Thousands of people were killed in Myanmar when Cyclone Nargis hit the impoverished country run by an autocratic band of military rulers. In Russia, Vladamir Putin's protege, Dmitry Medvedev, took over as the president of the country and the Sino-Japanese relations got a fillip due to the visit of the Chinese President Hu Jintao to Japan. These events were contemplated, analysed and commented on. We present here excerpts of editorials from the regional and the international press.
Myanmar is facing a grave humanitarian crisis after the south Asian country was hit by a devastating cyclone. The misery of the victims is compounded by the lacklustre attitude of its ruling military junta who initially rejected offers of international aid to tide of the crisis.
Criticising the slow response of the military junta to relief operations, The Washington Post stated that the tardiness of the news as well as the inexcusable slowness in responding to it is due to Burma's secretive and shameless military regime, which once again is demonstrating its utter contempt for the lives of the country's 50 million people.
In hard-hitting words it described the attitude of the junta as follows: "Like Mao's China or Kim Jong Il's North Korea, the Burmese regime would rather allow the deaths of tens or even hundreds of thousands than alter its pet political projects or allow foreigners free access to the country. Cyclone Nargis may become the grimmest episode yet in Burma's man-made catastrophe."
The Los Angeles Times too was critical of the military regime's response to the catastrophe. "It is too isolated and xenophobic to worry about its image, too paranoid to learn from outsiders and too blood-drenched to believe it can survive any loosening of control over its hapless people. The contradictory combination of US sanctions and an engagement strategy adopted by its neighbours has failed to produce any improvement. Attempts to use the catastrophe of Tropical Cyclone Nargis as leverage to pry open the country will almost surely fail as well," it commented.
Said The Christian Science Monitor: "In the days ahead, the generals may allow in just enough foreign aid to quell any protests but not enough to abrade their rule. The world needs to find a way to use its aid to create a real path to democracy in Burma [Myanmar], the kind that reacts well when its citizens cry out for help."
Medvedev in the Kremlin
In Russia, Vladamir Putin's handpicked successor took over as the president of the country. Most commentators were of the opinion that Putin would still yield power from behind the scene. They, however, want to see that Medvedev come out from the shadow of his mentor and be his own self.
Commenting on Medvedev's presidency, Arab News stated: "Now Medvedev has the chance to move to the positive - to quit merely blocking US international interventions but to initiate his own. Russia has been woefully quiescent within the Middle East Quartet and allowed Washington and the EU to make the running. The Kremlin needs now to set out its own agenda and so make it clear that the next US president will have to work with Moscow," it said.
The Financial Times remarked: "Medvedev must show that by upholding the rule of law he means to strengthen the rights of citizens and not simply to reinforce the rights of an over-mighty state, as Putin has done. The west must be firm - the sovereignty of the ex-Soviet Union states must be upheld, like the sovereignty of countries elsewhere. Medvedev must show that, as a lawyer, he has as much respect for international as for domestic law."
Hu Jintao's visit to Japan
China's President made an unprecedented visit to Japan to improve relations between the two neighbours, who do not have the best of ties due to their acrimonious past and events related to the Second World War.
The Yomiuri Shimbun hoped that the the leaders of Japan and China would work hard to bring the joint statement they signed into full play - a statement that calls for "the comprehensive promotion of a mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests."
"From now on, both Japan and China should recognise their responsibilities as major powers and expand their common interests through mutually beneficial cooperation. This constitutes the core of a mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests," it added.
