Myanmar cyclone toll nears 78,000
Steep rise in death count as pressure mounts on government to allow in foreign aid.
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Army officers told them they had 24 hours to leave, without explaining why or telling them where they could go.
The villagers of Shu Li Man say they have nowhere to go and say they will not leave.
“I know the soldiers will come but we will stay here, whatever happens. There’s nothing else we can do,” Thain So, the village chief, told Al Jazeera.
Even at the sports hall, food is scarce and medicine even more scarce.
Disease is the most immediate threat.
More than 16,000 thousand cases of diarrhoea and fever have been reported in Yangon alone.
And with a government quarantine imposed on the entire delta region, the number there must be many times that.
Referendum ‘success’
Myanmar‘s ruling generals announced on Thursday that last weekend’s referendum on a new constitution was a resounding success.
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| The government claims a 99 per cent turnout for last week’s referendum [AFP] |
The government had gone ahead with the vote in all but the worst cyclone-affected areas of the country, ignoring criticism at home and abroad.
Many blame the generals’ sensitivity over the vote for their reluctance to admit foreign aid in the days after the cyclone hit.
Few are surprised that they claimed a 92.4 per cent vote in their favour and a 99 per cent turnout.
The numbers will give little comfort to the villagers of Shu Li Man as they face eviction from the only home they have left.