AT SEA: U.S. naval ships await entry into Myanmar with urgently needed aid

Record ID: 335165

  • Title: AT SEA: U.S. naval ships await entry into Myanmar with urgently needed aid
  • Date: 21st May 2008
  • Summary: (BN11) AT SEA OFF THE COAST OF THE IRRAWADDY DELTA, MYANMAR (RECENT - MAY 16, 2008) (REUTERS) ++PART QUALITY AS INCOMING++ MARINE LOOKING THROUGH TELESCOPE USS ESSEX DECK SEA ON SIDE OF VESSEL SAILOR LOOKING THROUGH BINOCULARS SAILORS IN CONTROL ROOM MAP OF MYANMAR ON MONITOR CAPTAIN OF THE NAVAL SHIP EXPLAINING THE ROUTE THAT THE VESSEL WILL FOLLOW IF GRANTED PERMISSION T
  • Embargoed: 5th June 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVAE9G1SGEO1BD8RMLG2SOAUW8H2
  • Story Text: The USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship, filled with aid for the hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar affected by a recent cyclone, is still awaiting permission from the Myanmar junta to dock at its port and deliver supplies.
    The USS Essex is one of four U.S. ships carrying more than a dozen helicopters, two landing craft vessels, high-tech amphibious hovercrafts, and some 1,800 U.S. Marines -- all anxiously awaiting entry.

    "This is approximately 150 nautical miles from this inlet right over here which is just to the south and west of Rangoon. Once we get permission to go and are directed to do so, we will close the beach and operate primarily in this white area right here," the vessel's captain, Brent Canady explained as he pointed at a map of Myanmar and the waters off its shores.
    On board the vessel marines and sailors packed thousands of water bags which they hope they will be able to distribute to Myanmar's cyclone victims.

    "These are the water bags that we have. They're flattened out like this and they're compressed and we have a whole bunch of boxes. Essex has around 15,000 of these on board currently, but once we open them up and we fill them with water, they hold a little over five gallons of water and we can put a lid on it and basically it's a nice easy way of getting water to people," one Marine explained as he held up one of the water bags.
    Cyclone Nargis struck more than two weeks ago, leaving nearly 134,000 dead or missing, but the country's junta has been reluctant to allow the vessels to dock and has held back on permitting international aid workers from entering the country and assisting in aid distribution.
    The government's toll stands at 77,738 people killed and 55,917 missing, although the United Nations says that could rise dramatically if the 2.4 million people left destitute by the May 2 cyclone do not get a lot of aid quickly.
    The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, and the U.N. have pledged to convene a conference in Yangon and work on a bigger aid delivery plan, but in the meantime the onset of the monsoon season is making life even more miserable for those in need.
    The diplomatic effort to deliver more aid and expertise has picked up a little pace, but the World Bank said on Tuesday it could not provide financial aid to Myanmar because it has made no debt repayments since 1998.
    In other moves to persuade the generals that allowing a large-scale operation was in the best interests of all, the U.N.'s chief humanitarian aid official, John Holmes, met Prime Minister Thein Sein in Myanmar on Tuesday and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is due in Yangon on Thursday (May 22).
    Sailors and marines aboard the USS Essex expressed frustration at not being allowed to enter Myanmar, saying they have the capability to help thousands of victims.

    "I feel a little frustrated that we can't actually get it in there. It kind of makes us feel like we're working for nothing until we actually do get to see the results happen from the work we put it," one sailor said.

    "Well we train a lot and we do many different operations but we always look forward to doing humanitarian operations and we trained so hard and now that we have an opportunity and it's kind of disappointing that we can't exercise that opportunity and also there are hundreds of thousands of people over there that need us so we are looking forward to doing it,"
    added a Marine.
    Historically the military in the former Burma has been suspicious of foreign interference. That distrust deepened since the wave of international outrage and tighter sanctions following last year's crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
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