The [him] moderator has heard that the new rules for the activities of all international organisations working in Burma/Myanmar announced Tuesday were not as draconian as the ones in the widely circulated underground draft. Good. But what are the next steps?
Rangoon Aid Agencies Await Their Fate
Clive Parker and Yeni
February 08, 2006
http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=5462&z=154
Burma’s military government may be planning to implement further debilitating restrictions on humanitarian agencies in Burma, according to a recently distributed document— despite the official presentation of softer guidelines to representatives of the international humanitarian community in Rangoon on Tuesday.
UN and other international aid workers left Tuesday’s briefing on the new formalized rules for UN and NGO offices “optimistic” that a new government proposal to hold frequent dialogues—every one or two months—with aid workers might represent an opportunity to resolve recent problems.
“It is the first-ever guidelines [that have] come out officially…which is a positive step,” Bhim Udas, chief representative of the World Food Program, said after the session.
However, the existence of a similar but more detailed document drawn up by the Burmese Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, following a meeting between Prime Minister Gen Soe Win and concerned ministers on January 5, suggests the government may be about to impose constraints on international humanitarian offices, which aid workers deem unacceptable.
These guidelines—which the UN received unofficially, and indirectly, and then distributed to its various offices a week ago—say that all aid workers would have to be accompanied by a representative of one of several junta-affiliated groups, including the Union Solidarity and Development Association.
The International Committee of the Red Cross recently suspended prison inspections throughout Burma after local-level USDA members insisted they supervise meetings with detainees.
Patrick Vial, the ICRC’s chief representative in Burma, has said the impasse was likely the result of a misunderstanding at the regional level. But this recent insight into the junta’s plans suggests the policy of supervising humanitarian programs generally has been rubber-stamped by the prime minister. The ICRC has said it hopes to resolve the matter in ongoing discussions with the government. Vial was unavailable for comment today.
If the policy w ere to be formally introduced, the UN and other aid agencies would almost certainly feel unable to continue normal operations in Burma.
The text that we were given [at Tuesday’s meeting] was actually far less restrictive than the text that was circulating underground
Other points of concern include the provision that international aid offices would only be able to recruit Burmese staff from a list drawn up by the government, a condition imposed in only a handful of countries including North Korea and formerly in Vietnam.
The document also states that all funds would have to be deposited in the government-owned Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank, and withdrawn in foreign exchange certificates. The worry is that each FEC would then have to be exchanged at the official rate of 450 kyat. The street rate is nearer 1,100 kyat, which in turn is roughly equal to one US dollar. If such a measure were to be imposed, the junta would effectively be making huge profits on international aid money through manipulation of the exchange rate, sources say.
Adding further confusion to the situation, guidelines jointly distributed on Tuesday by Foreign Minister Nyan Win, Minister o f National Planning and Economic Development Soe Tha and Minister of Home Affairs Maj-Gen Maung Oo make no mention of these conditions.
“The text that we were given [at Tuesday’s meeting] was actually far less restrictive than the text that was circulating underground,” a humanitarian worker told The Irrawaddy.
Although these guidelines list objectives including the protection of “national interests” and prevention of moves that may “jeopardize state sovereignty”—as in the case of the original document—it does not mention the USDA or restrictions on recruiting local staff. Tuesday’s guidelines also make no mention of how funds would have to be deposited in Burma.
The main change to the existing situation—which is outlined in both documents—means that the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development would take over from the Ministry of Home Affairs as the junta’s main liaison with the UN and NGOs.
The move means that Soe Tha would become chairman of a new coordination committee, with Nyan Win as vice-chairman and a host of other ministers, including Maj-Gen Maung Oo, as members.
The chief UN Coordinator in Burma, Charles Petrie, in responding to the briefing told the three ministers that the humanitarian community in Burma welcomed the opportunity to hold frank dialogue with the government, also highlighting the three humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality and neutrality.
Petrie will now meet other UN heads in the next few days in order to receive feedback on how to proceed in what remains an unclear situation. Meanwhile, humanitarian workers in Rangoon are left wondering what was the motivation behind the government’s decision to suddenly address the issue.
While most aid workers expressed relief at the outcome of Tu esday’s session, one high-level aid worker said both sets of guidelines point to more problems in the future: “I fear we’re going to see [the situation] slide further,” he told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
The WFP’s Udas insisted that recent developments would not affect his agency’s operations: “It’s business as usual,” he said.
International aid workers in Burma say they will use the opportunity to communicate with the government to press for fewer restrictions, as they enter a critical 12 months with more pressing humanitarian needs in Burma. The UN and NGOs are currently preparing to begin programs to address the threat of bird flu, further compensate for the loss of Global Fund money to tackle HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and launch a far-reaching measles campaign at the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Burma’s humanitarian community will wait to see which of the two sets of guideline s the government will eventually follow.
