Burma's government is forcing cyclone refugees to leave relief camps and return to their shattered homes, say human rights groups.
Refugees International said it appears authorities want villagers to start tending their fields again.
"While agriculture recovery is indeed vital, forcing people home without aid makes it harder for aid agencies to reach them with assistance," it said.
The military-controlled government has previously declared an end to the "relief" portion of the Cyclone Nargis recovery effort. The time has arrived for "reconstruction," it has said.
"The forced evictions are part of government efforts to demonstrate that the emergency relief period is over and that the affected population is capable of rebuilding their lives without foreign assistance," said Human Rights Watch, a U.S.-based group. It said large numbers of people have been also been expelled from schools, monasteries and public buildings.
Aid experts say in some of the remote villages, the following problems exist almost a month after the cyclone struck:
- Homes are destroyed
- Livestock are dead
- Foodstocks have run out
- Medicines are non-existent
"Our teams are still encountering people who have not seen any aid workers and still have not received any assistance. Some of the villages that are only accessible by foot are particularly vulnerable," said the aid group Doctors Without Borders.
"Premature resettlements to the villages, even if it's voluntary, will cause serious risks to the refugees," Anupama Rao Singh, regional director of UNICEF, said Saturday.
"Many of the villages remain inundated with water, making it difficult to rebuild. There is also a real risk that once they are resettled, they will be invisible to aid workers. Without support and continued service to those affected, there is a risk of a second wave of disease and devastation," she said.
One UNICEF worker had said eight camps set up for refugees in Bogalay, a town in the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta, are empty. UNICEF later called that an unconfirmed report, although the worker it came from a first-hand report. Singh wouldn't confirm that those evictions had taken place.
In Singapore on Saturday, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke out against the junta's handling of the crisis, saying its obstruction of international aid efforts had led to "tens of thousands" of needless deaths.
U.S. warships loaded with aid have been poised off the coast of Burma since shortly after Cyclone Nargis struck.
France and Britain have also dispatched warships carrying aid, but the Burmese government hasn't let any of the ships dock, apparently fearing a foreign invasion.
Gates said the U.S. is still hoping to get the supplies in.
An estimated 2.4 million people remain homeless. The government claims 78,000 people died and another 56,000 are missing.
Although Burma's government has said it would allow foreign aid experts to enter the country, some aid workers are still facing obstacles in getting visas and access to the Irrawaddy delta, aid groups said.
With files from The Associated Press
