Burma's military regime distributed some international aid on Saturday but first it plastered the boxes with the names of top generals in an apparent effort to turn the relief effort for last week's devastating cyclone into a propaganda exercise.
The United Nations sent in three more planes and several trucks loaded with aid even though the junta took over its first two shipments on Friday. The government agreed to let a US cargo plane bring in supplies on Monday, but foreign disaster experts are still being barred entry.
State-run television continuously runs images of top generals—including the junta leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe—handing out boxes of aid to survivors at elaborate ceremonies.
One box bore the name of Lt-Gen Myint Swe, a rising star in the government hierarchy, in bold letters that overshadowed a smaller label reading: "Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand."
State media officially says 23,335 people died and 37,019 are missing from Cyclone Nargis, which submerged entire villages in the Irrawaddy delta. International aid organizations say the death toll could climb to more than 100,000 as conditions worsen.
The UN estimates 1.5 million to 2 million people have been severely affected and has voiced concern about the disposal of bodies and the number of people that are homeless.
With phone lines down, roads blocked and electricity networks destroyed, it is nearly impossible to reach isolated areas in the delta, complicated by the lack of experienced international aid workers and equipment.
But the junta has refused to grant access to foreign experts, saying it will only accept donations from foreign charities and governments, and then will deliver the aid on its own. Observers say the junta lacks the resources and the will to distribute the amount of aid needed, assuming it will let the aid enter the country.
The government has only a few dozen helicopters, most which are small and old. It also has about 15 transport planes, primarily small jets unable to carry hundreds of tons of supplies.
So far, relief workers have reached 220,000 cyclone victims, only a small fraction of the number of people affected, the Red Cross said on Friday. Three Red Cross aid flights loaded with shelter kits and other emergency supplies landed on Friday without incident.
But the government seized two planeloads of high-energy biscuits—enough to feed 95,000 people—sent by the UN World Food Program. Despite the seizure, WFP was sending three more planes on Saturday from Dubai, Cambodia and Italy even though those could be confiscated, too.
"We are working around the clock with the authorities to ensure the kind of access that we need to ensure it goes to people that need it most," WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said in Bangkok, Thailand.
Richard Horsey, a spokesman for UN humanitarian operations, said an international presence is needed in Burma to look at the logistics of getting boats, helicopters and trucks into the delta area.
"That's a critical bottleneck that must be overcome at this point," he said in Bangkok.
He warned there was a great risk of diarrhea and cholera spreading due to the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation.
"We are running out of time here. This could be a huge problem and this could lead to a second phase which could be as deadly as the cyclone," he said.
Heavy rain forecast in the next week is certain to exacerbate the misery. Diplomats and aid groups warned the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because of illnesses and said thousands of children may have been orphaned.
Survivors from one of the worst-affected areas, near the town of Bogalay, were among those fighting hunger, illness and wrenching loneliness.
"All my 28 family members have died," said Thein Myint, a 68-year-old fisherman who wept while describing how the cyclone swept away the rest of his family. "I am the only survivor."
Officials have said only one out of 10 people who are homeless, injured or threatened by disease and hunger have received some kind of aid since the cyclone hit on May 3.
About 20,000 body bags were being sent so volunteers from the Burmese chapter of the Red Cross can start collecting bodies, said Anders Ladekarl, the head of the Danish Red Cross.
The United Nations sent in three more planes and several trucks loaded with aid even though the junta took over its first two shipments on Friday. The government agreed to let a US cargo plane bring in supplies on Monday, but foreign disaster experts are still being barred entry.
State-run television continuously runs images of top generals—including the junta leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe—handing out boxes of aid to survivors at elaborate ceremonies.
One box bore the name of Lt-Gen Myint Swe, a rising star in the government hierarchy, in bold letters that overshadowed a smaller label reading: "Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand."
State media officially says 23,335 people died and 37,019 are missing from Cyclone Nargis, which submerged entire villages in the Irrawaddy delta. International aid organizations say the death toll could climb to more than 100,000 as conditions worsen.
The UN estimates 1.5 million to 2 million people have been severely affected and has voiced concern about the disposal of bodies and the number of people that are homeless.
With phone lines down, roads blocked and electricity networks destroyed, it is nearly impossible to reach isolated areas in the delta, complicated by the lack of experienced international aid workers and equipment.
But the junta has refused to grant access to foreign experts, saying it will only accept donations from foreign charities and governments, and then will deliver the aid on its own. Observers say the junta lacks the resources and the will to distribute the amount of aid needed, assuming it will let the aid enter the country.
The government has only a few dozen helicopters, most which are small and old. It also has about 15 transport planes, primarily small jets unable to carry hundreds of tons of supplies.
So far, relief workers have reached 220,000 cyclone victims, only a small fraction of the number of people affected, the Red Cross said on Friday. Three Red Cross aid flights loaded with shelter kits and other emergency supplies landed on Friday without incident.
But the government seized two planeloads of high-energy biscuits—enough to feed 95,000 people—sent by the UN World Food Program. Despite the seizure, WFP was sending three more planes on Saturday from Dubai, Cambodia and Italy even though those could be confiscated, too.
"We are working around the clock with the authorities to ensure the kind of access that we need to ensure it goes to people that need it most," WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said in Bangkok, Thailand.
Richard Horsey, a spokesman for UN humanitarian operations, said an international presence is needed in Burma to look at the logistics of getting boats, helicopters and trucks into the delta area.
"That's a critical bottleneck that must be overcome at this point," he said in Bangkok.
He warned there was a great risk of diarrhea and cholera spreading due to the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation.
"We are running out of time here. This could be a huge problem and this could lead to a second phase which could be as deadly as the cyclone," he said.
Heavy rain forecast in the next week is certain to exacerbate the misery. Diplomats and aid groups warned the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because of illnesses and said thousands of children may have been orphaned.
Survivors from one of the worst-affected areas, near the town of Bogalay, were among those fighting hunger, illness and wrenching loneliness.
"All my 28 family members have died," said Thein Myint, a 68-year-old fisherman who wept while describing how the cyclone swept away the rest of his family. "I am the only survivor."
Officials have said only one out of 10 people who are homeless, injured or threatened by disease and hunger have received some kind of aid since the cyclone hit on May 3.
About 20,000 body bags were being sent so volunteers from the Burmese chapter of the Red Cross can start collecting bodies, said Anders Ladekarl, the head of the Danish Red Cross.
