( AP ) - The United Nations' top humanitarian official said Tuesday he hopes Myanmar will allow foreign helicopters to help rescue stranded cyclone victims, while the U.N. chief warned it is a "critical moment" for relief efforts.
U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes was in Myanmar seeking to persuade the military government to let in more international assistance. He also was paving the way for a visit by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon starting Thursday.Holmes said he told Myanmar's prime minister, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein, the U.N. wants to support aid efforts, "as we would do in any other country in any disaster of this scale, where clearly the size of the tragedy outweighs the capacity of any country to deal with it by itself."
The junta appears to be slowly relenting to foreign pressure to accept more outside help, but even foreign aid workers already in the country are still banned from the worst devastated areas. The U.N. said only a fraction of survivors had gotten any international assistance.
The official death toll stood at about 78,000, with 56,000 more people missing. Conditions in the low-lying Irrawaddy River delta remained precarious, with survivors facing disease, malnutrition and exposure to the elements.
Speaking at a news conference a day after visiting the delta, Holmes said he had suggested the junta make "better use of international expertise and assets" and ensure "all possible routes in for aid are open, whether they be by land or sea or air."
Asked if the government would allow foreign helicopters to help, Holmes said that would be a positive step and he hoped to reach an agreement soon.
"It's clear that one of the biggest problems in the delta area is getting to affected people, which can only be done either by helicopter or by boat," he said.
The U.S. military has several helicopters on standby on a warship off the Myanmar coast and in neighboring Thailand.
The U.S. is already flying supplies in from Thailand on C-130 cargo aircraft, at a rate of about five flights a day. But the planes go to Myanmar's biggest city, Yangon, from which it is a difficult journey to the Irrawaddy delta.
Holmes told reporters Ban would meet with Senior Gen. Than Shwe, the head of the ruling junta. Myanmar officials were not available to confirm the news.
Ban is expected to visit areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis as well as talk with officials and aid workers. On Sunday, he is scheduled to attend a meeting of aid donors in Yangon. Myanmar, one of the world's poorest nations, claims losses from the disaster exceeded $10 billion.
At U.N. headquarters, Ban told reporters before leaving for the airport that "this is a critical moment for Myanmar." He said there is a functioning relief program in place, but so far it has been able to reach only 25 percent of the 2.4 million people in need.
Ban added that he was confident aid efforts can be scaled up quickly and welcomed the junta's "recent flexibility" in allowing relief workers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations to begin distributing aid.
Myanmar's leaders began three days of mourning for the dead and missing. Flags at government offices, schools and large hotels flew at half staff, but shops opened and many people in Yangon said they had little idea what the official mourning entailed.