THE UN today pleaded with Burma's military government to open its doors to international experts who could help the up to two million victims of a devastating cyclone that has now left more than 30,000 dead and an equal number missing.
The official death toll from Cyclone Nargis rose today by more than 3,000 to 31,938 with 29,770 missing. However, UN Assistant Secretary-General Catherine Bragg said the actual number dead could be revised to between 62,000 and 100,000 "or possibly e
ven higher."
Whilst assistance is starting to reach the hardest-hit areas the UN said it is not arriving fast enough. A UN spokesperson said the four key requirements in a crisis like this – clean drinking water, shelter, medical support and food – were sorely lacking.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said that rice prices in Rangoon have surged 50 percent since the cyclone struck on 3 May.
Burma's authoritarian government has barred most foreign experts who are experienced in managing humanitarian crises.
The first US aid plane was allowed into the country. The unarmed military C-130 cargo plane, packed with supplies, flew out of the Thai air force base of Utapao and landed in Rangoon, capping prolonged negotiations to persuade the government to accept help from the Americans.
Several Burma Cabinet ministers, military officers and the top US diplomat in Burma, Shari Villarosa, greeted the plane. A government spokesman said the aid, which was transferred to Burmese army trucks, would be ferried by air force helicopters to the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta. Two more US air shipments were scheduled to land tomorrow.
The junta has made a huge concession in letting the US – the fiercest critic of its human rights record – bring in relief.
The first shipment carried 28,000 lbs of supplies including mosquito nets, blankets and water.
Also on board was Admiral Timothy Keating, commander of the US military in the Pacific, who will try to personally negotiate with the junta for a larger US role in providing relief.
In the Irrawaddy delta, people were surviving in miserable conditions, including hundreds cramped in monasteries with little access to food. Others camped in the open, drinking dirty water contaminated by human faeces or dead bodies and animal carcasses.
Heavy rains were forecast this week, which would further hinder aid delivery but also provide drinking water.
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej wrote to his Burmese counterpart today, urging the junta to issue more visas. But the junta replied that visas for foreigners would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The reclusive junta insists it will handle the aid distribution itself, through its feared military, which has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1962.
