Thursday May 22, 2008 MYT 8:48:25 AM

UN chief says 'utmost' effort needed to help Myanmar's cyclone victims

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP): U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon heads Thursday to Myanmar for the daunting but urgent task of persuading the generals who run the country to let in a torrent of foreign assistance for cyclone victims rather than the current trickle.

"We must do our utmost for the people of Myanmar,'' the U.N. chief told reporters Wednesday after arriving in Bangkok, Thailand. He heads for Myanmar on Thursday morning.

"This is a critical moment for Myanmar,'' Ban said "The government itself acknowledges that there has never been a disaster on this scale in the history of their country.''

By the junta's own count, at least 134,000 people are dead or missing from Cyclone Nargis, which swept through the country's heartland on May 2-3.

The U.N. says up to 2.5 million survivors of the storm face hunger, homelessness and potential outbreaks of deadly diseases, especially in the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta.

"We have a functioning relief program in place. But so far we have been able to reach only about 25 percent of the people in need,'' Ban said.

Myanmar slowly geared up to receive material assistance for the victims, and is still reluctant to accept more than a handful of experienced foreign rescue and disaster relief workers.

Ban said Tuesday that the U.N. had finally received permission from the junta to use nine World Food Program helicopters to carry aid to stranded victims in inaccessible areas. WFP officials in Bangkok confirmed that 10 flights would be allowed beginning Thursday.

A state-controlled newspaper said Wednesday that U.S. helicopters and naval ships were not welcome to join the relief effort.

The United States, as well as France and Great Britain, have naval vessels loaded with humanitarian supplies -- and the means to deliver them -- off Myanmar's coast, awaiting a green light to deliver them.

The New Light of Myanmar, a mouthpiece for the junta, said accepting military-linked assistance "comes with strings attached'' that are "not acceptable to the people of Myanmar.'' It hinted at fears of an American invasion aimed at grabbing the country's oil reserves. The article did not say whether French and British supplies would be allowed.

The regime has been allowing U.S. military C-130 cargo planes fly in relief goods.

Ban told reporters his two-day visit would include a trip to areas devastated by the cyclone and talks with officials, including junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

Asked about Ban's upcoming visits, Kyaw Htun Htun, a businessman, responded: "What can he do? He can't do anything.''

"They (the generals) won't care what the U.N. says,'' he said.

Kyaw Htun Htun was giving out food to cyclone refugees at the Shwe Daw monastery in South Dagon near Yangon, one of many private citizens who have mobilized to help the needy. The Buddhist monastery was housing 258 people -- mostly women and children -- still homeless more than two weeks after the cyclone.

"People have enough food here,'' said one of the temple's monks, U Chewatale. "People fed us. So now we are feeding them,'' he said, referring to the Buddhist practice of giving alms to monks.

At least 78,000 people were killed in the storm and 56,000 remain missing. European Union nations have warned that Myanmar's junta could be committing a crime against humanity by blocking aid.

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