Crisis in Burma

The biggest story in the world Sunday is the cyclone that hit Burma (or Myanmar, as it's called by the military rulers there).

Thousands of homes were destroyed and at least 350 people are dead.

Compounding the tragedy is the fact that due to the secrecy and iron grip of the junta, international aid may be kept out.

From AP:

The Forum for Democracy in Burma and other dissident groups outside of Myanmar urged the military junta Sunday to allow aid groups to operate freely in the wake of the cyclone — something it has been reluctant to do in the past.

It would be difficult for other countries to help unless they received a request from Myanmar’s military rulers.

“International expertise in dealing with natural disasters is urgently required. The military regime is ill-prepared to deal with the aftermath of the cyclone,” said Naing Aung, secretary general of the Thailand-based forum.

In other Burma news, the U.S. Campaign for Burma has recruited several big names to star in a series of videos to run online. It's good to see attention being directed to this long-ignored situation.

30 Days for a Million Voices kicks off with Will Ferrell.

More about the series can be found here.

Photo: In this photo released by Democratic Voice of Burma, people walk past fallen trees at a street in Yangon on Sunday May 4, 2008. More than 350 people have died in Myanmar from a powerful cyclone that knocked out power in the impoverished country's commercial capital and destroyed thousands of homes, state-run media said Sunday.(AP Photo/ Democratic Voice of Burma, HO)