While the April 3 op-ed by Morton Abramowitz and Jonathan Kolieb, "A Lifeline for the Burmese," accurately depicted the suffering of the people of my home country, I do not believe that now is the time to provide humanitarian aid in Burma.
The writers noted the difficulty of getting the military government's cooperation in delivering aid. Interference from the Burmese government was bad enough that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria pulled out of the country in 2005, and the government's attitude is unlikely to change. As other agencies try to work there, the result will probably be no different.
Mr. Abramowitz and Mr. Kolieb hinted at a better solution when they mentioned Burma's close ties with China and India. The better thing that the United States and other concerned countries could do for Burma would be to engage China and India and urge them to put more pressure on the Burmese regime to reform. Concerned countries should also continue to pursue a resolution on Burma in the U.N. Security Council.
Once Burma is on the path to reform, aid should flow to the Burmese people. Doing so too soon will only prolong their suffering instead of alleviating it.