救援人员仍等待签证进入缅甸救灾

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Burma\'s assurances that it will allow in international relief workers are being put to the test as aid agencies await visas for workers seeking to help victims of Cyclone Nargis. Skeptics are questioning whether Burma\'s military leaders will allow in a substantial number of foreign relief workers three weeks after the storm hit. At least 134,000 people are dead or missing from the storm.

缅甸当局允许国际救援工作者进入缅甸的保证正在受到考验，目前援助机构正在等待救援人员得到签证，以便进入缅甸帮助遭受纳尔吉斯强热带风暴侵袭的灾民。有人怀疑缅甸军政府是否会在风暴过后三个星期允许大量的外国救援人员进入。至少有13万4千人在这次风暴中丧生或失踪。

More than three weeks after the cyclone hit Burma\'s Irawaddy Delta, the United Nations says three out of four victims have yet to receive any form of relief assistance. More than two million are suffering from lack of clean water, shelter, or medical care.

强热带风暴袭击缅甸伊洛瓦底江三角洲三个多星期以后，联合国表示，四分之三的灾民还没有得到任何形式的救援帮助，超过两百万人因缺乏洁净水，没有住处，得不到医疗照顾而处于困境。

Armed with a promise from Burmese generals that they will allow international relief crews access, a number of aid workers headed into the hard-hit areas of the delta on Monday.

由于缅甸的军政府保证他们会同意国际救援人员进入灾区，一批救援人员以此为由星期一前往受灾严重的三角洲地区。

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who traveled to Burma over the last few days, received assurances from the Burmese leadership that they would allow relief workers to enter the country, regardless of nationality. Mr. Ban said he saw the statement as a breakthrough in building trust between the reclusive generals and the international community. He said he hoped the Burmese junta would keep its word.

联合国秘书长潘基文过去几天来一直在缅甸访问。他得到缅甸领导人的保证说，不论外国救援人员来自哪个国家，都会允许他们进入缅甸。潘基文说，他把缅甸军政府的承诺看成是在缅甸与世隔绝的将军们与国际社会之间建立互信的一个突破。潘基文说，他希望缅甸军政府信守承诺。

Skeptics on Monday expressed doubts. Bertil Lintner, an author in the Thai city of Chiang Mai who has written extensively on the history of the Burmese military leadership, says it is impossible to tell at this stage whether the generals\' statements to Mr. Ban amount to a meaningful concession.

然而，一些持怀疑态度的人士星期一表达了他们的疑问。居住在泰国清迈的林特纳曾经撰写过大量有关缅甸军人领导层历史的文章，他说，目前阶段无从断言缅甸军政府领导人对潘基文的承诺是否意味着他们做出了有意义的让步。

"The Burmese government hasn\'t promised to do anything, not anything substantial. This week will be the test," said Lintner. "Will they allow more workers in? Who will they be and where will they be permitted to go? So far, it\'s nothing more than just an empty promise."

他说：“缅甸政府并没有许诺做任何有实质意义的事情，这个星期将是一个考验时期。人们要看他们是否会让更多的救援人员进入缅甸？这些救援人员都是哪些人？他们会被允许进入哪些地区？到目前为止，人们得到的不过是一些空洞的许诺。”

The Burmese government\'s announcement to the U.N. Secretary General came as members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations attended a donors\' conference in Rangoon that raised $100 million in pledges on Sunday.

缅甸政府对联合国秘书长做出承诺之际，正值东南亚国家联盟与联合国的成员国星期天在仰光召开认捐大会，与会代表认捐一亿美元。

At the conference, Burmese Prime Minister General Thein Sein said his government welcomes more aid as long as it comes without "strings attached" and without "politicization." Officials said they consider the relief phase to be over and are now concentrating on rebuilding. They said they need $11 billion for reconstruction.

缅甸总理登盛将军在会上说，缅甸政府欢迎更多的捐助，但是这些捐助必须是“无条件的”、不带“政治性的”。官员们说，他们认为救灾阶段结束，现在要集中精力进行重建。他们说，他们需要110亿美元用于重建。

Donor nations said they expect to see transparency in the Burmese government\'s relief efforts before they pledge any more money. Lintner and other skeptics say that until the generals actually allow the relief workers and assessment teams in, their motives will be in doubt.

"They will get lots of foreign aid for what they call the reconstruction, which will be to rebuild the infrastructure and to rebuild the towns in the delta. It is also what they say they want. They don\'t want foreigners to come and actually help the victims of the cyclone," added Lintner. "In that sense, they haven\'t changed at all. They probably realize that, \'yes, we can get money from the international community if we make something that may appear as a concession."

In Bangkok, where relief workers have been waiting for weeks, the Burmese embassy did not appear to be issuing visas on Monday. The embassy was forced to close temporarily after a fire broke out in the main building. Thai officials say it was apparently caused by faulty electrical wiring.