UN says Myanmar is forcing cyclone survivors out of refugee camps

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Myanmar's military government is forcing cyclone victims out of refugee camps and "dumping" them near their devastated villages with virtually no aid supplies, the United Nations said Friday. Eight camps set up earlier by the government for homeless victims in the Irrawaddy delta town of Bogalay were "totally empty" as the clear-out continued, UNICEF official Teh Tai Ring told a meeting of aid groups. "The government is moving people unannounced," he said, adding that authorities were "dumping people in the approximate location of the villages, basically with nothing." After his statements were reported, UNICEF issued a statement saying the remarks actually referred to "unconfirmed reports by relief workers on the relocation of displaced people affected by" the May 2-3 storm.