NEW YORK : The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon is on his way to Myanmar in a bid to scale up the response to Cyclone Nargis that hit the country two and a half weeks ago. His trip followed a pledge by Myanmar that more outside aid will be allowed in through the Association of South East Asian Nations of which it is a member.
Before leaving United Nations headquarters, Secretary General Ban said he welcomed Myanmar's acceptance of more nine World Food Programme helicopters and said he hoped more aid would be allowed in.
The UN and ASEAN will hold a joint pledging conference for the international community in Yangon this coming weekend.
"I believe further similar moves will follow including expediting the visas of relief workers seeking to enter the country. I am confident that emergency relief efforts can be scaled up quickly," said the UN chief.
But to what extent that aid will have to be channelled through ASEAN countries or come from east asian nations remains in doubt.
One plan the UN head will be pushing in Myanmar is a humanitarian hub in Thailand, possibly run by a joint UN-ASEAN coordinator.
"I have proposed to ASEAN to establish a logistical hub near Myanmar, but (it will still) outside Myanmar. One idea would be to appoint a joint humanitarian coordinator between United Nations and ASEAN," said Mr Ban.
The trip is also aimed at establishing a more direct contact with the Myanmar authorities. The UN secretary-general also hopes to meet with the senior general Than Shwe as letters and telephone calls have so far gone unanswered since Cyclone Nargis hit.
For big donor nations, access is key. France's humanitarian minister backed away from talk of delivering aid without the consent of the Myanmar government, and said they expect access to the cyclone victims.
"The most important for France is not to talk about aid and things like that. It is very important for us to deliver this aid and have access to the victims," said Rama Yade, French Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights.
With rice harvest under threat in the Irrawaddy delta, the UN said hundreds of thousands more could be at risk from starvation and disease in the months to come. - CNA /ls
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