UN: One-third of Burmese children are chronically malnourished or physically stunted, and the military junta is largely responsible for an escalating humanitarian crisis, the head of the UN's food agency said yesterday.
In one of the most critical public condemnations of the autocratic regime by a senior diplomat in recent years, James Morris, executive director of the world food programme, also said that in some border areas - home to the repressed ethnic minorities - malnutrition rates exceed 60 per cent.
"The humanitarian issues are serious and getting worse," he said in Bangkok after a trip to Burma. "I made clear that the primary responsibility for making things better rests squarely with the government."
Many of the problems stem from the extremely tight control the military regime exerts over the people, he said.
"Agricultural and marketing policies, and restrictions on the movement of people, make it very difficult for many of those at risk to merely subsist."
As an example, Mr Morris described how in February the WFP put out to tender a contract for 5,500 tonnes of rice for North Rhakine State. But the three suppliers have so far only managed to deliver 430 tonnes, primarily because of red tape. The lack of political will to feed the population is also demonstrated, according to Mr Morris, by the government's enthusiasm to export food such as rice and seafood to China, India and Thailand. He called for a radical overhaul of food supply policies.
"[ Burma's] severe and wide-ranging hunger issues cannot be solved without fundamental changes that promote the . . . well-being of the population, which is the preserve of the government."
The government, which has cut off most of its links with the UN in the last year, did not appear to listen to his concerns, Mr Morris claimed.
He said that the prime minister, Soe Win, did not engage in a dialogue during their meeting but appeared just to reiterate prepared statements.
Mr Morris also highlighted that the WFP has, like all foreign entities, had to pay a 10 per cent tax on all goods and services paid for in foreign currency, a surcharge his agency has not experienced in any other country. He said the government had agreed to lift this charge.
He also stressed the regime had not restricted the WFP's activities.
No one in the Burmese government was willing to discuss Mr Morris's statements yesterday.