Myanmar junta shows little fellow feeling

Will Western nations come to rue the day they decided to offer aid to Myanmar? Possibly not, for their charity far exceeds any pettiness the military junta shows against them. Although from the comments made by the junta, there would be justification if the agencies did take umbrage.

From the initial reaction of the regime to offers of assistance - rejection - to the reluctant acceptance of some aid from certain countries once visas were sparingly given, the regime seized every opportunity to belittle donors and create an impression it is able to provide for its people.

Such outrageousness is not supported by facts. For it was over 10 days before the junta started moving any assistance into the countryside, and even that was minimal, thereby making little difference to the problem. It is now estimated that tens of thousands of lives were lost due to the delays and the hindrance of international efforts.

Cyclone Nargis, when it hit a month ago, more than demonstrated how unprepared the dictatorship was when it comes to facing such emergencies.

Despite the regime leaders building for themselves luxury homes, the like of which the average Myanmarese will see only through the forced labour required to build them, it soon became evident the regime was least interested in the welfare of its people.

Further support of this can be seen in the latest comments from the junta which accuses aid agencies of sending in chocolate bars instead of food the Myanmarese are more used to eating. This overlooks the fact that a high protein chocolate bar will be of greater dietary help than a meal of maize, or whatever other pitiable food the generals distribute.

Now, due to the shortages of provisions the generals are telling the people to spurn the chocolate and eat frogs instead. It is assumed the remark is their attempt at compassion.