Burma starts evictions from cyclone camps

BURMA’S junta started evicting destitute families from government-run cyclone relief centres yesterday, apparently out of concern the “tented villages” might become permanent.

“It is better that they move to their homes where they are more stable,” a government official said at one camp where people have been told to clear out by 4 pm. “Here, they are relying on donations and it is not stable.”

Locals and aid workers said 39 camps in the immediate vicinity of Kyauktan, 30 km south of Rangoon, were being cleared out as part of a general eviction plan.