. | |
| The BBC's Natalia Antelava says there has been little sign of official help in the delta this week and that foreign aid workers have been barred from the area. | The BBC's Natalia Antelava says there has been little sign of official help in the delta this week and that foreign aid workers have been barred from the area. |
| She saw muddy river banks are lined with white, swollen bodies, and found survivors with barely enough rice to live on. Heavy rain has been lashing the region, compounding the survivors' misery. | She saw muddy river banks are lined with white, swollen bodies, and found survivors with barely enough rice to live on. Heavy rain has been lashing the region, compounding the survivors' misery. |
| A Reuters team travelling to Kunyangon, around 100km (60 miles) south-west of Rangoon, found rows of beggars stretching for miles on either side of a road. | A Reuters team travelling to Kunyangon, around 100km (60 miles) south-west of Rangoon, found rows of beggars stretching for miles on either side of a road. |
| Men, women and children stood in the mud and rain, hands clasped together in supplication at the occasional passing aid vehicle. | Men, women and children stood in the mud and rain, hands clasped together in supplication at the occasional passing aid vehicle. |
| The UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator, John Holmes, is due to visit Rangoon on Sunday in a bid to persuade the government to grant more access to UN relief workers and expand its aid effort. | The UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator, John Holmes, is due to visit Rangoon on Sunday in a bid to persuade the government to grant more access to UN relief workers and expand its aid effort. |
| Correspondents say that at this stage it is not clear who he will be able to talk to given that Burma's leader, Gen Than Shwe, has refused to answer calls from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. | Correspondents say that at this stage it is not clear who he will be able to talk to given that Burma's leader, Gen Than Shwe, has refused to answer calls from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. |