Asean is preparing to act

Two weeks after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, Asean will meet in Singapore today to discuss ways to help amid strong criticism of the group being slow to move and of the junta for blocking international aid workers.

Despite sending Foreign Minister Nyan Win to the meeting, the junta has not shown any commitment to widening the door to assistance from outsiders, said an Asean official preparing to attend the meeting.

Nyan Win will brief the meeting on the current situation and his government's actions while the Asean assessment team, dispatched earlier by Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan will make a report.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed his "immense frustration" at Burma's slow response to the cyclone that hit the country 10 days ago. Aid had been able to reach less than a third of those at risk, he said.

The junta has let more foreign experts into the country in recent days to help the estimated two million survivors who do not have enough food, water or shelter more than two weeks after the storm.

But with emergency relief coordinator John Holmes in the country, a UN report said needs were still critical.

Thousands of tonnes of aid was being flown in but relief groups, notably from western countries, want fuller access to help supervise efforts in the aftermath of the May 2-3 cyclone, which the government said left nearly 134,000 people dead and missing.

"Unofficial figures are considerably higher," the internal UN report said. "Food, shelter, medical supplies and water remain critical needs."

Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Ban had urged Thailand to be the regional relief centre for shipments of essential supplies to Burma.

Thailand will propose in the Asean meeting to have a coordinator between Asean and the UN for the relief. Bangkok would also contribute in the Asean disaster relief fund, he said.

However, critics wondered whether the Singapore talks would make any difference if the junta, whose human

rights records has become a black mark for the entire organisation, remained re-

luctant to accept substantial foreign help.

Thailand-based non-governmental organisations said Asean had failed to do enough to effectively fulfil its re-

sponsibility to the victims of

the disaster in the Irrawaddy delta.

The groups demanded the junta immediately remove all existing impediments to enable the free and speedy flow of aid to the victims and their families, especially to the most affected and still neglected areas.

Burma's state-run radio said the government had so far spent 20 billion kyat (about Bt62 million) on relief works and had received millions of dollars worth of relief supplies from local and international donors. It said the government was distributing assistance promptly and efficiently to the affected areas.

Aid agencies were not convinced.

"We are extremely worried that many children in the affected areas are now suffering from severe acute malnourishment, the most serious level of hunger," said Jasmine Whitbread, who heads Save the Children's operations in Britain. "When people reach this stage, they can die in a matter of days."

Britain's prime minister accused authorities of preventing foreign aid from reaching victims and said the military regime cares more about its own survival than its people's welfare.

"This is inhuman," Gordon Brown told the British Broadcasting Corporation.