Powered By Blogger

Thursday 16 October 2008

Floods, earthquakes and disasters

You can't help but compare the responses to Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma) and to the earthquake in China, can you?
While Governments internationally are engaged in condemning the Burmese authorities for refusing aid and not managing to distribute what aid there was to their communities BBC NEWS Politics Burma 'guilty of inhuman action', in China the situation appears to be quite different, with aid and workers flooding in from a variety of countries.BBC NEWS World Asia-Pacific Quake effort resumes after panic
While I obviously deplore the failure of the military rulers of Burma to deal with this crisis adequately, apparently because of a conflict of ideology, could there possibly be a sense of 'the West' being a little too keen to contrast China's more positive approach in the run up to the Olympics? Call me cynical (most do!) but after the debacle of the Olympic flame's journey and the continuing situation in Nepal, it's rather convenient that the news headlines are now concentrating on China's capabilities rather than its less than impeccable record on human rights. I hope the positive and necessary response to the plight of millions of Chinese citizens does not obscure the continued human rights issues which need to be addressed.
Yes I am being deliberately controversial butthat's what debate is all about so what are your views?

Newscow x

No comments: