The team of US-based Christian Freedom International (CFI), an advocacy and aid organization, usually assist sick and injured ethnic Karen refugees hiding in the mountains or jungles, but have now been dispatched into remote areas “to help treat ailing cyclone victims,” many of them Christians, representatives said.
“Residents in the Irawaddy Delta [region], which bore the brunt of the cyclone that tore through the country on May 3, are now claiming that the Burmese military is diverting aid from areas heavily populated by [mainly Christian] Karen villagers,” CFI said.
It added that the claim is "consistent with the government’s longstanding history of discriminatory practices against the Karen, the largest and mostly Christian minority ethnic group in the country."
RURAL AREAS
CFI said it learned that in several rural areas the military’s setup of "strategically placed checkpoints" is not only intended to block the passage of journalists and foreign aid workers, "but to prevent relief aid from reaching Karen villagers in desperate need of help."
The group added that it is also believed that the “forced relocation of storm-affected victims into consolidated population centers” — a practice typically enforced in Karen State — "is part of the junta’s effort to increase civilian control, rather than for the benefit of the country’s affected population." Officials could not be reached for comment.
Cyclone Nargis, one of the worst storms to hit Southeast Asia since 1991, has taken at least tens of thousands of lives with the death toll still climbing. "Thousands of survivors continue to remain homeless, with little or no access to food, clean drinking water or medical supplies, nearly one week after the storm blew through the region at 120 miles (192 kilometers) per hour," CFI claimed.
WIDESPREAD CONDEMNATION
"Despite widespread condemnation for its refusal to accept outside humanitarian assistance,
Burma’s government continues to tighten access to the disaster zone, even as its citizens face the risk of severe famine and disease outbreaks of unprecedented proportions," the group added.
The situation prompted United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to call an emergency meeting with officials from several countries, in an effort to tackle the escalating crisis.
CFI, which established several humanitarian projects in Burma on behalf of what it calls "persecuted Karens," said it has begun wiring donated funds for relief aid into the country, through its network "of underground house churches."
