Aung San Suu Kyi on humanitarian ai

[douglas.steele@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: Aung San Suu Kyi on humanitarian aid to Burma



In a foreword to a conference working paper on humanitarian aid to Burma,
Aung San Suu Kyi gives her views on the getting aid to the right people in
the right way.

The conference was sponsored by the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced
International Studies, The Open Society Institute and The Burma Fund and was
held in Washington on May 24, 1999.

For more information, click on:


http://www.burmafund.org/Research_Library/Humanitarian%20Aid%20to%20Burma.ht
m

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Foreword to The Humanitarian Crisis, Aid and Governance
in Burma

By Aung San Suu Kyi


The issue of humanitarian aid for a country where an authoritarian
government has a stranglehold on every aspect of the lives of its citizens
has to be handled with the greatest care. Without a correct understanding of
conditions within the country, there is the danger that humanitarian aid
from United Nations agencies and programmes and international NGOs might be
provided in a way that exacerbates the very causes for the need for
humanitarian aid.  In Burma, the underlying cause of the social, political
and economic crises which have created untold hardships for the people is
the lack of good governance.  There cannot be good governance without
responsibility, accountability and transparency.   The provision of
humanitarian aid should be made in such a way as to promote these qualities.
If the provision of aid simply enables an authoritarian government to assume
less responsibility for the welfare of the people, or to strengthen its
despotic grip, or to increase the opacity of its administration, it will do
irreparably more harm than good.

The following paper reflects the views of the National League for Democracy
with regard to the present humanitarian crisis in Burma. We have always
requested that UN agencies and international NGOs should consult with the

NLD and that their work in Burma should be closely monitored to ensure that
humanitarian aid provides help to the right people in the right way.  By
helping the right people in the right way, we mean that the provision of aid
should not be restricted to those who have been "approved" by the
authorities and that it is made in a way consonant with the aim to build
strong democratic institutions in Burma.

We place emphasis on the need for UN agencies and international NGOs to
maintain close contacts with the NLD not only because it is the party that
represents the people, but because it is in a position to provide
information relevant to the successful implementation of aid programmes. The
failure to acquire such information could well have unfortunate results.  I
would like to give as an example the recent agreement between the ICRC and
the military authorities to allow the ICRC to inspect two prisons in Burma.
We have no reason whatsoever to doubt the good intentions of the ICRC but
because of this agreement, hundreds of political prisoners were removed from
Insein Jail and dispersed in prisons throughout Burma before the inspection
was made.  While we still awaits the results of the ICRC inspection, the
immediate effect has been the greatly increased hardship of political

prisoners and their families.  If the ICRC had consulted us before the
prison inspections took place, we could have informed them of the prison
transfers and asked them to take necessary action to prevent their agreement
with the military authorities from increasing the sufferings of political
prisoners.

I would like to express my appreciation to those who prepared the attached
paper. I hope that it will serve to make UN agencies and programmes, donor
countries and international NGOs to be fully aware of all the issues
involved in providing aid to Burma and help them to come to decisions that
will give Burma the aid that it most needs, that which will enable us to
establish good governance in the country.





							Aung San Suu Kyi

**********************

This foreword is online at


http://www.burmafund.org/Research_Library/ASSK%20foreword%20to%20Humanitaria
n%20Aid%20to%20Burma.htm

The paper is online at:


http://www.burmafund.org/Research_Library/Humanitarian%20Crisis,%20Aid%20and
%20Governance.htm