UN urges Myanmar authorities to restore aid access to cyclone-hit communities

NEW YORK – The U.N. Tuesday accused Myanmar authorities of paralyzing the life-saving assistance to the cyclone-hit areas of the country.

Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) urged military rulers to allow aid workers to distribute and transport aid.

Briefing reporters, Laerke said it is a “devastating setback” for more than a million people that aid workers had planned to reach in Rakhine State.

“We urge the State Administration Council to reconsider this decision and re-instate the initial approval for aid distributions and transportation plans,” he said.

Since the cyclone hit on May 14, aid workers had been reaching a number of people using limited travel authorizations granted by Myanmar authorities.

He said almost 110,000 people received shelter and other assistance materials.

They were allowed to send food assistance to nearly 300,000 individuals in Rakhine alone.

But now the permission has been completely revoked.

“Since the cyclone hit on May 14, humanitarians have been reaching a growing number of people using limited travel authorizations granted by the de facto authorities to organizations with long-standing operations in Rakhine,” he said.

UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ramanathan Balakrishnan, has warned of a food crisis and epidemic of water-borne diseases as a result of this blockade.

Cyclone Mocha ripped through the coast between Cox’s Bazar and the Kyaukpyu township in Myanmar on May 14.

The natural disaster had “largely destroyed” temporary shelters for the displaced people in Myanmar’s northern region.