Global American
President should order relief drops
in Burma
Burmese government committing genocide
by neglecting catastrophic needs
By Michael Fjetland
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[May 19, 2008]
Our aircraft carriers, laden with emergency
food and water supplies, are sitting less than 60 miles from the
Burma coast, with helicopters ready to drop this desperately needed
aid within minutes to the starving Burmese people hardly a stone's
throw away. But the carrier commander can't move -- paralyzed by the
"lack of permission" from the president, who is waiting on Burmese
generals worried that accepting aid might make them look like the
powerless jerks they are.
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How would we feel if our government blocked aid to the Katrina
victims (rather than just being ineffective in providing it)? Time
is running out for the Burmese as we sit in our comfortable homes,
not wanting for food or water.The Burmese government's
willingness to let hundreds of thousands of people suffer and die
because of their control needs makes them international criminals
who are committing murder by neglect. It's well-documented that they
use opium drug profits to finance their ventures.
Therefore the president should order our military relief teams to
"fly in, make drops, fly out, repeat." Who cares what the Burmese
generals -- and their astrologer -- think? Reporters are not allowed
into Burma, but those who got in report that the government isn't
even visible in the devastated areas near the capital, Rangoon.
There isn't an army out there to shoot at those dropping the aid in
more remote areas where no one is coming to the rescue.
![Repair](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/Jan/02/images/ads/current/bassett-bcard_ad-123006.png)
If the Burmese army does shoot at our relief flights, we will
have shown the world what creeps these guys are -- but we will have
done something! We can then either withdraw -- and let people die
needlessly -- or ask the U.N. to intervene, especially when a
drug-dealing government shoots at aid missions instead of inviting
them in as the Chinese and other countries have. This is a rescue
mission that whole world should join in.
Burmese (now called Myanmar) hurricane victims have gone without
aid for nearly two weeks now. In the meantime, it's been almost
surreal as a president has married off a daughter and the world
frets but nothing has been done as people go without food, water
and shelter that the world is willing to give but is kept from them by
their own government.
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![Computer Repair](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/May/19/images/ads/current/cca_laptop-sda-021508.png) |
![Civic](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/May/10/images/ads/current/lpd_lda050508.png)
Not even Fidel Castro turned down aid. The Burmese generals are
taking care of themselves only.
It's hard to believe that the same president who was bold enough
to take over a country, based on the assumption that it had weapons
of mass destruction, is not bold enough to help hundreds of thousands
of people dying in Burma this day and every day we delay because
their paranoid government generals are refusing to give world aid
permission while they fail to act.
Mr. Bush's attack on Iraq might explain why the generals are
reluctant to trust us but not their turning down aid workers from
the rest of the world. But we aren't talking about invasion here. We
are talking helping people who aren't getting any help. That aid
should be more important to the Burmese government than keeping
world aid out -- or their "permission."
They are not legitimate leaders. They are military drug dealers
who show no concern for their citizens' health and welfare.
![Water](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2008/May/10/images/ads/current/culligan%20bca%20073007.png)
If we are going to break the rules, let's do it by saving people
by dropping food and water instead of bombs. Let the world's people
see we can be as strong offering carrots as we are with sticks.
Let the world see our strong desire to save lives. Let's put some
real pressure on a criminal government that is committing genocide
by neglecting the catastrophic needs that have fallen on its own
people. We can do it by helping their people whether the generals
like it or not.
[Text from file received from
Global
American on behalf of
Michael Fjetland]
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