The most frustrating aspect of Saturday’s cyclone in Burma, which left 22,500 dead and 41,000 missing, is all the ways the junta running the country makes the relief process more difficult.

UN relief workers are ready and willing to bring aid and medicine into the country. But the Burmese government hasn’t yet issued them visas. Foreign journalists must report the story from Bangkok because the junta won’t let them in. And Burmese inside the country aren’t allowed to talk to foreign journalists in Bangkok, or any other reporters not associated with the state mouthpiece.

Numerous non-governmental organizations like Doctors Without Borders aren’t in the country to begin with because they pulled out in years past when the junta made it impossible for them to travel to project areas or do their work effectively. The junta hasn’t allowed Burmese civil servants living in the new capital, Naypyidaw, to leave to visit their families in Rangoon, an area hit by the cyclone. They aren’t supposed to leave until after the referendum on the military-drafted constitution May 10.

On the other hand, it is impressive that the junta is allowing international organizations to help at all. This is unprecedented. In the past, the junta has tried to cover up all news about fires, storms and other natural disasters. If news about a disaster got out, the junta insisted it was capable of cleaning up the mess. The fact that the government is admitting a storm killed tens of thousands and is asking for help is clearly a good sign.

Ye Thu, a friend and reporter for Democratic Voice of Burma, told me via Google Chat last night: “I think even the government itself is really shocked. That’s why they called for help.”

But still, this is ridiculous. It’s a cyclone. No one is blaming the Burmese junta for causing it.

Well, that’s not totally accurate. A Burmese friend of mine living in Singapore said that Buddhists believe the government must have caused such a disaster. She wrote to me in an email: “As a Buddhist, we used to believe we are always safe from that sort of natural disaster, due to the power and protection of Buddha, Dhama and Sanga…Now that sort of miseries happened to our country. So all are saying that its due to the horrible disgusting junta who is ruling Myanmar very unfairly. Due to the worst ruling government, we have to suffer a lot.”