Aid agencies continued to express concerns over the guidelines set by the authorities for carrying out efforts to provide aid to the victims of cyclone Nargis. These guidelines required most activities by foreign agencies to be cleared not only by the concerned government ministries and the local authorities, but also by the Tripartite Core Group, made up of representatives of the government, UN agencies and the 10-member ASEAN1.

Myanmar on its part has charged that the aid from the United States came attached with a large number of strings and therefore could not be trusted2.

• 1. “Myanmar red tape delays cyclone aid, agencies say,” The Associated Press, June 11, 2008, at http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/11/asia/myanmar.php
• 2. “Myanmar says US aid can't be trusted,” The Associated Press, June 14, 2008, at http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iy-MfhLN9Q7MwtQ1VlrvexLjr2dAD9195LK80