Myanmar puts vote before aid effort

Al Jazeera, May 10, 2008

One week after Nargis hit, survivors are facing growing threats of disease and hunger [AFP]
Voting has begun in Myanmar in a controverial referendum pushed by the government despite international appeals for the rulering military to focus on recovery efforts after last weekend's devastating cyclone.

The referendum got under way on Saturday in much of the north and far south of the country, although in the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis the vote has been postponed for two weeks.

Some 27 million of Myanmar's 57 million people are eligible to vote, although it was unclear how many would vote on Saturday and how many will vote on May 24 instead.

But the cyclone has overshadowed the vote, which even before the disaster many saw as being skewed in the military's favour.

According to state-run Myanmar television, a week after the storm hit the death toll stands at 23,335, with 37,019 missing - both figures only slightly changed since Tuesday.

However Western diplomats in Yangon, Myanmar's former capital, say up to 100,000 people may have been killed by Cyclone Nargis, while more than one million have been left without shelter.

Many are without food and clean water.

Continued . . .