BURMA:BURMA'S NEIGHBOURS appeared to have reached a compromise with the regime yesterday that would finally allow significant amounts of international aid to reach the survivors of the deadly cyclone, more than two weeks after it struck.
An Asian-led task force will be formed to help funnel relief into the country and bring supplies to the 2.4 million people gravely affected by Cyclone Nargis.
But following an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean), including Burma, the bloc acknowledged there would be no unfettered access for UN disaster experts and other aid agencies.
The hope that urgently needed aid would reach the cyclone's victims came as the UN's humanitarian affairs chief, John Holmes, was taken on a tour of the Irrawaddy delta, including the towns of Laputta and Bogalay where most of the estimated 128,000 victims perished.
Mr Holmes is due to meet junta leaders today, including prime minister Lieut Gen Thein Sein. He will hand over a letter from Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, for the junta's strongman, Gen Than Shwe. Mr Ban is due to arrive in Burma as early as tomorrow. His visit is hugely symbolic, reflecting the gravity of the crisis. Gen Shwe refused to take Mr Ban's calls following the UN secretary general's criticism of the regime's foot-dragging over accepting international help.
The regime has also invited other regional leaders to inspect the devastation, which its foreign minister, Nyan Win, said could cost €6.3 billion. It will begin three days of mourning today.
Against the backdrop of apparent movement by the regime, the international community said some more aid was getting to the survivors. But just a fifth of those affected have been reached, with up to 150,000 people living in 120 makeshift camps where the lack of clean water and sanitation remain a huge risk.
Doctors from Thailand, China, India and Bangladesh are already helping cyclone victims in the Irrawaddy delta amid fears that hunger and disease could cause more deaths.
But it was clear that legions of UN specialists vainly waiting for visas to assist in distributing relief supplies are unlikely to be allowed into Burma after Singapore foreign minister George Yeo said he understood their applications would be reviewed by Burma on a case-by-case basis.
( Guardianservice)