
News – Myanmar held a rare election on Saturday to approve a new army-drafted constitution, ignoring calls from the outside world to postpone the vote amid the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Nargis.
"Government critics contend that the ruling generals have failed in their responsibilities to the people, opening the way for the UN to invoke its "responsibility to protect" provisions adopted in 2005 that give the Security Council power to ignore national sovereignty for humanitarian reasons."
French Foreign Minister Kouchner said that France would continue to seek a Security Council resolution to deliver aid over the objections of the Myanmar government.
UN officials awaiting permission to enter the country said privately that it is politically and practically almost impossible to launch such an intervention.
Representatives of aid organizations said most governments have no appetite for a confrontation with the generals. China's support for the regime prevents the Security Council consensus needed to adopt French calls for aid to be forced in.
Maybe someone at the UN should force the vote in the Security Council.
China is always concerned with their image, especially with the Olympics coming up
Let China veto the "responsibility to protect" resolution
If the China vetoes the resolution, other countries should then call on China to come to the aid of the people in Myanmar
One radio report related how the Burmese government was handing out free TVs and other electrical appliances to the people. The report also noted that the area hit by the cyclone was largely without electricity??? And this same government is hesitant about allowing foreign aid to the devastated people. What must go through the minds of these generals? They surely must care very little about the welfare of the Burmese people. Their day will come as it surely must.
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From what I've read, they do things their own way over there. The gov't even stopped U.N. food distribution, saying they would handle it. Guess we don't have to worry about giving them any aid.