No More Aid through Junta: US House

By LALIT K JHA / WASHINGTON
The Irrawaddy News

In amendments to the Supplemental Appropriations Act 2008, the US House of Representatives has passed a bill that says US agencies should seek to avoid passing humanitarian relief through the military junta to cyclone victims in Burma.

Supplemental Appropriations Act 2008, passed on June 19 by the US House of Representatives—which approves the spending of the Bush administration for the fiscal year ending September 30—made specific reference to the cyclone disaster last month that resulted in the death of more than 130,000 people in the Irrawaddy delta.

Stating that the Burmese junta, or State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has compounded the humanitarian crisis in Burma by failing to respond to the needs of the Burmese people in the wake of Cyclone Nargis and by refusing offers of assistance from the international community, Supplemental Appropriations Act states: “The Department of State and USAID should seek to avoid providing assistance to or through the SPDC.”

The bill must now be approved by the US Senate.

Even though the Bush administration has little or no alternative but to route all of its relief material through the Burmese military junta, the House mentioned twice in the bill that the government should avoid giving aid through the regime.

Under a sub-section on Food Security and Cyclone Nargis Relief , the amended text on Section 1414 (a) now reads: “For an additional amount for ‘International Disaster Assistance,’ [US] $225 million to address the international food crisis globally and for assistance for Burma to address the effects of Cyclone Nargis: Provided, that not less than $125 million should be made available for the local or regional purchase and distribution of food to address the international food crisis: Provided further, that notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds appropriated under this heading may be made available for assistance for the State Peace and Development Council.

“These funds should be used to respond to urgent humanitarian requirements worldwide, including Burma, Bangladesh, the People's Republic of China, and countries severely affected by the international food crisis,” it said.

The amended bill also includes another $5.3 million in assistance for humanitarian programs along the Thai-Burmese border.

Meanwhile, Carl Gershman, president of the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED), urged Thailand and India to start thinking about what is going to be needed for a transition in Burma.

“We have to start thinking about the transition now, and to show that there is an alternative. We should also build political support for the Burmese movement now because it answers the argument of the people in Thailand and elsewhere that they have to deal with this government because there is no alternative,” he said.

For more than a decade now, the NED has provided support to many of the pro-democracy Burmese groups in exile, including The Irrawaddy, as well as ethnic groups inside Burma.

“Without neglecting the present, we have to start thinking about the future and start building a core of people who can think about the economy, who can think about how to organize a civil-military relationship, who can think about the constitution, think about minority rights and how to organize Burma as a multi-ethnic society with federalism and decentralization," Gershman told The Irrawaddy.

Now of course, he said, the immediate issues before the international community and the Burmese leaders in exile are the crushing of the saffron revolution last year, the “phony” referendum and the humanitarian crisis in Burma. However, there are also more long-term issues, he said.

Developing an alternative constitution, developing a plan for the economy and a plan for governance should be some of the top priorities, Gershman said.

“The need is to bring people together to begin thinking about the future and to do it in an active way, without neglecting the current political and humanitarian crisis,” he said.