WASHINGTON — Just seven days after Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar last month, the ruling military junta parceled out key sections of the affected Irrawaddy delta to favored tycoons and companies, including several facing sanctions from the U.S. Treasury, according to a Myanmar magazine with close ties to the government.
Some of the most notorious business executives in Myanmar were given control of “reconstruction and relief” in critical townships, under the leadership of top generals.
The document is dated May 9, a time when the United Nations, aid groups and many countries were pleading with the Myanmar government to allow access to affected areas in the aftermath of the storm, which killed as many as 130,000 people and left 2.5 million without homes.
The document was published in the Voice, a weekly journal.
“The regime wants its cronies to get the money,” said Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. “They see it as an opportunity to profit from the international community’s compassion. But these are not experts in providing relief; they are experts in running guns and drugs and making a lot of money.”
Efforts to reach Myanmar representatives in Washington Thursday night were unsuccessful.
