Military elite given priority in post-cyclone clean-up

Looting and unrest was reported from remote areas of Burma today as the country battled to recover from Saturday's tropical cyclone which left more than 350 dead and hundreds of thousands homeless, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post.

Anger at the lack of a swift government response to the disaster was fuelled by an official announcement that the military junta would press on with its controversial referendum next Saturday on a proposed constitution that will entrench military power indefinitely. The Burmese people were "looking forward" to the referendum, the regime claimed - triggering outrage among pro-democracy activists, who accused the military junta of "cold cynicism".

Several villages were wiped out by the cyclone and most of the houses in two rice-growing centres were flattened or severely damaged, according to reports reaching Rangoon, where devastation was also huge. Burma's largest city (pictured above) was still without water and electricity today, two days after the cyclone swept in from the Bay of Bengal. Angry residents reported that troops and city workmen were being deployed first of all to areas of Rangoon where members of the military elite lived. "We're being left totally alone to clear our streets and repair our homes," said one.

In many areas, monks joined in clearance and repair work. They toiled side by side with local residents who applauded them and brought them food and water. Queues formed at back-garden wells, while shops ran out of supplies of bottled water.

The price of rice in Rangoon's markets almost doubled overnight, further fuelling popular anger. Rice stores in outlying villages and towns were badly damaged by the torrential rains, leading to isolated cases of looting and clashes between residents and police. At least one market was raided and emptied of its produce.

The official government media, meanwhile, devoted nearly as much space to the coming referendum as to the cyclone disaster. The official daily New Light of Myanmar attacked the United Nations Security Council for issuing a statement urging the regime to guarantee a "free and fair" referendum.

Meanwhile, the UN says its relief agencies are ready to come to the aid of Burma but needs an official invitation from the junta, which is suspicious of all humanitarian intervention from outside the reclusive country.