Myanmar junta closes NGO access to cyclone-hit Rakhine state

Myanmar’s junta has issued a blanket transport ban for aid groups operating in Rakhine state just one day after granting them permission to help victims of one of the worst cyclones to hit the country in a decade.

The Central Committee of the Rakhine state government on Wednesday approved access to transportation for national and international aid groups helping in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha, which made landfall on May 14 with sustained winds of more than 220 kilometers per hour. (137 mph), killing more than 400 people and decimating much of the state.

On Thursday, the Rakhine State Minister of Security and Border Affairs, Col. Kyaw Thura, issued a letter saying the junta had suspended the order. No explanation was provided.

Aid workers told RFA that in northern Rakhine, more than 90% of houses and buildings were damaged by the storm, but more than two weeks later, many people have still not received help. The situation prompted several Rakhine humanitarian organizations to issue a joint statement last week urging the junta authorities to speed up relief efforts and not restrict the work of civil society groups.

An official with an international aid group, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA that the flip-flop had delayed urgently needed supplies from reaching populations at risk.

“Aid groups like the UN, INGOs (international NGOs) and NGOs requested access to help cyclone victims and the state government approved it yesterday but the junta overruled it,” he said. “I heard that the ban was imposed by the board at the union level in Naypyidaw.”

An official from a national NGO, also speaking on condition of anonymity, called the board’s rescission of access to cyclone victims “unacceptable.”

“People are starving and some have to live in the open without a roof or walls,” he said. “The military ban on international humanitarian assistance at such a critical time when victims face various hardships shows that we live under an inhumane government.”

The official noted that with the recent disaster, it is too early to focus on rebuilding Rakhine state.

“It remains an emergency situation where urgent aid and rescue is of paramount importance,” he said, calling for an immediate lifting of the ban.

‘It’s not a political problem’

Pe Than, an ethnic Rakhine politician and former lower house lawmaker from Naypyidaw, went further, saying the junta’s ban is the same as inflicting harm on cyclone victims.

“At a time when we need a lot of internal and external help… I can’t understand (the board) shutting down access like this,” he said. “This issue is not political, nor is it related to the military. It is humanitarian, which is simply a matter of welcoming those who will help. I was surprised to see that what is happening is the other way around.”

RFA’s attempts to contact Hla Thein, the junta spokesman and Rakhine state attorney general, by phone regarding the ban went unanswered on Thursday.

The junta announced on May 21 that a total of 148 Rakhine and Rohingya people were killed in Sittwe, Rathedaung, Ponnagyun and Myebon townships due to Cyclone Mocha.

Emergency assistance is needed in the cyclone-affected townships of Sittwe, Rathedaung, Kyauktaw, Ponnagyun, Pauktaw, Myebon and Mrauk-U, where many homes have been damaged and food and drinking water are in short supply.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.