FORGET POLITICS, CYCLONE VICTIMS NEED HELP, SAYS MEP

5.13.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 7th May 2008

Local LibDem MEP Liz Lynne has urged the UK and EU to get aid to the victims of the Burmese cyclone as soon as possible, even if it means side-stepping the country's secretive military rulers.

Commenting on the day the European Parliament welcomed the regime's acceptance of aid but criticised its decision to proceed with the constitutional referendum on the 10th of May, Liz Lynne MEP, who sits on the Development and Human Rights Committees in the European Parliament, said:

"After the brutal repression by the military in recent years, this catastrophe was the last thing the Burmese people needed. Yes, the country needs political change, but the most important thing is to get aid to where it is needed.

"The dictatorship has shown itself cruelly indifferent and negligent by receiving warnings of the impending cyclone and failing to warn people, even after the horrors of the 2004 tsunami. Yet with some estimates saying 50,000 dead and the risk of water-related diseases already spreading there is not a moment to lose.

"It is unbelievable that victims are complaining of a lack of soldiers helping out, when the military was so quick to crack down on the pro-democracy movement. If this is the case, there may be a need to bypass the military authorities as was done in Indonesia after the tsunami, so that some areas aren't left abandoned in the aftermath of this terrible disaster."

ENDS

Notes:

The EU has pledged an initial €2m in aid to Burma in the aftermath of the cyclone and the UK government has promised £5m.

Liz Lynne has often spoken out against the Burmese regime, most recently co-signing the following European Parliamentary resolution last month: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&language=EN&reference=P6-RC-2008-0191