NEWSDESK
Yangon/Brussels, 8 December 2006: With growing signs of a humanitarian crisis in-the-making in Myanmar, the international community needs to get beyond debates about the country’s highly repressive political system.
Myanmar: New Threats to Humanitarian Aid,* the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, examines recent restrictions on humanitarian agencies, which threaten vital efforts to halt the slide towards a humanitarian disaster that could shatter social stability and put life-saving solutions beyond reach regardless of which government is in power.
Since the purge of General Khin Nyunt and other high-ranking officials in late 2004, the military government has taken a more aggressively nationalistic line and imposed new restrictions on international agencies, including the aid community. While the democratic opposition increasingly favours assistance, some parliamentarians and advocacy groups abroad have stepped up efforts to restrict and micro-manage aid flows.
“Aid agencies have come under renewed pressure from both the military government and pro-democracy activists overseas who seek to curtail or control assistance programs”, says Robert Templer, Crisis Group’s Director of Asia Program. “Undermining of aid by protagonists on all sides not only goes against international humanitarian principles but could also rekindle a new cycle of conflict, making any prospect of positive political change even more remote”.
Although conditions overall are still better than they were in the 1990s, and the impact of recent changes varies between agencies and programs, frustrations are palpable across the aid community. The aid community has responded to the new government restrictions with unusual unity. By reconfirming their commitment to basic humanitarian principles, UN agencies and INGOs are trying to dispel the government misconception they are under Washington’s control. While operational independence is key, they believe avoiding the authorities altogether would backfire and ultimately limit their ability to help people.
In the coming months and years, the aid community in Myanmar will need to counter further moves by the military government to limit access to vulnerable populations and abuse humanitarian programs for political gain. For this, it will require the support of donors, headquarters and critics alike to engage with the authorities on the ground in order to rebuild trust and refocus on the very real needs in the country.
