International donors meeting in Rangoon have pledged nearly 50 million US dollar iin aid to victims of Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma more than three weeks ago.
The sum is only a fraction of the 11 billion dollar Burmas military government is seeking to fund relief work, BBC online reports Sunday.
Some donors said the money depended on foreign aid-workers being allowed into the Irrawaddy Delta disaster zone. Burmas Prime Minister, Thein Sein, said more help would be welcome but only if it did not have political overtones.
At least 78.000 people have died as a result of the cyclone and more than 50.000 people are still missing.The UN believes only a quarter of those needing aid – up to 2,4 million people – have received it.
More than 40 governments (blandt dem Danmark, red.) attended the one-day conference hosted by the UN and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean).
American, French and British military ships full of aid are waiting just outside Burmas waters.The Burmese government is concerned that the foreign naval ships off its shores could somehow be used to launch an invasion, diplomats say.
Prime Minister Thein Sein said on Sunday that Burma would accept supplies by sea only if they came in on civilian boats.
The UN Secretary-General said Burma had begun honouring an agreement struck on Friday to allow in foreign aid-workers. – I expect the relief effort will run for… six months at least, as we feed and care for those who have lost everything, he said.
In sight of the conference centre in Rangoon is the home of Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader kept under house arrest by the military.
