Aid groups urge Myanmar to fulfill promise

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon inaugurated a hub in Thailand for flying relief supplies into Myanmar on Saturday, a day after the country's military strongman agreed to allow in more foreign assistance and workers to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

Foreign aid agencies meanwhile urged Myanmar's junta to urgently clarify rules for operating in areas devastated by the May 2-3 storm, expressing hope tinged with skepticism after the regime promised to open its doors to the international community.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Myanmar's ruling generals had told him all international aid workers will be able "to freely reach the needy people," a pledge the junta has not yet publicly acknowledged.

Ban made the comments during an afternoon trip to China's earthquake zone.

Official estimates put the cyclone's death toll at about 78,000, with another 56,000 missing. Myanmar has estimated the economic damage at about $11 billion.

The push to get aid workers into the hardest-hit Irrawaddy Delta is increasingly urgent because an estimated 2.5 million people remain in severe need, threatened by disease, hunger and exposure due to the loss of their homes.

Ban returned from China to Bangkok, Thailand, where he and Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej inaugurated a new hub for relief efforts at a warehouse at the city's former international airport.

Ban said authorities were planning two flights a day into Yangon, using Ilyushin 76 and Antonov 12 airplanes.

Several flights a day have been going into Yangon airport for the past two weeks, but consolidating air relief operations at one spot in Thailand will allow for a better-organized operation. iReport.com: Myanmar children beg for food

The World Food Programme -- which has been given permission to use helicopters for relief operations -- and NGOs will use the distribution center.

Friday's agreement with junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe was described only in the broadest terms by Ban, who said Friday that details still needed to be worked out, and "implementation will be key."

"I believe they will keep and honor their commitment," Ban said.

The private German aid agency Welthungerhilfe welcomed Ban's agreement with Than Shwe.

"'If it doesn't turn out to be just an empty promise, it will be a blessing for all those who have spent almost two weeks waiting for outside help,' the group said in a news release.

But Welthungerhilfe said it remained skeptical, because of the constraints it and other agencies had already experienced in Myanmar over the past two weeks.

The junta's apparent concession came Friday after three weeks of blocking relief for cyclone survivors, and on the eve of an international donors' conference Sunday in Myanmar.

The possible breakthrough distracted attention from the junta's widely criticized decision to push ahead Saturday with a constitutional referendum in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, and hard-hit areas of the Irrawaddy River delta.

Critics say the proposed charter is designed to strengthen the military's grip on power.

The rest of the country voted May 10, and state radio has said the delayed balloting could not reverse the constitution's reported approval by 92.4 percent of the 22 million eligible voters.

Detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi cast her ballot on Friday evening when referendum officials visited her Yangon home with a ballot card, an official said on condition of anonymity. Suu Kyi's opposition party called for a "No" vote on the proposed charter, which effectively bars her from holding elected office.

Ban said he did not discuss Suu Kyi with Myanmar's military rulers.

"I was there for purely humanitarian grounds. I'm sure that I will have other opportunities of pressing this issue," he said.

Aid agencies said much needed to be clarified from Ban's meeting, ranging from logistical issues about when aid workers' visas would be granted to how long they would be allowed to stay in Myanmar and where they could work.

"We're hopeful that it means more foreign aid workers will go to the worst-affected areas," said Save the Children spokeswoman Kate Conradt. "We already have a number of expatriate staff in Yangon. They just can't leave the city."

Than Shwe refused to relent on the landing of military ships -- U.S., French and British warships have been waiting with aid off Myanmar's coast but were not allowed to dock. Myanmar's junta is nervous about any shore landings because it fears an invasion or political interference.

Than Shwe "agreed that international aid could be delivered to Myanmar via civilian ships and small boats," Ban said.

Ban flew to Chengdu in China on Saturday to inspect the damage from the May 12 earthquake there. While touring earthquake-hit areas, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said China will pledge $10 million in aid for Myanmar at Sunday's conference.

The U.N. chief was to return to Yangon on Sunday to co-chair the donors conference, which would be attended by officials from more than 45 countries and regional organizations, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Friday in New York.

The United Nations has launched an emergency appeal for US$201 million (euro127.7 million). That figure will likely increase further once disaster relief experts are able to survey the Irrawaddy delta. Watch a UNICEF official describe a "dire situation" in Myanmar »

So far the U.N. has received about US$50 million (euro31.76 million) in contributions and about US$42.5 million (euro27 million) in pledges in response to the appeal, said Stephanie Bunker, spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The conference is being sponsored by the U.N. and the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is taking the lead in organizing the delivery of aid to Myanmar, one of its members.

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