Comments on: Politics of Disaster Relief http://www.publicsafetysignals.com/2008/05/09/politics-of-disaster-relief/ A discussion of Public Safety issues and why they matter Fri, 29 Jul 2011 21:06:14 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Mark Rubin http://www.publicsafetysignals.com/2008/05/09/politics-of-disaster-relief/comment-page-1/#comment-524 Mark Rubin Wed, 14 May 2008 03:42:40 +0000 http://www.publicsafetysignals.com/2008/05/09/politics-of-disaster-relief/#comment-524 While it is unconscionable for any government of normalcy to withhold aid after a crisis of such magnitude, we must not forget that Myanmar/Burma is ruled by a military junta. This is the same government that keeps a Nobel Peace Prize recipient under “indefinite house arrest” and has no independent judiciary under which accused persons are given a fair and impartial trial. Furthermore, the junta must have in the back (or front) of its mind that Myanmar is the world’s second largest producer and exporter of opium, and that international aid, if accompanied by the normal military “escort” is allowed to roam freely in the country the opium trade could be affected. In other words, we are not dealing with a normal, citizen focused government, rather a brutal authoritarian regime. Should the delivery of aid really be at the forefront of the controversy, or should our attention be focussed on the overall human rights abuses occuring in Myanmar? M. R. Rubin While it is unconscionable for any government of normalcy to withhold aid after a crisis of such magnitude, we must not forget that Myanmar/Burma is ruled by a military junta. This is the same government that keeps a Nobel Peace Prize recipient under “indefinite house arrest” and has no independent judiciary under which accused persons are given a fair and impartial trial. Furthermore, the junta must have in the back (or front) of its mind that Myanmar is the world’s second largest producer and exporter of opium, and that international aid, if accompanied by the normal military “escort” is allowed to roam freely in the country the opium trade could be affected. In other words, we are not dealing with a normal, citizen focused government, rather a brutal authoritarian regime. Should the delivery of aid really be at the forefront of the controversy, or should our attention be focussed on the overall human rights abuses occuring in Myanmar?

M. R. Rubin

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