22 Sep 2008

Still no aid for some Mynamar cyclone victims

5:10 pm on 22 September 2008

Ethnic tribes living in Myanmar believe the military regime is continuing deliberately to block aid after Cyclone Nargis.

Relief workers say thousands of victims of the storm which hit the Irrawaddy Delta in May have still not received any form of humanitarian assistance.

About 140,000 people were either killed when the storm hit, or have disappeared, and 500,000 homes were destroyed.

One relief worker says members of the long-persecuted Karen tribe are being denied aid as a form of "ethnic cleansing".

Many victims of the cyclone say their land is being confiscated by the military, and they are having to buy back properties they already own.

Mahn Mahn, part of a local group Emergency Assistance Team, backed by Western charities, says many people are returning to their homes, only to find others claiming ownership.

"Some people have lost their land as they no longer have their land registration papers.

"When they return to their homes they find that other companies have taken over their properties and they have no way to prove that they are the original owners."

Lost documents are also preventing some children returning to school.