National Nine Tue May 20 2008
Five monks from Burma marched through the Cannes Film Festival crowd on Monday to demand the Southeast Asian nation's junta allow foreign aid workers into the country to help cyclone victims.
"This is a humanitarian crisis - we need help," said U Uttara, an exiled monk among the marchers.
Singer and actress Jane Birkin joined the monks during their efforts at raising awareness in Cannes. Other activities included speeches and the screening of a short film shot in Burma, called Freedom From Fear.
Birkin said the march's message was, "Let us in, and let us help."
"Please, otherwise there will be 300,000 people that will die," she said.
Burma's May 2-3 cyclone left at least 130,000 people dead or missing. EU nations have warned the junta could be committing a crime against humanity by blocking aid intended for up to 2.5 million survivors faced with hunger, loss of their homes and potential outbreaks of deadly diseases.
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