U.N. officials say they have suspended aid shipments to Burma after the military government seized all of the food and equipment that had been flown in by the World Food Program. The latest development in the unfolding crisis, came as the military government continued is turning away relief workers trying to organize assistance for the thousands of victims of last week's deadly cyclone. The official death toll remains at nearly 23,000 but could go higher. U.N. agencies say as many as 1.5 million people were severely affected by the storm.
缅甸军政府拒绝国际救援人员进入缅甸，而此时此刻，在遭受上星期强热带风暴重创之后，数十万缅甸人正在急切地等待著食品、饮水、药物和其它援助。官方公布的死亡数字仍旧是近2万3千人，但预计这个数字可能高达10万。联合国机构说，大约150万人受到这次强热带风暴的影响。
Friday was another day of waiting for the hundreds of relief workers who are standing by in Bangkok for visas from the Burmese government. Frustration mounted as Burma's military leadership announced - through a state-run newspaper - that it was not accepting rescue teams from foreign countries. News reports Friday said the Burmese authorities turned away a rescue team that landed on a relief flight from Qatar.
对数以百计的救援人员来说，星期五又在等待中度过，他们在曼谷等待缅甸政府的签证。缅甸军事领导人通过官方报纸宣布，不接受外国的救援队伍，这使人们备感沮丧。星期五的新闻报导说，缅甸当局让一支随运送救援物资的飞机从卡塔尔进入缅甸的救援队伍原路返回了。
The government says Burma is receiving relief aid and distributing it "with its own resources." State television shows images of Burmese soldiers handing out aid packages in some townships.
缅甸政府表示正在接受救援物资，并通过自己的途径分发。国家电视台的画面显示，缅甸军人在一些城镇分发救援物资。
Sources inside the country, however, say little of the aid that has been trickling in aboard U.N. and other flights appears to be making it to the people who need it most - those in the Irawaddy Delta where entire towns were wiped out and where the vast majority of the deaths occurred. Reports from the scene say many people there have yet to receive any aid whatsoever since the disaster struck on May third, and some are dying for lack of supplies and medical attention.
但是，缅甸国内的消息人士说，联合国以及其它机构的飞机所运送的本来就微不足道的救援物资似乎并没有到达最需要的灾民手中，特别是在伊洛瓦底三角洲地区的灾民，那里死亡人数最多，整个城镇被强热带风暴彻底摧毁。来自现场的报导说，自从5月3号灾害侵袭以来，很多人没有得到任何援助，有些人因为得不到供给和医疗照顾正处于死亡的边缘。
Hundreds of tons of food, purified water, plastic sheeting, medicine, blankets, mosquito netting, and other supplies have been sitting in stockpiles around the world, waiting for permission from the Burmese authorities to enter the country.
世界各地现在堆放了数百吨的食品、纯净水、塑料板材、药物、毯子、蚊帐以及其它救援物资，等待著缅甸当局的入境许可。
Bill Berger leads the U.S. Disaster Assistance Response Team, whose members are waiting for visas in Bangkok. He says it is critical for personnel to go in along with the aid.
美国救灾应急小组的成员正在曼谷等待入境签证。小组负责人比尔.伯格表示，让救援人员带著救援物资进入缅甸至关重要。
"If we don't know that the supplies can get out of the airport, sending supplies in and just letting them land at the airport can be a problem. It can cause a logistics difficulty," he said. "We want to make sure that we're able to receive those supplies and get them into a distribution channel that gets them out quickly and effectively to the people most in need in this situation."
伯格说：“倘若我们不知道救援物资能否离开机场，那么送入救援物资，并使其在机场着陆就会成问题，这将造成后勤上的麻烦。因此，我们要确保我们能够收到这些救援物资，并把他们转交给一个分发机构，使救援物资能迅速有效地送到最需要的灾民手中。”
One of the main concerns is that aid is distributed equitably. Critics say Burma's military government in the past has diverted assistance to the families of the military elite and their supporters.
各方关注的一个焦点问题是援助物资的合理分配。批评人士说，缅甸军政府过去把援助物资都转到了军政府家庭还有支持他们的那些人手中。
Analysts say Burma's generals are reluctant to accept international aid teams for fear that a large foreign presence may foment unrest among a population that is strained by political repression and poverty.
分析人士说，缅甸军事领导人不愿意让国际援助人员入境的原因是担心境外人员的出现会引发困于政治压制和贫穷的民众的抗议。
The Burmese junta's refusal to allow access to relief teams is causing frustration even among its friends. Thailand, one of Burma's top trading partners, has been brokering efforts to get the Burmese junta to cooperate. Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej had been scheduled to go to Burma on Sunday to discuss relief efforts, but announced on Friday he had canceled the trip after the Burmese government said it would not accept relief workers.
但是，缅甸军政府拒绝国际援助人员入境的举动甚至使缅甸传统上的盟友都感到不满。作为缅甸的一个主要贸易夥伴的泰国，就一直在中间调停，希望缅甸军政府能够采取合作的态度。泰国总理沙马.顺达卫原计划这个星期天访问缅甸，讨论援助问题，但是在缅甸政府宣布不接受外来援助人员之后，他星期五宣布取消这次行程。
Despite the disaster, the military leadership plans to go ahead with a constitutional referendum that is scheduled for Saturday in parts of the country. The junta on Friday urged citizens to vote for the constitution, which the generals say is a step toward returning Burma to democracy. Critics call the referendum a sham because the drafting process excluded the opposition. They say the referendum is merely meant to prolong the military's 46-year grip on power.
尽管发生了重大自然灾害，但缅甸军政府要按原计划，于星期六在一些地区举行宪法公投。军政府星期五敦促选民们投赞成票，说这是缅甸向民主化迈进的一步。批评人士指出，宪法公投不过是一场闹剧而已，因为起草过程没有允许反对派参与，所谓的公投只不过是要延长军政府长达46年的统治。 |