UN chief sees devastated Myanmar delta
KYONDAH, Myanmar (AP) - May 22, 2008 Ban went on a four-hour helicopter trip that touched down at
several makeshift settlements of refugees from the May 2-3 storm.
He is one of a handful of foreigners allowed to see the zone first
hand.
Ban was first taken to a village called Kyondah, where 500
people huddled in blue tents.
Ban, who spoke to some camp residents, said: "I'm very upset by
what I've seen."
The settlement is somewhat of a showpiece. Visits by senior
junta members and representatives of foreign embassies and aid
organizations last week were publicized in the state-controlled
media.
The victims had standard-issue cooking pots and blankets. The
equipment looked new.
Foreign relief agencies say many parts of the delta - and even
some areas close to Yangon, the country's biggest city - have not
received sufficient relief supplies. The helicopter flew over
villages and towns that had been ravaged by the tropical storm.
The Irrawaddy Delta, the country's rice bowl, is where most of
the 78,000 deaths from the cyclone occurred. Another 56,000 people
are listed as missing
In a meeting earlier with Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein,
Ban stressed that international aid experts should be rushed in
because the crisis had exceeded Myanmar's national capacity,
according to a U.N. official at the talks.
"The United Nations and all the international community stand
ready to help to overcome the tragedy," Ban said. "The main
purpose of my being here is to demonstrate my solidarity."
Activists called on Ban to meet with detained pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi and seek her release. The Nobel Peace Prize
laureate has been confined to her Yangon villa for most of the last
18 years and her current period of detention is due to expire
Monday.
Such a meeting was not on Ban's official itinerary.
"This crisis has highlighted the desperate need for democratic
and accountable government in Burma," the Burma Campaign UK said
in a statement. "Ban Ki-moon must meet with Aung San Suu Kyi."
As Ban began his visit, foreign aid agencies and Myanmar
citizens stressed the need to quickly reach survivors suffering
from disease, hunger and lack of shelter.
"In 30-plus years of humanitarian emergency work this is by far
- by far - the largest case of emergency need we've ever seen,"
said Lionel Rosenblatt, president of U.S.-based Refugees
International. "And yet, right offshore, right here in Thailand,
we have the means to save these people."
Ban met for nearly 1½ hours with Thein Sein as well as with
international aid agencies in Yangon.
In contrast to reports of appalling conditions in the delta,
Thein Sein told Ban that the relief phase of the government's
operation was ending and the focus had shifted to reconstruction,
the U.N. official at the talks said, requesting anonymity for
reasons of protocol.
The latest report from the International Red Cross said rivers
and ponds in the delta's Bogalay area were full of corpses, and
that many people in remote areas had received no aid.
Ban said mutual trust was needed between Myanmar and the
international community, which was prepared to send in planes and
helicopters to help, the official said.
Before talks began, the secretary-general visited Yangon's
Shwedagon pagoda, regarded as the spiritual heart of the country.
"I praise the will, resilience and the courage of the people of
Myanmar. I bring a message of hope for the people of Myanmar," he
said as bells chimed.
Security for Ban's visit was heavy, with dozens of armed riot
police dotting the road from the airport to the city.
U.N. official Dan Baker said junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe
and Ban would meet Friday at Naypyitaw, the administrative capital
built by the military in a remote area of central Myanmar. Ban
earlier said Than Shwe had refused to take his telephone calls and
did not respond to two letters.
Among a number of Yangon citizens interviewed, few were
optimistic that Ban's visit would make a difference.
"I doubt he could do much. The U.N. has no power here," said
Aung Myint Oe, a service industry worker.
Kyaw Htun Htun, a local businessman, predicted that "they (the
generals) won't care what the U.N. says."
"The government has not helped us at all," said Eain Daw Bar
Tha, abbot of a Buddhist monastery on Yangon's outskirts, pointing
to a light bulb on the ceiling. "It has been 20 days since the
storm, but the electricity is still not working."
The U.N. says up to 2.5 million cyclone survivors face hunger,
homelessness and potential outbreaks of deadly diseases, especially
in the low-lying delta. Aid has reached only about 25 percent of
them.
"There needs to be more equipment. There needs to be more
flights coming in. There needs to more boats out there to reach
remote areas," said Jemilah Mahmood of the aid agency Mercy
Malaysia in Bangkok.
Myanmar is still reluctant to accept more than a handful of
experienced foreign rescue and disaster relief workers.
Following Ban into the delta will be representatives of 29
nations, including Japan, Singapore and Thailand, who have been
invited to Myanmar by the regime. The group, which includes
government officials, aid officials and private-sector donors, will
visit the region Friday.
Ban said Tuesday the junta had finally granted the U.N.
permission to use nine World Food Program helicopters to carry aid
to people stranded in inaccessible areas. WFP officials in Bangkok
confirmed 10 flights would be allowed beginning Thursday