Good morning,

Reports suggest that the cyclone in southern Burma may have killed as many as 250,000 people and left two million homeless. The cyclone affected the densely-populated Irrawaddy delta region and was followed by an inundation which swept away houses, people and all. The official sources continue to talk of 100,000 dead – well, the exact figure will never be known. The military junta continues to hamper the flow of desperately needed aid. The first US aid flight, a C-130 plane, has been prevented from flying to Yangon. There is some talk of over-riding the junta and simply delivering aid anyway – parachute drops of aid are apparently being seriously considered by the US. This would be problematic as sending planes into another country’s airspace without permission is illegal but the alternative is to stand aside as people die and suffer needlessly. The UN has spoken of its disappointment in the Burmese junta’s unwillingness to grant access to the country. Why is the junta acting this way? Firstly, it is composed of very secretive people whose grasp of power depends to a significant extent on keeping its abilities and reach secret and, hence, a subject inspiring fear in the people. Second, they do not want the outside world to see the conditions they have inflicted upon the people. Third, they do not want the Burmese people to meet foreigners and have more reasons to leave the country. Fourth, they are still in denial about the extent of the disaster and intend to continue with pushing forward the referendum on the new constitution.

Waterborne diseases are now the biggest immediate threat.

I returned from Chiang Mai last night. The conference – the Second International Colloquium on Tourism and Leisure was quite successful and I delivered my paper entitled: “Transportation Network Development in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region: Assessment of Its Impact on Tourism and Economic Development.”

Back on Monday.