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Asia-Pacific Daily Report
October 18, 2007
Myanmar
UN appeals for donations for Myanmar's 5 million underfed
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) appealed to international donors Thursday (October 18) for help in meeting the food needs of some 5 million underfed people in impoverished Myanmar whose situation has been exacerbated by the ruling junta's recent fuel hikes and crackdown on anti-government protests. Tony Banbury, WFP 's Asia director, spent last week surveying the program in Myanmar and said Thursday that government interference in transportation is making it difficult for WFP - one of few relief agencies allowed in the country of 47 million - to reach the increasing number of people in need. Once known as the rice bowl of Asia and one of the richest countries in the region upon gaining independence from Britain in 1948, Myanmar, which was formerly known as Burma and has been ruled by the military since 1962, has been economically depressed for years. In August, the government inflated fuel prices by as much as 500 percent, putting commodities and services well beyond the reach of the general population and driving thousands to the streets in protest of the government's economic policies. On September 26 and 27, the junta used violence to dispel the Buddhist monk-led protests, which had grown to as many as 100,000 people marching in the streets of the main city, Yangon (Rangoon). The junta admits to having killed 13 people and arrested some 3,000 suspected protesters as foreign governments have criticized its security crackdown around the country. The BBC reported that Banbury said the crackdown had manifested in landless villagers not being allowed access to work, farmers being restricted from markets to sell their rice, and travel restrictions for WFP food caravans. The international outcry against the junta's violent tactics has not been accompanied by increased aid for the suppressed population, Reuters reported Banbury as saying. Banbury said that currently WFP only has enough resources to reach 500,000 of the estimated 5 million people in need of food, adding that only 30 percent of the international aid promised for 2007-2009 has been released, according to the BBC. Expressing his distress at not being able to help everyone, Branbury said, "Who do we cut off? Which village, which school, which family? Who that we've promised food do we turn around and say sorry to?" according to Reuters. Still, Banbury said, food aid alone would not be enough to provide long-term help to the people of Myanmar. He called on the junta to relax trade restrictions and said that, if allowed, Myanmar's farmers have the capability to produce a surplus food supply for the country, according to Reuters. Also on Thursday, 13 international non-governmental organizations published an appeal for better working conditions and more support for humanitarian workers operating in Myanmar.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7050236.stm
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/AMMF-784CM9?OpenDocument
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=3744412
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/SSHN-784EEE?OpenDocument
North Korea
Recent floods bring food shortages to North Korea, but famine unlikely
A South Korean think-tank warned in a report Thursday (October 18) that North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK) could face a famine next year following floods in August which destroyed crops and farm land. However, a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) official says that while malnutrition persists among North Korean children, starvation has not yet set in. The South Korean state-run Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI) said that North Korea has a 1.4 million-ton food shortfall following devastating floods in August. The KREI report said that North Korea needs at least 5.3 million tons of food until autumn 2008, but it will only be able to supply some 3.9 million tons, leaving a gap of 1.4 million tons. It also said that the farming sector incurred some US$275 million in losses from the August floods. "The North's food inventory has almost hit the bottom, so unless there's an extraordinary measure to stabilize supply, there may be a situation next year similar to the late 1990s," the KREI report said. Mismanagement and a series of disasters in the mid to late 1990s, including flood and drought, triggered a famine in the North that left up to 2 million people dead. North Korea has since relied on food aid from countries such as South Korea and from international aid agencies such as the UN's World Food Program (WFP). The UNICEF deputy representative in North Korea, Michel Le Pechoux, says that while the situation is "still fragile," it was not likely to lead to famine as the situation was different from the 1990s. "Food and malnutrition is an issue, but to say that people are starving, we do not have evidence of that...I wouldn't qualify it as famine. I think the situation in the late 1990s and the situation now is very different," Reuters quoted him as saying. He said that the last UN nutritional assessment done in 2004 found that 37 percent of North Korean children were chronically malnourished, which was similar to rates in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar and was better than a 60 percent rate in the 1990s, Reuters reported. Grain production has also increased significantly over the last decade and aid agencies have reported better access for food distribution due to progress in international talks on North Korea's nuclear program, the BBC reported. As part of a February deal in which the North agreed to shut down and eventually dismantle its main nuclear facilities, South Korea, the North's largest foreign aid donor, increased annual food aid by 100,000 tons. UNICEF is currently undertaking a nutritional assessment among people displaced by the floods across 19 North Korean counties, according to Reuters. Heavy rains in early to mid-August in North Korea triggered floods which left at least 600 dead or missing, according to North Korean state-run news. The flooding affected at least nine provinces, including the capital, Pyongyang. The floods are reported to have affected nearly a million people and displaced some 170,000 others. At least 11 percent of agricultural land was also reportedly flooded. The North had said that it had faced a shortfall of 1 million tons of food, or some 20 percent of its needs, even before the floods struck. Aid agencies had earlier cautioned that they expected the food shortage in the North to be especially severe this year because of the floods. In September, WFP said that it will distribute food to some 215,000 people across six provinces affected by the disaster over the next three months and will evaluate farming losses caused by the floods.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7051479.stm
