WASHINGTON — President Bush said Monday that an angry world should condemn the way Myanmar’s military rulers are handling the aftermath of a devastating cyclone. “Here they are with a major catastrophe on their hands, and (they) do not allow there to be the full kind of might of a compassionate world to help them,” Bush said.
Asked in a CBS News radio interview whether the generals running the country were more concerned about their grip on power than helping their own people, Bush said: “That’s the only conclusion you can draw.”
Meanwhile, Ky Luu, the director of the U.S. office of foreign disaster assistance, said “there’s massive concern” about whether U.S. aid would get to victims.
The White House said the U.S. was prepared to provide $13 million more in food and logistical assistance to the United Nations’ world food program.
Also Monday, the Treasury Department said it was lifting the limit on funds that Americans can send to family and friends in Myanmar. It had been $300 for each Myanmar household every three months.
