‘Aid Weaponization’: Myanmar accused of stopping rescue work after deadly earthquake

Last Friday, a few hours after a devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, Min Aung Hlaing, head of the military government that controls the country, begged for any international aid to be sent quickly to isolated countries.

Hlaing claims he “opened all ways for foreign aid” as he asks countries and organizations to urgently need rescue work after the collapse of earthquake-bending roads and thousands of buildings, with hard rescue efforts, luring countless people.

Nearly a week after the earthquake, the death toll was 3,145, more than 4,500 were injured and more were trapped under debris. The actual number is expected to be higher.

Hlaing’s attraction is an extremely rare move by military leaders who ousted the democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi government in early 2021 and quickly linked the country to the rest of the world.

Then, after dissent and ongoing civil wars across the country, the momentum was seized.

Calls for help Among experts in the political situation in Myanmar, the disaster may be different from previous ones, which may be the same as previous ones that hit the country, such as the 2023 cyclone Mocha Coffee, when aid efforts were hampered.

But this hope disappeared soon.

Numerous aid and human rights groups have confirmed that those in Myanmar who need it the most have been blocked because the 72-hour “gold” rescue window was blocked – you are most likely to find survivors trapped under rubble – closed.

“It turned out to be a disaster,” UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews told CBC News in an interview in Bangkok, Thailand. (The skyscraper under construction collapsed, capturing more than 80 workers. More than a dozen have been confirmed dead.)

“We know the aid [in Myanmar] Blocked. We know that arrests and lockdowns have occurred in checkpoints in areas where assistance is not desired. ” Andrews said.

“There is such weaponization of aid.”

“I’ve seen this movie before”

In the days after the earthquake, the worst of the area in a century was the military continued to attack and bomb rebel-controlled territory. The military government currently controls less than one-third of the country, and its power is concentrated in big cities.

But on Wednesday, Myanmar Army leaders announced a three-week ceasefire to support relief efforts after the military government opened fire on a convoy of the Chinese Red Cross in an attempt to deliver food and medicine to survivors.

A government spokesman confirmed that the soldiers fired at the vehicle because he said they were not notified of the convoy’s arrival.

Rescue teams from junta allies (including China and Russia) were the first to enter the country to provide assistance, as well as crew members from countries such as India, which maintains a cordial relationship with Myanmar’s army leaders.

The junta of the ruling has been avoided and approved by most Western countries.

According to Andrews, the military government follows a familiar script by obstructing critical aid, especially in areas where armed resistance to the coup. This was a strategy used in the past to consolidate the power of the Myanmar military.

“I’ve seen this movie before, and it doesn’t have a happy ending,” Andrews said.

Pressure on the government

He added that the ongoing air strikes also created “whole fear and horror” throughout the war-torn country, with approximately 20 million Burmese people already deprived of proper food and shelter before the earthquake.

“We need everyone on the deck in Myanmar. But they were transferred out, not saving lives, but being taken away,” Andrews said.

The disaster raises questions about whether power can be mastered as resistance deepens.

The earthquake caused severe damage to the new capital, Naypyidaw, a heavily fortified city built by former military generals, aimed at placing troops in Myanmar’s possession and isolating its leaders from popular dissenters. The city’s air traffic control tower was overturned and the wings of several government ministries collapsed.

A retired school principal Tell the New York Times There is “this remark, such nature is the way to punish cruel and corrupt rulers.”

She added: “After killing so many people, Min Aung Hlaing is now facing natural judgment.”

In November, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for suspected crimes against humanity, in connection with the country’s persecution and deportation of Muslim Rohingya communities.

Desperate growth

Six days after the disaster, chaos was plunged into hundreds of buildings near the epicenter. Many residents are crowded parks and other open spaces at night, too scared to access partially broken houses, while others cannot return to the demolished houses.

“In Mandalay, most of us are doing it all,” said Khin Thazin Aung, 31, who described the local rescue work and was unable to fight back tears.

“We need everything, like food and shelter. But [our government] She told CBC News: “There’s nothing she can do.

Angren said many residents were struggling with the trauma, saying she saw some survivors tremble uncontrollably as the smell of bodies trapped under rubble drifted in the air.

Tin, the name that only serves Reuters wires, is combing the river for his daughter’s body in the shadow of a major bridge that collapsed in the earthquake.

“I’m looking for her myself because there’s no rescue operation here,” he said. “No one comes to help me.”

Myanmar’s military leaders refused to allow foreign journalists to enter the country to make up for the disaster.

Mikhael de Souza said some aid organizations also have difficulty entering Myanmar.

But he still hopes that the scale of the disaster will be outside the international focus and will swing the government to allow more aid.

“We have a team and a lot of material waiting to get into the country and I really hope it will happen soon,” De Souza told CBC News on Thursday.

Nevertheless, he acknowledged Myanmar as a “difficult, complex country” whose military government has challenged negotiations with it in the past.

The damaged infrastructure also hinders the speed of rescue and recovery, and driving from Yangon, the largest city, to Mandalay near Epicenter, now takes up twice the usual eight hours.

DeSoza said the main health problem was the lack of electricity and clean water in the disaster area, and fears that a lack of infection in damaged hospitals could cause the cholera epidemic.

Monsoon season is also coming, and catastrophic situations in central the country will be complicated.