3-day mourning declared for cyclone victims
Myanmar's government yesterday announced a three-day mourning period for victims of the cyclone that more than two weeks ago left at least 130,000 people dead or missing.
State television announced that the mourning period will begin today and be marked by flying the national flag at half mast.
Myanmar's government meanwhile allowed the UN humanitarian chief into the devastated Irrawaddy delta for a brief tour yesterday, a UN official said.
But the United Nations said its foreign staff were still barred from the delta and described conditions there as "terrible," with hundreds of thousands of cyclone victims suffering from hunger, disease and lack of shelter.
John Holmes, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, flew by helicopter to the delta before returning to Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, to meet with international aid agencies, said a UN official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media. Others, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, will go to the disaster zone this week.
An Asian diplomat said Myanmar has invited at least three representatives of several countries to tour the delta on Friday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the news has not been made public.
Ban is to travel to the delta after his scheduled arrival in the country tomorrow, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said in New York.
Amanda Pitt, a UN spokeswoman in Bangkok, said the world body was seeing "some progress in terms of pipelines starting to come through" but that the aid operation was still unsatisfactory.
In Singapore, Southeast Asian nations held an emergency meeting of their foreign ministers to try to persuade Myanmar to accept more international aid.
A team of 50 Chinese medics arrived in Yangon on Sunday night, following in the footsteps of medical personnel from India and Thailand, Xinhua News Agency reported. Yesterday some 30 Thai doctors and nurses began working in the delta - exceptions to the government's ban on foreign aid workers in the area.
A senior British official hinted on Sunday that a breakthrough may also be near that would allow foreign military ships to join the relief effort, but warnings grew of a potential second wave of deaths, this time among children who lack fresh water and proper shelter.
Myanmar's media lashed out at critics of the government's response to the disaster, detailing the government's efforts. State television showed Senior General Than Shwe inspecting supplies and comforting homeless victims in relatively clean and neat rows of blue tents.
The media said Than Shwe traveled from the capital, Naypyitaw, to relief camps in the suburbs of Yangon.
The official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the government's National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee will work with foreign aid agencies "to ensure that all relief funds and supplies reach the storm victims."
Myanmar will also work with ASEAN countries to help cyclone-stricken areas in a rehabilitation drive that will be planned over the next several days, the newspaper said.
Agencies
(China Daily 05/20/2008 page24)
