Myanmar?s military government denied yesterday it was evicting victims of Cyclone Nargis from relief camps, saying it was working on a voluntary resettlement program more than a month after the disaster.

The New Light of Myanmar, the voice of the ruling generals, quoted Prime Minister Thein Sein as saying survivors of the May 2 storm would be given aid to return home or settle in new areas.

?If victims want to live in areas where relief camps are being opened, arrangements will be made to resettle them there,? Thein Sein said. ?In addition, the government will provide for their basic needs to a certain degree for some time.? Amnesty International said the government was stepping up its eviction of victims from emergency shelters, but said it was unclear whether this was official policy. ?The government?s actions place tens of thousands of already vulnerable survivors at increased risk of death, disease or starvation.?

Foreign media have also quoted survivors as saying they were forced to leave the camps with few supplies. The government has called the reports ?groundless? and accused foreign media of ?fabricating news? about Myanmar?s cyclone response.