Diplomatic Licence: France vs Britain helping Burma

By South-east Asia correspondent Karen Percy
Burma is mourning the dead from the cyclone which struck 18 days ago and claimed the lives of 133,000 people, lowering national flags to half mast.

The junta is starting to open up to the outside world, inviting the Association of South East Asian Nations to oversee an expanded aid effort.

It is also inviting representatives from 29 countries to visit and see the devastation for themselves, ahead of a donors' meeting that is scheduled for the weekend.

United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki Moon will arrive in Burma tomorrow and on Thursday he will be taken to the Irrawaddy Delta.

Already Burma has agreed to allow about 300 medical officers from ASEAN nations to enter to provide assistance.

The three-day mourning period is one of the first demonstrations of public grief since the tropical storm ravaged swathes of the nation 18 days ago, leaving about 2.4 million survivors in need of aid.

Flags in front of Rangoon's City Hall fluttered at half mast in the light morning rain, but there was no minute of silence or a public ceremony, leaving many people unsure how to mark the occasion.

"We didn't know about this news. How are we meant to show our grief for storm victims?" said Mya Mya, a 43-year-old flower seller who is sheltering in a public school after the storm destroyed her home.

"So far we haven't got any supplies from the government. We just got some supplies from private donors, so that's why I have to work for my family."

A 45-year-old taxi driver said: "I just found out this morning, but I also don't know how I am meant to show my grief."

- ABC/AFP
got it from here.