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KYAUKTAN, Myanmar-Myanmar's junta started evicting destitute families from government-run cyclone relief centers on Friday, apparently fearing the 'tented villages' might become permanent."It is better that they move to their homes where they are more stable," a government official said at one camp where people had been told to clear out at short notice."Here, they are relying on donations and it is not stable."Locals and aid workers said 39 camps in the immediate vicinity of Kyauktan, 30 km (20 miles) south of Yangon, were being cleared as part of a general eviction plan."We knew we had to go at some point but we had hoped for more support," 21-year-old trishaw driver Kyaw Moe Thu said as he trudged out of the camp with his five brothers and sisters.They had been given 20 bamboo poles and some tarpaulins to help rebuild their lives in the Irrawaddy delta, where 134,000 people were left dead or missing by Cyclone Nargis on May 2."Right now, we are disappointed," Kyaw Moe Thu said. "We were promised 30 poles by the government.They told us we will get rice each month, but right now we have nothing."Singapore said Myanmar's generals were wary of admitting foreign aid workers because it would show they were not capable of handling the disaster."The military leaders surely know that foreign aid will save lives and help to rebuild the devastated areas. But they also fear the political consequence of opening up the disaster zone to international aid teams," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at a security conference in Singapore."This might show up their own incapability, and undermine their credibility and legitimacy," he said.To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...
