Ban Ki-moon said today that he hoped a turning point had been reached in tackling Burma’s humanitarian crisis as an international conference convened to pledge funds for the 2.4 million survivors of Cyclone Nargis.
The UN Secretary-General struck an optimistic notes at the opening of a one-day, 52-nation conference, after promises by the ruling junta yesterday that foreign aid workers could at last enter the most devastated areas from which they have been banned since the cyclone struck three weeks ago.
“I hope this marks a turning point in tackling the challenges facing this country,” Mr Ban told the 500 delegates as the conference began with a minute of silence for the dead.
But he said international relief workers and medical teams from neighbouring countries must have “unhindered access to the areas hardest hit by the disaster”.
Lieutenant General Thein Sein, the Prime Minister, who had shed his military uniform for the sarong-like “longyi" and traditional jacket, said that international aid “with no strings attached" was welcome, but only civilian vessels could take part in the aid operation.
“Relief supplies can be transported by land, air or sea. But if relief supplies have to be transported by water, civilian vessels can come in through Rangoon port,” he said.
This appeared to rule out aid from the US, British and French warships which have been cruising off Burma’s coast, loaded with humanitarian supplies. Burmese state media said last week that they would not be allowed into the country, for fear of an American invasion to snatch the country’s oil supplies.
So far Burma has accepted 3,200 tons of humanitarian supplies from abroad, said Thein Sein. He presented a long list of urgent needs, including temporary shelters, rice seeds, fertiliser, fishing boats and new salt factories.
Mr Ban estimated the relief operation would last at least six months.
“There is good reason to hope that aid to the worst affected areas of Burma will increase significantly in the coming days. These needs must be funded, immediately,” he said.
Burma’s military regime was expected to call for $10.7bn in foreign funds.
Several Western diplomats stressed that their countries would only donate if Burma carries through on its promises to allow access to aid workers.
Scot Marciel, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State who is Washington’s representative, said that the United States was prepared to offer much more than the $20.5m already donated, but that the offer was on condition that international disaster experts are allowed to assess conditions in affected areas.
Bert Koenders, the Dutch minister for development cooperation, said: “The reason we came is to support Ban Ki-moon. That’s the reason why many ministers came here. We’re all very positive about what he has agreed with the government leader here, but also sceptical because you have to see the facts on the ground.”
After weeks of stubbornly refusing assistance, Burma’s ruling generals told the United Nations they were now willing to allow workers of all nationalities to go into the devastated Irrawaddy delta to assess the damage.
The ability to make such assessments will be essential in winning aid pledges from potential donors in Yangon, Burma’s largest city. And some agencies voiced concern about how the junta would implement the agreement.
Burma’s generals have a long history of making promises to top UN envoys, then breaking them when the international spotlight on their country fades.
The world body has repeatedly failed to convince the military to make democratic reforms or to release Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader and Nobel laureate whose five-year period of house arrest expires this week.
Nyan Win, spokesman for Ms Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy, said today that there has been “no sign at all" that she would be released. He said a decision on whether to free her or continue her detention would probably come tomorrow.
Mr Ban appeared to sideline political issues, saying, “We must think about people just now, not politics.”
The UN estimates that of the total 2.4 million people affected by the storm, about 42 per cent had received some kind of emergency assistance. But of the 2 million people living in the 15 worst-affected townships, only 23 per cent had been reached.
The United Nations has launched an emergency appeal for $201m, a figure likely to increase once disaster relief experts are able to survey the Irrawaddy delta.
So far, the UN has received about $50m in contributions and about $42.5m in pledges in response to the appeal.
Aid agencies said much needs to be clarified from Mr Ban’s meeting, ranging from when aid workers’ visas will be granted to how long they will be allowed to stay in Burma and where they can work.
Official estimates put the death toll at about 78,000, with another 56,000 missing. Burma has estimated the economic damage at about US$11 billion ($7 billion).
The cyclone destroyed thousands of schools, hospitals and houses, millions of acres (hectares) of rice fields and killed vital livestock as well as fisheries. Besides reconstruction, the regime says it also wants to construct a sea wall that would protect coastal villages.
The restoration of agriculture in the Irrawaddy delta, the country’s rice bowl, is a key concern.
“Only a few weeks remain until the rice planting season begins,” Mr Ban said. “Millions of people depend on this next harvest, at a time when food prices are soaring around the world. A failure to deal with this problem today will immeasurably compound our problems tomorrow.”
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