Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday in Halifax Canada is ready and waiting to send aid to cyclone-ravaged Myanmar but is waiting on the local government. Meanwhile the Red Cross is calling out for more help.
Harper said Canada will only send aid when he is assured the supplies will go to the people in need and not the military regime controlling Myanmar — formally known as Burma.
“We will only provide the assistance, ourselves or through the international community, in a way that we can be sure that that assistance will reach the people it’s intended to help,” said Harper.
“We’re obviously not going to provide any assistance that would bolster or that would be used by the Burmese regime itself.”
The Red Cross has been actively working to get aid to the country and says Myanmar’s military rulers have allowed it to distribute supplies directly. But after a ship carrying Red Cross supplies sank over the weekend, the need for donations is as dire as ever.
“The assistance is getting in, but it’s not enough,” said Charlie Musoka, emergency response manager with the Red Cross. “We’re counting on the legendary generosity of Canadians.”
