Visiting U.N. chief presses Myanmar on aid

updated 2:07 p.m. ET May 22, 2008

YANGON, Myanmar - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon surveyed devastated sections of Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta on Thursday and said he was very upset by the conditions of cyclone survivors.

Ban went on a four-hour helicopter trip that touched down at several makeshift settlements of refugees from the May 2-3 storm. He is one of a handful of foreigners allowed to see the zone first hand.

Ban and his entourage flew over miles of badly damaged rice fields, collapsed and flooded houses, downed trees and overturned boats, rivers swollen past their banks and people huddled on rooftops or in makeshift tent villages.

Ban was first taken to a village called Kyondah, where 500 people huddled in just over 100 blue tents. The camp was set up on May 12 — ten days after the storm hit.

Ban, who spoke to some camp residents, said: "I'm very upset by what I've seen."

The settlement is somewhat of a showpiece. Visits by senior junta members and representatives of foreign embassies and aid organizations last week were publicized in the state-controlled media.

The victims had standard-issue cooking pots and blankets. The equipment looked new.

Some foreign aid reaching victims
The camp's medical tent contained a number of supplies that, as one of Ban's aides noted, included some material from UNICEF, Turkey and another country — evidence that some foreign aid was reaching victims as intended.

Foreign relief agencies say many parts of the delta — and even some areas close to Yangon, the country's biggest city — have not received sufficient relief supplies.

The Irrawaddy delta, the country's rice bowl, is where most of the 78,000 deaths from the cyclone occurred. Another 56,000 people are listed as missing

In a meeting earlier with Prime Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Sein, Ban stressed that international aid experts should be rushed in because the crisis had exceeded Myanmar's national capacity, according to a U.N. official at the talks.

"The United Nations and all the international community stand ready to help to overcome the tragedy," Ban said. "The main purpose of my being here is to demonstrate my solidarity."

Activists called on Ban to meet with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and seek her release. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been confined to her Yangon villa for most of the last 18 years and her current period of detention is due to expire Monday.

Such a meeting was not on Ban's official itinerary.

"This crisis has highlighted the desperate need for democratic and accountable government in Burma," the Burma Campaign UK said in a statement. "Ban Ki-moon must meet with Aung San Suu Kyi."

MORE FROM ASIA-PACIFIC

Asia-Pacific Section Front

U.N.: Much of Myanmar cyclone aid lost Rice: Pakistan must up fight against Taliban Students offer reward for Rice arrest China marshals Olympic spirit to rebuild Cyclone-hit fisheries hurt Myanmar   ‘Big hole’ in Qantas plane prompts landing Judge: Girl can't be called Talula Does The Hula N. Korea signs Asian peace pact Magnitude 6.8 quake hits Japan Newsweek: Cambodia opposition head talks elections Asia-Pacific Section Front   Add Asia-Pacific headlines to your news reader: