UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday told the UN General Assembly there is "no time to lose" in Burma because the country faces an imminent outbreak of infectious diseases due to the slow relief and rescue operation in the Irrawaddy Delta which was virtually devastated by Cyclone Nargis.
"More than two weeks after the event, we are at a critical point. Unless more aid gets into the country—quickly—we face the risk of an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dramatically worsen today's crisis," Ban told the General Assembly in an informal meeting.
With revised Burmese government figures indicating that nearly 78,000 people died and more than 55,900 people are missing, Ban said international relief agencies report far higher figures and the estimates of those at risk run as high as 2.5 million people.
"There is no more time to lose," Ban said as he urged the Burmese government to open up in letting in international aid workers. Even those humanitarian workers who have been admitted are not being allowed to travel to the affected areas outside the capital.
Ban said all his efforts to reach Sen-Gen Than Shwe over the telephone and by mail have failed and he has received no response over the past week. He will send Under Secretary- General John Holmes to personally deliver a third letter to Than Shwe this weekend.
Holmes is expected to be in Burma on Monday. "He will deliver a third letter from me and attempt to establish contact with the Myanmar [Burmese] leadership with a view toward discussing how the UN can assist the government's immediate and longer term relief effort," Ban said.
"We also need to establish a logistics hub near Myanmar to better manage and co-ordinate international relief efforts," he said.
Pinning high hopes on the upcoming foreign ministers meetings of Asean countries, Ban said he has proposed a high-level pledging conference for May 24-25 to mobilize resources for Burma. His proposal will be discussed by the Asean countries at the meeting.
Meanwhile, surprising many diplomats, the French and Burmese ambassadors to the United Nations had a verbal clash on Friday during the informal session of the General Assembly wherein the secretary-general briefed members on the humanitarian crisis.
Though other issues including the earthquake in China and world food crisis were discussed, Burma dominated the proceedings that lasted for more than 150 minutes.
Briefing correspondents mid-way through the meeting, the French Ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said his Burmese counterpart, Kyaw Tint Swe, objected to him using the word Burma and charged that France is sending a warship to his country.
"That the ship in question is operated by the navy is true, but it is not a ‘warship’, it is a ship on board of which we have 1,500 tones of food, drugs and medicine," Ripert told reporters at the UN.
This ship is equipped with small boats, which could allow France to go through the Irrawaddy delta to regions where no one has accessed yet. It also has small helicopters which could drop food. "We have doctors, and we have platforms for medical intervention," he said.
The ship is expected to be in international waters near the delta region by tomorrow. France is still negotiating with the Burmese regime in this regard, he said.
"I had to explain in front of the whole General Assembly that for the moment it was very clear that those means were refused to their own population by the government of Myanmar [Burma]," he said.
"This is purely unacceptable, and we think we are shifting from a situation of refusal of assistance to people in need or in danger to a situation that could lead to a true crime against humanity, if we go on like that," Ripert said.
Refusing to make any comment on this issue after the meeting was over, Kyaw Tint Swe told The Irrawaddy: "Let him say what he wants to say."
At the same time, he argued the name of his country is Myanmar and not Burma. "We are not Burma, we are Myanmar. Burma is a colonial name," Kyaw Tint Swe said.
Observing that time is running out fast, the French ambassador argued that it is not time to go into academic discussions. Immediate action is required as people are dying every day.
"The responsibility to protect was adopted by 150 heads of states. We think it is applicable. We do not care about the words. It is true, though, that natural disasters were not included because at the time nobody thought that any government would dare to refuse help to its own population in case of a natural disaster," he said.
When asked if France would deliver aid without Burma’s authorization, Ripert said: "I cannot answer this question right now. For the moment, we are in the international waters, and we are still negotiating with the government of Myanmar."
"More than two weeks after the event, we are at a critical point. Unless more aid gets into the country—quickly—we face the risk of an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dramatically worsen today's crisis," Ban told the General Assembly in an informal meeting.
With revised Burmese government figures indicating that nearly 78,000 people died and more than 55,900 people are missing, Ban said international relief agencies report far higher figures and the estimates of those at risk run as high as 2.5 million people.
"There is no more time to lose," Ban said as he urged the Burmese government to open up in letting in international aid workers. Even those humanitarian workers who have been admitted are not being allowed to travel to the affected areas outside the capital.
Ban said all his efforts to reach Sen-Gen Than Shwe over the telephone and by mail have failed and he has received no response over the past week. He will send Under Secretary- General John Holmes to personally deliver a third letter to Than Shwe this weekend.
Holmes is expected to be in Burma on Monday. "He will deliver a third letter from me and attempt to establish contact with the Myanmar [Burmese] leadership with a view toward discussing how the UN can assist the government's immediate and longer term relief effort," Ban said.
"We also need to establish a logistics hub near Myanmar to better manage and co-ordinate international relief efforts," he said.
Pinning high hopes on the upcoming foreign ministers meetings of Asean countries, Ban said he has proposed a high-level pledging conference for May 24-25 to mobilize resources for Burma. His proposal will be discussed by the Asean countries at the meeting.
Meanwhile, surprising many diplomats, the French and Burmese ambassadors to the United Nations had a verbal clash on Friday during the informal session of the General Assembly wherein the secretary-general briefed members on the humanitarian crisis.
Though other issues including the earthquake in China and world food crisis were discussed, Burma dominated the proceedings that lasted for more than 150 minutes.
Briefing correspondents mid-way through the meeting, the French Ambassador, Jean-Maurice Ripert, said his Burmese counterpart, Kyaw Tint Swe, objected to him using the word Burma and charged that France is sending a warship to his country.
"That the ship in question is operated by the navy is true, but it is not a ‘warship’, it is a ship on board of which we have 1,500 tones of food, drugs and medicine," Ripert told reporters at the UN.
This ship is equipped with small boats, which could allow France to go through the Irrawaddy delta to regions where no one has accessed yet. It also has small helicopters which could drop food. "We have doctors, and we have platforms for medical intervention," he said.
The ship is expected to be in international waters near the delta region by tomorrow. France is still negotiating with the Burmese regime in this regard, he said.
"I had to explain in front of the whole General Assembly that for the moment it was very clear that those means were refused to their own population by the government of Myanmar [Burma]," he said.
"This is purely unacceptable, and we think we are shifting from a situation of refusal of assistance to people in need or in danger to a situation that could lead to a true crime against humanity, if we go on like that," Ripert said.
Refusing to make any comment on this issue after the meeting was over, Kyaw Tint Swe told The Irrawaddy: "Let him say what he wants to say."
At the same time, he argued the name of his country is Myanmar and not Burma. "We are not Burma, we are Myanmar. Burma is a colonial name," Kyaw Tint Swe said.
Observing that time is running out fast, the French ambassador argued that it is not time to go into academic discussions. Immediate action is required as people are dying every day.
"The responsibility to protect was adopted by 150 heads of states. We think it is applicable. We do not care about the words. It is true, though, that natural disasters were not included because at the time nobody thought that any government would dare to refuse help to its own population in case of a natural disaster," he said.
When asked if France would deliver aid without Burma’s authorization, Ripert said: "I cannot answer this question right now. For the moment, we are in the international waters, and we are still negotiating with the government of Myanmar."
