In what is in an inhuman act on the part of the Burmese military junta, it has prohibited Rangoon based Kachin Christian youth volunteers from leaving for Cyclone Nargis devastated areas in Irrawaddy Delta in southern Burma to help victims, Rangoon Christian sources said.
At a time when the thousands of victims of the devastating cyclone sorely need help and relief workers and experts from abroad are not being granted visas, the junta has made the situation worse by preventing its own people to carry out rescue and relief operations.
About 100 Rangoon Kachin Christian youth were ready to move over a week ago to help the cyclone victims but in a senseless act they were stopped by the authorities, a Kachin youth in Rangoon told KNG.
The rescue mission was organised by the Myanmar Council of Churches (MCC) on the request of Rangoon based The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The junta authorities said that they would only permit volunteers who had National Registration Cards (NRC) of the Irrawaddy Division, MCC sources said.
The Kachin Christian youth had planned to go to Bogalay, one of the most cyclone-devastated areas for random assistance such as construction of temporary shelters for survivors. The cyclone lashed Burma between May 2 and 3.
There were over 10,000 Christians living in Irrawaddy Division but now about 5,000 of them are left in the area, said Rangoon Christian sources.
To meet the emergency the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) donated 1,000,000 Kyat (est. US $ 893) to the Karen Baptist Churches in these areas over a week ago, Rev. Hkalam Sam Sun, a KBC pastor in Myitkyina the capital of Kachin State told KNG today.
According to residents of Myitkyina, the junta officially requested for donations for Cyclone Nargis victims from all religious organizations in Myitkyina Township, yesterday.
The letters asking for donations were distributed on the directives of the Kachin State Peace and Development Council and sent to head offices of Christian churches, Buddhist monasteries, Muslim mosques and Hindu temples in Myitkyina, local sources said.
The letter was titled "Fund for Cyclone Victims" and KBC, the largest Kachin Christian Convention office also received a copy of the letter yesterday.
The junta is only allowing members of the Red Cross, fire brigade personnel and members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) to go and help cyclone survivors in Irrawaddy Division, local sources said.