http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2007-10-18T073248Z_01_SEO355984_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-KOREA-NORTH-FAMINE-COL.XML&archived=False
South Asia
India, Pakistan resume peace talks
Despite India's accusations this week that Pakistan is supporting militants across the border, the neighbor nations began a fresh round of "confidence-building" peace talks Thursday (October 18), hoping to make progress on nuclear arsenal controls and a joint anti-terrorism campaign. The talks, held in New Delhi, India, began just days after Indian officials accused Pakistan of supporting Sikh rebels in the northwest Indian state of Punjab, where a bombing in a theater killed six people and injured 32 on Sunday (October 14), according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Pakistan has not responded to the accusations. The agenda for Thursday's talks included reducing tensions along maritime borders and the repatriation of people accidentally straying across land frontiers, but the only news from the first day was that, as expected, the two countries extended the 2003 ceasefire along the Line of Control that divides hotly contested Kashmir between Indian and Pakistani rule, according to the AFP. Conflicts over Kashmir have been the source of two of the three wars between the countries since 1947, and India has accused Pakistan, which enjoys relative peace in the part of Kashmir it controls, of supporting constant insurgencies in Indian-controlled Kashmir (IcK). When the parties reconvene Friday (October 19), they are expected to resume talks about nuclear safeguards and on Monday (October 22) they will hold the second-ever meeting of the joint anti-terrorism panel they formed last year, according to the International News. According to Reuters, analysts doubt much progress will be made at this round of talks because both India and Pakistan are enduring political turmoil at home. The last talks, held in March in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, resulted in improvements in transportation, cultural and diplomatic ties, but no progress on violence in Kashmir.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP29650
http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=30760
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2007/October/subcontinent_October639.xml§ion=subcontinent
Sri Lanka
At least 37 dead in Sri Lanka violence
Sri Lanka's defense ministry said Thursday (October 18) that government troops have killed at least 34 Tamil Tiger rebels in clashes in the north over the last two days. The government said that troops killed at least 20 rebels in clashes yesterday (Wednesday, October 17) and another 14 Tamil Tiger rebels who were attempting to infiltrate northern defense lines that separate rebel-held territory from government-held territory on Thursday. "Troops manning the Wanni Forward Defense Line engaged two groups of LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] infiltrators, killing at least 14 LTTE cadres today," Reuters quoted the Defense Ministry as saying on its web site. Six soldiers were also reportedly wounded in the engagement. The military said that in a separate incident, three people were killed in a clash between the Sri Lankan navy and the LTTE naval wing. However, according to Reuters, it was unclear whether the dead were rebels or civilians. Yesterday, the military said that troops clashed with rebels, and exchanged artillery and mortar fire around the town of Omanthai, a main crossing point between government and rebel territory in the north. According to Reuters, the military said that the clashes occurred on the rebel side of the defense line. There was no immediate comment by the LTTE. The government earlier this year said it had driven the LTTE out of its eastern strongholds and most of the fighting has since shifted to the north. However, the military said there were still pockets of resistance in the east. Over 5,000 people have been killed since violence renewed in December 2005 and dozens have been killed in recent weeks in an upsurge of fighting in the north. The LTTE has been fighting for a separate state in the north and east since 1983 and over 70,000 have been killed in the conflict.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSCOL5143
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2007-10-18T102214Z_01_COL342951_RTRUKOC_0_US-SRILANKA-VIOLENCE.xml
Vietnam
Central Vietnam floods leave at least eight dead
At least eight people have died and three others are reported to be missing due to floods in central Vietnam. Officials are also reportedly evacuating thousands of people. The state Vietnam News Agency (VNA) said that heavy rains and floods since last Sunday (October 14) inundated thousands of houses and rice and other crops. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), in Quang Ngai province, three people were killed in the floods and many villages were left isolated. Central Quang Tri and Quang Nam provinces reported two deaths each, while another three people were reported missing in Quang Nam. The report from the committee said that one death was also reported in Thua Thien Hue province, where rivers rose to an "alarming level." Officials reportedly evacuated some 30,000 people from Thua Thien Hue and Quang Tri provinces. Officials also reported that flood waters were threatening the central World Heritage town of Hoi An. Hoi An was designated as a World Heritage site in 1999 by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which said it was an example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th to 19th centuries, according to Reuters. The government also said that there were threats of flash floods and landslides in three coffee-growing provinces in the Central Highlands just south of the worst-affected provinces, Reuters reported. The Vietnamese government said that floods could hit the Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak, Gia Lai, and Kontum, which account for nearly half of Vietnam's coffee production. The new flooding follows recent flooding in central and northern Vietnam by Typhoon Lekima and other storms. At least 74 people died and nine others were reported missing after a storm dumped torrential rains over the first 10 days of August in central Vietnam. Earlier this month, Vietnam was hit by the worst floods in decades in some areas of the country, triggered by the arrival of Typhoon Lekima. Lekima left around 100 dead or missing. The flooding by Lekima resulted in the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) appealing for US$2.7 million in aid to provide a month's worth of food for some 200,000 people in the worst-hit areas. Hundreds of people lose their lives in storms and floods annually between July and November in Vietnam. Last year, 10 storms struck the country, and around 500 people were killed in floods and landslides.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KKAA-7847HA?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=vnm
