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THE international spotlight was shining strongly on Burma long before Saturday's cyclone which left the country facing a humanitarian crisis on a massive scale.

Following the brutal response to antigovernment demonstrations in September, Western governments have been steadily stepping up the pressure on Burma to move towards democracy.

Constitutional changes have been drafted and are due to be put to a referendum on May 10, paving the way for democratic elections in 2010.

But suddenly the appetite for political change, and an end to military rule, have given way to the immediate and basic need simply to survive. Before Saturday, the people of Burma did not have their democratic freedom. Now many of them do not even have clean drinking water or shelter.

By last night, the death toll had risen to more than 22,000, with hundreds of thousands of people caught up in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.

It is a disaster which demands urgent international action and requires Burma's government to open up the country to aid from wherever it can get it.

It is clear that the military junta cannot cope with the scale of what has happened, just as it failed adequately to warn the Burmese people of the devastation nature was about to unleash.

The response must be speeded up and that means accepting that the days of resisting the international community are over.

Democracy must come soon. But survival is the immediate priority.

1:30pm Wednesday 7th May 2008

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