The Continuing Tragedy of Burma

Gareth Evans, President of the International Crisis Group--a respected NGO that provides analysis and recommendations on preventing violent conflict--wrote an op-ed in The Guardian last week called Burma/Myanmar-Facing up to Our Responsibilities. He considers whether the refusal of Burma's junta to allow aid into that country constitutes a "crime against humanity" in the wake of Cyclone Nargis and whether the world has a "responsibility to protect."

Seventeen days after the cyclone, and seven days after Mr. Evans wrote his article, the aid trickling into Burma is still paltry. The death toll is climbing; according to one BBC article today, it stands at least 78,000. What makes this number so appalling is that the majority of casualties are due not just to the cyclone, but to the government's feeble and self-interested response. The tragedy is largely a silent one; because of Burma's inaccessibility to reporters, and the focus on the more transparent humanitarian crisis in China, the Burma crisis has fallen off the headlines. The full scale of the tragedy will not be known for months. By then, Burma's helpless population will have paid a staggering price.

Burma is a frustrating case for those who wish to do good in this world. Reporters, who could focus public sympathy and international attention on the crisis, are shut out. Humanitarian NGOs are also locked out, and without media coverage, have a difficult time raising relief funds. Western militaries--who are more than capable of infiltrating Burma with unauthorized airdrops or other forms of forceful intervention--can do so only unilaterally (which is not feasible) or with a UN Security Council resolution (which is also not feasible, thanks to the intransigence of Russia and China). As Evans writes, forceful intervention into sovereign states--even in a situation as desperate as Burma's--is a grave matter, with many opponents.

So for the forseeable future, the world will continue on its present course in Burma: doing absolutely nothing. A handful of evil men in Burma's junta have managed to paralyze the collective might of the watching world. Their own people will pay the price.