WASHINGTON, May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following the impact of
Cyclone Nargis on Myanmar, which killed tens of thousands of people and
displaced around a million more, Amnesty International is calling urgently
on the government to open its borders to relief workers and ensure aid is
provided on the basis of need without discrimination.



    "Government red tape in providing visas is costing lives, while some
donors are delaying aid in the fear that it will be siphoned off to the
army," said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher.
"The government should now provide access and assurances to international
relief workers."



    Amnesty International calls on the Myanmar government to ease visa
restrictions and customs procedures that have hampered access by
international relief workers over the past few days and slowed the delivery
of desperately needed aid. While some international aid has arrived in
Yangon (Rangoon), the government has not yet mobilized the tremendous
logistical effort necessary to provide assistance to the hardest hit
populations.



    Amnesty International recognizes that at this point the situation in
southern Myanmar is primarily a humanitarian and rehabilitation crisis.
Experience after other natural disasters of this scale, for instance the
Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, has proven that protecting human rights is
essential for effective relief and a sustainable recovery.



    Amnesty International therefore calls on the government of Myanmar to
cooperate closely with international relief efforts and establish clear and
transparent mechanisms for delivering aid. The government should provide
aid according to need, without discrimination based on race, color, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status of recipients. In post-disaster situations,
women are often particularly vulnerable to sexual violence, and frequently
receive less aid.



    The Myanmar government must also ensure that the nearly one million
people believed to have been displaced by the cyclone urgently receive
adequate rehabilitation and assistance, including essential shelter, food,
water and health care. Given the government's record of forcibly relocating
its own citizens, Amnesty International calls on the government to avoid
using excessive force against understandably distraught displaced
populations.



    The Myanmar government's history of corruption and abusive behavior
raises concerns that it would misuse relief efforts as cover to forcibly
relocate populations in order to clamp down on or undermine support for
opposition groups. Any relocation of internally displaced persons from
camps or disaster areas must be voluntary, unless the safety and health of
those affected requires evacuation. They should not be coerced in any way,
including through the suspension of assistance to those persons. The right
of internally displaced persons to return voluntarily to their former homes
or lands in safety and with dignity should be respected and the authorities
should assist them in either returning or resettling in another part of the
country.



    "Human rights are most in jeopardy in situations of crisis and
emergency," said Benjamin Zawacki. "So it is critical that the Myanmar
government and other actors recognize and support the central role of human
rights defenders, including those engaged in humanitarian work and those
monitoring violations, in the relief and reconstruction process."

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