THE humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding in Myanmar leaves people around the world deeply concerned about the devastation wrought by Cyclone Nargis. And we in Bangladesh are particularly worried because of the close neighbourly links we have always had with Myanmar. While we heave a sigh of relief that the cyclone missed us in a miraculous way, we feel extremely disturbed at the mounting casualties it caused in Myanmar. More than 100,000 people have lost their lives; and the infrastructure is in a mess. As neighbours, it devolves on us to come forth with all the succour we can in this hour of need in Myanmar. Happily for us, ours happens to be one of the few countries to have gone ahead with assistance. A team of our armed forces is already in Yangon with medical and related help for the survivors of the disaster. Though reports of the disaster have been slow in coming out of the country, owing to Myanmar's self-imposed isolation from the rest of the world, it is becoming clear that in the days ahead it will be in huge need of aid to recover from the tragedy. There are therefore two factors which must be borne in mind regarding the provision of disaster relief in Myanmar. The first is that the regime in Yangon must break out of its cocoon and accept relief from countries which have come up with offers of assistance. And the second concerns those very countries ready to provide relief aid: they must base their offers on purely humanitarian considerations and not lead the regime to suspect that strings are attached to such offers. One must not forget that the situation in Myanmar, politically as well as in the post-cyclone circumstances, is rather delicate and so calls for careful, deft handling. At this point, it is the humanitarian which must take precedence over everything else. As for the Myanmar authorities, they must not let any political myopia come in the way of a speedy recovery for their battered, bruised people. The relief programmes planned by the international community are indeed an opportune moment for Myanmar's rulers to open up the country to the outside world and join the mainstream of nations. The outpouring of sympathy in the aftermath of the cyclone should be taken good advantage of.