UN officials criticize Myanmar's response to cyclone

By JOHN HEILPRIN

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Top U.N. officials criticized Myanmar's response to a devastating cyclone, calling on its ruling junta Thursday to postpone a constitutional referendum and to ease restrictions slowing the delivery of international aid.

The U.N. now estimates 1.5 million people have been "severely affected" by the cyclone that hit last Saturday. Those include 1 million homeless, at least 42,000 missing and more than 22,000 killed in high winds, floods and tidal waves.

"If we lose time at this critical time, not only will many more people die because of this crisis, I'm also concerned disease will spread," Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said before a luncheon in Atlanta with Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Ban called on Myanmar's military leaders to postpone a constitutional referendum and "focus instead on mobilizing all available resources and capacity for the emergency response efforts" because of the scope of the disaster, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said at New York headquarters.

In a CNN interview, Ban said he was "deeply concerned again by the inflexible positions of Myanmar's government."

Ban also told reporters the military regime should temporarily abandon visa requirements for aid workers trying to enter the country so that badly needed food and supplies can reach victims without delay.

He said he was trying to arrange talks with Myanmar junta chairman Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

The junta has postponed voting in some parts of the country, including its largest city, Yangon, some outlying areas and parts of the Irrawaddy delta hardest hit by the storm.

While four relief flights from the U.N. World Food Program arrived in Yangon on Thursday carrying high-energy biscuits and other supplies, John Holmes, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official, said the "frustrations have been growing that this humanitarian response is being held back because of difficulties of access."

Some 130 UNICEF staff — Burmese and foreigners — were working in the country before the cyclone, and all have since been redeployed with government permission to help out in the recovery effort. But another 100 U.N. staff had yet to gain visa clearance to enter the country, UNICEF said.

"I'm disappointed by the progress we've seen," Holmes told reporters. He called the situation "profoundly worrying" and emphasized the U.N. was only trying to help Myanmar deal with an "increasingly desperate" situation.

Some diplomats had sharp words for Myanmar's response.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters Thursday the U.S. was "outraged by the slowness of the response of the government of Burma to welcome and accept assistance."

"It's clear that the government's ability to deal with the situation, which is catastrophic, is limited," he said. The "government has responsibility to protect its own people, to provide for its people, and since it's not able to you would expect the government to welcome assistance from others."

China cautioned against political rhetoric.

"I think it's more important not to link any issue of Myanmar to politics — not to politicize the issue," China's deputy U.N. ambassador Liu Zhenmin told reporters.

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