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KKAA-7849QL?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=vnm
Other World News
Sudan
Aid agencies hope joint peacekeeping force will bring more protection to Darfur
Aid agencies in Sudan's western Darfur region hope that a hybrid force of 26,000 UN and African Union (AU) peacekeepers due to arrive in January will protect aid workers and displaced persons. The 26,000-strong peacekeeping force will replace a much smaller AU force of 7,000 that has not had much success in halting violence in Darfur. The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur has been highlighted this week by the killing of three United Nations World Food Program (WFP) drivers, which came shortly after the September 29 killing of 10 African Union (AU) soldiers. In the latest WFP incidents, two men were killed on Tuesday (October 16) on the road between Ed Daien town and El Obeid city, while a third man was killed Friday (October 12) on the road between Nyala and El Fasher. All three men killed in South Darfur state worked for Abbarci trucking company, a contractor that delivers WFP food aid to Darfur storehouses. The recent high-profile killings are the latest in a string of increased attacks on aid workers in Darfur. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), attacks against the relief community in Darfur have increased by 150 percent in the past year. More than 60 aid vehicles have been hijacked and 12 humanitarian workers have been killed in Darfur this year, the Associated Press reports. While it is hoped the larger incoming peacekeeping force will increase security, aid agencies are also aware they could also be at risk after their arrival. If clashes increase between peacekeepers and armed groups, aid workers are often perceived as a "soft target" for armed groups to retaliate against. Experts say it is important to a continuing humanitarian relief effort for aid agencies to maintain distance from peacekeeping forces in order to retain the perception of neutrality. Darfur is the world's largest ongoing humanitarian operation, costing over US$1 billion and with some 13,000 aid workers on the ground. According to a UN report in May, 2.1 million people have been internally displaced in Darfur. As of November 2006, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that 234,000 refugees from Darfur had fled into neighboring Chad. The current conflict started in February 2003 when ethnic African rebels in Darfur took up arms against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, saying the government neglects arid regions and arms Arab militias against civilians. Civilians have since been attacked by government troops, nomadic militia and rebel groups, with more than 200,000 people reportedly having been killed.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L18257513.htm
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j0DjgtWV68sKt9pS-fco0m5c3RgwD8SB2OV01
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/WFP/a9d6d86d47590e7c1d99da1b153b3815.htm
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=24174&Cr=sudan&Cr1=
Pakistan
Bomb attacks against former PM Bhutto's convoy leave more than 115 dead in Pakistan
At least 115 people were killed in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi Thursday (October 18) night when two bombs exploded among the convoy parading opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto through crowds of at least 200,000 people who had gathered to celebrate her return from eight years in self-imposed exile. Authorities suspect suicide bombers were behind the attacks, and noted that at least three al-Qaeda linked groups had threatened attacks should Bhutto return to Pakistan. While the BBC reported 125 deaths, Reuters, CNN and the Associated Press (AP) gave early casualty estimates of about 115 deaths and 100 injuries. Bhutto was not among the casualties. The first bomb exploded a short distance from the security convoy escorting the leader, but the second - and much larger - exploded near the front of the truck carrying Bhutto, who was resting, according to Reuters. The truck's windows and doors were blown out, but police vehicles surrounding it went up in flames as people began running from the scene. The ensuing panic and masses of people made it difficult for ambulances to access the injured, CNN reported. According to Reuters, there were at least 20,000 security personnel on the streets of Karachi during the procession. At least 20 policemen were among the dead. Authorities immediately restricted access to the bomb site and began evacuating people from other places where Bhutto had been scheduled to appear. Bhutto, who served twice as prime minister in the 1990s, left Pakistan amid corruption scandals before President Gen. Pervez Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup in 1999. Musharraf, who is facing mounting criticism at home and abroad, granted Bhutto amnesty on October 5, paving the way for her to return and pursue a power-sharing deal with him as parliamentary elections approach in January. The government had asked Bhutto last week to delay her return to Pakistan until political turmoil surrounding Musharraf subsides. The government of Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, warned Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party earlier this week that it had received several threats of suicide attacks upon her return. According to CNN, Bhutto is unpopular with rebel groups because she is a woman and is perceived as liberal and a supporter of the US. Musharraf immediately issued a statement condemning the attacks, calling them a "conspiracy against democracy," according to Reuters. Schools throughout Sindh province will shut down Friday (October 19). Other closures are also expected.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7051804.stm
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/10/18/pakistan.explosions/index.html
http://wap.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL245129.htm