Parth Now May 07, 2008
THE United Nations has obtained permission to fly emergency supplies to cyclone-ravaged Burma but aid workers are still waiting for visas to enter the isolated country.
"The Government has given the authorisation to have the UN ship relief items to Myanmar (Burma),'' Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said.
They may also give authorisation to a small team from OCHA to accompany the relief flight,'' Ms Byrs said, adding that the flight would leave "as soon as possible''.
The shipment from a UN warehouse in Brindisi, Italy, will include tents, water purification tablets, generators, plastic sheeting, kitchen sets, and blankets for survivors of the cyclone that Burma estimates killed nearly 22,500 people and left 41,000 missing.
The military government deployed helicopters today to drop food and water to those marooned in the Irrawaddy delta, where entire villages were destroyed by a massive storm surge.
The UN's World Food Program, which had begun stockpiling food supplies in Burma before Cyclone Nargis struck on Friday and Saturday, has been distributing rice in the capital Rangoon.
Ms Byrs said a five-member UN disaster management assessment team in Thailand had not yet received visas allowing them to enter Burma.
Other UN and international aid agencies are also awaiting visas to allow them into the country, which borders China, India, Bangladesh, Laos and Thailand.
US President George W Bush offered Burma emergency assistance yesterday, including the use of US Navy ships and aircraft carriers and $A3.16 million to meet urgent needs.
But he made the offer at a signing ceremony awarding the military junta's strongest political opponent - detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi - the Congressional Gold Medal, the top US civilian honour.
Burma's Government has faced sharp criticism over its human rights record, particularly over the violent suppression of democracy protests led by monks last September.
Source
No comments:
Post a Comment