28.05.2008

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that on Tuesday some foreign aid workers have gone into Myanmar’s cyclone-ravaged delta without problems, reflecting a “new spirit of cooperation” by the ruling junta.

“The Myanmar government appears to be moving toward the right direction, to implement these accords,” Ban told reporters a day after returning to New York. “Some international aid workers and NGOs have already gone into the regions of the Irrawaddy Delta, without any problem. I hope — and I believe — that this marks a new spirit of cooperation between Myanmar and the international community.”

But the secretary-general stressed that more needs to be done, and full implementation of the agreement he reached with Myanmar’s military ruler, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, “will be the key.”

“I will be fully, continuously and personally engaged,” he said. “I look forward to returning, before too long, to see for myself the progress we have made.”

U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes told reporters earlier that a significant number of visas are now being granted to international aid workers to help cyclone survivors.

The United Nations hasn’t seen “any blockages yet” in the granting of visas, he said, adding “it’s a much freer position than it was a week ago.”

When he left New York in mid-May to go to Myanmar, Holmes said about 40 visas had been granted to international relief workers but now “I think we’re well over double that, and that number’s increasing regularly.”

As for the financial side of the relief effort, Holmes said the U.N. financial tracking service reports that $133 million has already been contributed in one way or another, and a further $100 million pledged.

Aid agencies also said they had seen signs of improved cooperation with the regime.

“Than Shwe has now accepted a flexible stance,” said Richard Horsey, spokesman for the UN’s disaster relief arm in Bangkok.

“All the major obstacles we’ve been facing have been resolved. Now the relief effort will scale up more quickly,” he added.

He said more than 200 international staffers were now in Myanmar working with the United Nations, and that those who have entered the delta have not encountered any major problems.

“My understanding is there haven’t been any problems so far and they’ve been able to go where they’ve wanted to go, which is mainly the most-affected regions,” Horsey said.

Two helicopters arrived in Bangkok and were being assembled Wednesday to help the World Food Programme distribute supplies to regions inaccessible by road. Seven more are on the way, WFP spokesman Paul Risley said.

Myanmar’s state media has also taken a more open tone toward aid from foreign agencies, as well as from private donors, after three weeks of insisting the military could handle the relief effort itself.

The government mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar on Wednesday again highlighted the work done by WFP and charities like Doctors Without Borders.

The paper also insisted that private donors were free to deliver food and clothing to cyclone victims in the delta, where some local authorities had tried to stop volunteers from entering.

“Everybody may make donations freely. Everybody may make donations to any person or any area,” the paper said.

“However, wellwishers are urged to avoid unsystematic donations and acts that may tarnish the image of the nation and its people,” it added.

Outrage over Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest will not detract from relief work, key donors said, as the United Nations on Wednesday reported small gains in getting aid to cyclone survivors.

Ban said that while he regretted the extension, Myanmar appeared “to be moving in right direction” with cyclone relief by allowing some international aid workers into the most devastated regions of Irrawaddy Delta.

During Ban’s visit here, he convinced junta leader Than Shwe to give foreign disaster experts access to the region so that aid agencies can mount a full-scale aid effort.

“I hope that this marks a new spirit of cooperation and partnership between Myanmar and the international community,” he said, adding that he planned to return to the country soon.

US President George W. Bush, one of the regime’s fiercest critics, said he was “deeply troubled” by Aung San Suu Kyi ’s detention but also said politics would not affect humanitarian aid in the country, formerly known as Burma.

“The United States will continue to help the people of Burma recover from the devastation of Cyclone Nargis and will continue to support the Burmese people’s long-term struggle for freedom,” he said.

And, the French warship Mistral Wednesday landed on the resort island of Phuket, Thailand, to unload some 1,000 tons of humanitarian supplies for shipment by the United Nations to Myanmar.

(Excerpts from AP news reports)