Clegg: Drop aid without Burma permission

Friday, 9 May 2008 12:00 AM

The international community should airdrop aid to Burma regardless of whether the government there allows it, Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has said.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Clegg said: "I think the time is now coming, drawing very close to taking the most drastic step of all, which is dropping aid directly into Burma, irrespective of the wishes of the Burmese regime."

But the idea was dismissed by international development secretary Douglas Alexander as "incendiary".

The call comes as Britain's ambassador to Burma, Mark Canning, estimated the dead at 63,000 to 100,000 people dead or missing.

Burma's military government is refusing to let most aid agencies cross the border into the country and the UN World Food Agency halted its operation today due to allegations the Burmese junta have impounded two planes-worth of food.

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• asia
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• foreign policy
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• liberal democrats
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• party politics