UN aid flights arrive in Burma

Updated May 9, 2008 22:10:09

Aid from the United Nations and Burma's neighbours has begun arriving. [Reuters]

Four United Nations aid flights have arrived in Burma, carrying relief supplies for the estimated 1.5 million people left homeless by Cyclone Nargis.

The planes brought tents, tarpaulins, high energy biscuits and basic medicines for distribution by the World Food Program.

The UN flights had been delayed until now by the military regime's reluctance to accept international help.

The WFP has conceded that fear of the military junta siphoning-off aid was another delaying factor.

Some aircraft, mainly from countries friendly with the military government, had already been allowed to land before the UN flights, but others have been kept waiting.

But Burma's military junta has declined to meet Thailand's prime minister, forcing him to call off a weekend trip to urge the regime to admit foreign aid workers.

Thailand is one of a few countries that has close relations with the reclusive regime.

The United Nations is warning the cyclone death toll will rise dramatically unless the junta lets foreign disaster workers in.

Most aid agencies are now saying that the number of people killed could rise to 100,000.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation says the cyclone did more damage to the fishing and farming sector than the 2004 tsunami.

'Appalling and Obscene'

The Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd, has described 'appalling and obscene' the Burmese government's behaviour in obstructing the world's efforts to help the victims of last weekend's devastating cyclone.

Mr Rudd says he is working on ways to put pressure on Burma to accept more international aid.

He has been on the phone to Australia's ambassador in Rangoon and says he plans to talk to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, about ways to push Burma to allow more aid in.

He wants Singapore to use its role in ASEAN to apply pressure and he will also call on China to use its special relationship with Burma.

Aid worker deportation

Burma has announced the deportaion of some aid workers, saying it is "not ready" for foreign search and rescue teams.

The Burmese foreign ministry says a combined search-and-rescue and media team who arrived from Qatar on Wednesday were deported the same day.

The ministry says authorities are too busy dealing with the distribution of emergency supplies to receive such foreign teams.

International pressure

Efforts to have the UN Security Council put more pressure Burma to grant full access to aid workers were rejected by China, Indonesia and Vietnam, among a number of other nations on the council.

Japan has also announced it is giving $US10 million to help the relief effort, on top of the more than half a million already pledged.

And the state government of Western Australia says it will contribute almost a million dollars in humanitarian aid, to add to the three million committed by Australia's federal authorities.

US seeks 'green light'

The American defence secretary, Robert Gates, has played down suggestions that the US military is considering moving relief supplies into Burma without the Burmese government's permission.

He says the US is positioning ships and helicopters to move aid in quickly, but not until it has the green light from the authorities.

Mr Gates also says even if Burma refuses American help, the United States is prepared to work creatively with other countries to help out.

Earlier, the State Department in Washington said it did not rule out the possibility of air-dropping supplies to victims of the cyclone without the Burmese government's say so.