No embassy from West bloc presses statement for Rakhine’s sufferings from Cyclone Mocha
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Tun Mon Thet (NP News) – May 16
The group of embassies, mostly the west nations, led by American and British and the affiliated entities that usually issued statements from time to time especially on the issues happening in Myanmar, mostly related to politics and Bengali aliens, now are silent over sufferings and loses of Rakhine State from the heavy destructive Cyclone Mocha.
The extremely severe cyclonic storm Mocha struck Myanmar’s Rakhine coastal region on May 14. It mainly swept the city ‘Sittwe’.
Though the dead toll can be said almost negligible in such nearly Cat 5 Cyclonic Storm, many infrastructures, properties, trees, departmental buildings, pagodas, monasteries, religious places, and residential houses were destroyed by it.
The American embassy and its affiliated embassies including British, Canada, Australia, Germany, France and Netherlands usually pressed statements of condolences and humanitarian sympathies on Myanmar, especially on what they titled the ‘human right violation’.
However, their sympathies seem excluding the bona fide loses and sufferings of the country from the natural disaster.
The Cyclone Mocha centered and struck Myanmar’s Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and other cities in Rakhine State on Sunday.
The State Administration Council declared all 17 townships in Rakhine State as the ‘Disaster Affected Areas’ in next morning as per Section 11 of Myanmar Natural Disaster Management Law.
Of course, the statement politics isn’t workable indeed; notwithstanding, their corporate news agency such as Reuters, AFP and BBC are seeking information to highlight the dead toll and requirements of humanitarian aids for Bengali aliens from the camps located on the borderline of Myanmar and Bangladesh.
In fact, Myanmar authorities declared and announced for evacuation since a week ahead of the disaster day. That’s why the dead toll in Rakhine was five in two days after Mocha swept.
On the other hand, the Chinese Embassy expresses a heartful sympathy on Myanmar’s sufferings in Rakhine State from Cyclone Mocha. Spokesperson of China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) revealed China’s willingness to help Myanmar in emergency respond plans in the disaster area.
The Cyclone Mocha made landfall as Category 5 with 137 mph (as per Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology); it was stronger than the deadly Cyclone Nargis in 2008.