After Nargis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9vx287Zm7o

Watch part two

On May 2, a tropical cyclone hit southern Myanmar, leaving around one million people homeless.

Since then, about 135,000 have died as a result of Cyclone Nargis, but until recently the military regime had chosen to ignore rather than mourn them.

With a referendum planned for May 7, Than Shwe, the head-of-state general, was more preoccupied with reasserting the junta’s authority than sending food and medical assistance to the population affected by the storm.

Neither did the junta open its doors to international humanitarian aid despite promises made by countries like the US, France and the UK to ship food to the affected areas.

On Friday, May 23, 21 days after the cyclone hit, Ban Ki Moon, the UN secretary-general, announced a breakthrough on cyclone relief, a pledge still not publicly confirmed by the junta the next day.

People & Power sent an undercover journalist into Myanmar to report on the constitutional referendum planned by the military junta to legitimise their rule. Our journalist arrived in the country, formerly known as Burma, the day after the cyclone struck.

During her time there she posed as a tourist – someone merely caught up in the devastation like everyone else. Even so she was still monitored by the security services.

From the heart of the devastation in Myanmar we ask is this the straw that will finally break the back of Myanmar’s brutal military dictatorship?

Ban Ki Moon’s declaration that the regime was ready to open its door to the international community has created scepticism amongst foreign aid agency workers.

Is Cyclone Nargis on its way to becoming the greatest humanitarian disaster of all time?

Al Jazeera’s news presenter Barbara Serra and Johnny Chatterton from the organisation Burma Campaign UK analyse the situation.

This episode of People & Power aired from Sunday, May 25, 2008.