Paris - France is to make its own aid action for the victims of cyclone Nargis, sending the warship Mistral loading with 1,500 tonnes of goods, it was reported Saturday. "We have decided to act without waiting any further," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner was quoted by the French daily Le Figaro.
The aid is to be directly distributed to the effected. .., either by the ship's crew or by French aid organizations," Kouchner said, adding that "delivering aid directly to (Myanmar's military) junta doesn't come into the question."
"This regime is capable of everything - even organizing a constitutional referendum in the midst of a natural catastrophe," the foreign minister said.
Kouchner spoke out further for a resolution by the UN Security Council on Myanmar's responsibilities to its citizens. "There is a responsibility to protect a population in danger," he said.
France will not move from its position, even at the risk of antagonizing China, which is close to the government in Myanmar (Burma).
"The survival of millions of people is in question," Kouchner said.
France has recently risen its emergency aid to Burma to two million euros.
