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UN to resume Burma food flights

Africa The World Food Programme says it will
Americas resume aid flights to Burma on BURMA CYCLONE
Asia-
Asia-Pacific Saturday, despite a row over the local
KEY STORIES
Europe authorities impounding deliveries.
Burma aid effort 'requires $1bn'
Middle East The government said it had taken Burma hits out at cyclone reports
South Asia control of the aid to distribute it.
Comic arrested for aid runs
UK
The UN secretary general urged Burma Clickable map of aftermath
Business to allow in aid teams "without
Health hindrance". Later, the UN launched a FEATURES AND ANALYSIS
Science & Environment $187.2m (£96m) appeal to help victims Aid from a number of Asian countries has Burma challenge
been arriving in Burma Aid workers face hurdles despite
Technology of the cyclone.
more access
Entertainment Burma's envoy to the UN expressed his gratitude and said they would accept aid
Also in the news from any quarter.
----------------- Victims' misery turns to fury
Video and Audio "What we urgently need are medical Will Burma keep its word on aid?
The sheer survival of the affected
-----------------
supplies, food, clothes, emergency people is at stake Murmurs of anger at junta
Programmes
generators, food and shelter. This flash A tale of two disasters
Have Your Say
appeal is timely and welcome." Ban Ki-Moon
In Pictures UN Secretary General VIDEO
He added that the first US plane to be
Country Profiles Videos from the scene of the
allowed in is expected to arrive in Burma Rangoon's hardship
Special Reports Burma cyclone
on Monday. World wrestles with aid issue
Related BBC sites Announcing the appeal, UN Why vote trumps storm for junta
Sport humanitarian chief John Holmes said it BBC inside Burma after cyclone
Weather was vital that any obstacles that had hindered aid deliveries until now be
On This Day resolved soon. HAVE YOUR SAY
Editors' Blog
BBC World Service "If we do not act now and do not act fast, more lives will be lost," he said. Burmese blog despair

Languages Burmese state media say 22,980 people were killed, but the UN fears between
63,000 and 100,000 people could be dead or missing.

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A BBC correspondent and aid worker Tim Costello, of World Vision, describe the situation in
Burma to Radio 4's The World At One.

The country's ruling generals have faced mounting criticism over their handling
of the crisis, their reluctance to allow international aid teams into the country and

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7392331.stm 3/1/2011
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | UN to resume Burma food flights Page 2 of 3

their insistence on distributing aid themselves.

Mr Ban said he had been unable to contact the head of the ruling junta, General
Than Shwe, to ask him directly to allow relief teams in.

"If early action is not taken and relief measures put in place the medium-term
effect of this tragedy could be truly catastrophic," he said.

The generals have also been criticised for going ahead with a national
referendum on a new constitution on Saturday, while so many people are in
desperate need of aid.

The government says the referendum will pave the way for democratic elections
in 2010, while the opposition says it is intended to tighten the generals' rule.

The BBC's Andrew Harding says it is a gamble and now there is a chance that
public anger could translate into big "No" vote, particularly given the military
handling of the storm's aftermath.

Disease fears

The UN fears more than 1.5 million people have been affected by the cyclone,
with tens of thousands made homeless and vulnerable to disease.

AID PLEDGES
The World Health Organization says
UK $10m
access to clean drinking water and
outbreaks of communicable diseases UN $10m

such as dengue and malaria are a major Japan $10m

concern. US $3m
France $3m
Hundreds of thousands of people have
Australia $2.8m
no food, water or shelter. International
aid agencies on the ground say some In pictures: Cyclone survivors
aid has been distributed in the delta
region, but they have reached only 10% of those that need help.

The World Food Programme says discussions with the government will continue
about the impounded aid - which includes 38 tonnes of high-energy biscuits,
enough to feed 95,000 people.

But regional director Tony Banbury said talks on Friday had stalled and he was
worried that a national referendum being held on Saturday would scupper
further negotiations.

"I don't know what channels will be open to us to communicate with the relevant
authorities, and to encourage them to reverse this very unfortunate decision," he
said.

'Murdering own people'

Some charities say they have succeeded in getting some help through but are
worried that reports of aid efforts being hampered could stop people making
donations if they think it is not making a difference.

EXTENT OF THE DEVASTATION

"That would be a huge irony because
they're getting there and it would be a
tragedy if those stopped flowing in the
next few days," said Save the Children's
Jasmine Whitbread.
See map and satellite images
"Every day we've been able to reach
another 10,000 people with bottled Send us your comments

water, food, plastic sheeting, blankets, the basic life-saving response kit that we
do in all humanitarian responses."

The BBC's Jonathan Head in neighbouring Thailand said the military leaders
appeared to be putting their pride and entrenched suspicion of foreigners before
the lives of their people.

One aid official told him the Burmese government was "murdering their own
people by letting them die".

Tim Costello, from World Vision Australia, said aid workers in Burma were
experiencing feelings of guilt about not being able to do enough and felt fear and
frustration as a result of that.

"But their job is to work with the situation and keep hope alive and keep going,"
he told a Disasters Emergency Committee news conference in London.

Thai pressure

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BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | UN to resume Burma food flights Page 3 of 3

The BBC's Paul Danahar, in southern Burma despite restrictions on journalists,

says the survivors need more than food.

He says they have been cut off and helpless for seven days and are surrounded
by tens of thousands of rotting corpses.

What they really need, he says, is the corpses to be moved, clean water, shelter,
and efforts to start rebuilding the devastated infrastructure.

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, says two trucks with shelter supplies are
due to cross the border from Thailand on Saturday.

Spokeswoman Vivian Tan said the agency had assurances from the government
that it would be allowed to monitor the distribution process.

Thailand's Foreign Minister, Noppadon Pattma, said he would be asking his

Burmese counterpart to be more flexible regarding the admission of aid and aid
teams.

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