Anonymous Official Says UN Chief Voices Frustration to Burmese Leader

Text of report in English by Japan’s largest news agency Kyodo

["UN Chief Meets With Myanmar Junta, Urges Acceptance of Aid workers" - Kyodo headline]

Yangon [Rangoon], May 22 Kyodo – UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon met with a top Myanmar junta figure here Thursday and expressed frustration over the military government’s refusal to allow international aid workers into the country to help hundreds of thousands of people affected by Cyclone Nargis.

After his meeting with Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein, Ban travelled by helicopter to the Irrawaddy Delta to see for himself the damage wrought by Cyclone Nargis which devastated southwestern part of the country two weeks ago, killing nearly 80,000 people.

Ban’s spokeswoman Michele Montas called the UN chief’s one-and-a- half-hour meeting with Thein Sein at a Defence Ministry building very constructive.

But a UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ban voiced frustration to the premier over “the inability of the aid workers to bring assistance at the right time to the affected areas.”

Ban also told him that international aid is required because the cyclone disaster is beyond the capacity of Myanmar itself to deal with.

The premier was said to have replied, however, that he believes the relief phase is over and it is now time to begin reconstruction.

On Thursday morning, shortly after Ban’s arrival in Yangon from Bangkok and ahead of his meeting with the premier, he signed a book of condolences for cyclone victims and visited the city’s landmark Shwegadon Pagoda.

At the pagoda, the UN chief told a temple official he was in Myanmar to demonstrate the “solidarity” and “firm support” of the United Nations for Myanmar’s people and to deliver to them a “message of hope.”

“I’m quite confident we will be able to overcome this tragedy,” he said. “At the same time, I hope your people and government can coordinate the flow of aid so the aid work can be done in a more systematic way and organized way.”

Ban’s trip, aimed at convincing the ruling junta to increase the amount of aid flowing through Yangon to the areas most affected by the disaster, will also include a meeting with junta chief Sr. Gen. Than Shwe in the country’s new capital Naypyitaw on Friday.

Also during the day, he was to meet representatives from the Myanmar Red Cross and other nongovernmental organizations, as well as Myanmar ministers for national planning, social welfare and health. In the evening, he would meet again with Thein Sein over dinner.

On Wednesday, Ban told reporters in Bangkok that he hoped to convince the junta to focus on saving lives instead of politics.

Myanmar’s generals have drawn stinging criticism for being slow to give visas to foreign aid workers and experts and placing conditions on aid, despite the magnitude of the disaster.

According to official figures announced by Myanmar’s state-run television, the death toll from Cyclone Nargis, which struck the country more than two weeks ago, is 77,738 and another 55,917 people remain missing.

“This is a critical moment for Myanmar…We have a functioning relief programme in place but, so far, have been able to reach only about 25 per cent of Myanmar’s people in need,” Ban said Wednesday.

He also suggested that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, facilitate the flow of aid and aid workers, establish a logistics hub and work closely with the United Nations and the international community.

However, the UN chief said Myanmar needs long-term assistance, given the fact the country’s agriculture and infrastructure were destroyed by the cyclone, directly affecting Myanmar’s economy.

Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said after a 10-minute meeting with Ban on Wednesday that besides serving as a hub for assistance to Myanmar, Thailand is also ready to provide military planes for ASEAN and international representatives who are to attend a donors’ conference in Yangon on Sunday.

A SEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Originally published by Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 1025 22 May 08.

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