ASEAN should take the lead

Burma/Mynamar has every right to be suspicious of the west, but that does not absolve them of their obligations to their people. Cyclone Nargis is yet another example of Mother Nature's displeasure and the junta is using the disaster for their own political aims. Their inaction and lack of urgency in what is clearly an unfolding catastrophe of monumental proportions is an absolute disgrace. China has her hands full trying to deal with the after effects of Mother Nature's wrath, so the other ASEAN countries should exert intolerable pressure on the junta so that the aid effort can be stepped up in a very big way.

So more than 3 weeks after Cyclone Nargis and in the face of unstinting and unremitting international pressure, the Burmese junta has finally agreed to let the aid come in. It's estimated that Mother Nature was responsible for the deaths of 78,000 people, I wonder how many more people have died because of the junta's intransigence.