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Burma seeks crucial aid donations Aid donors turn up heat on Burma
(about 6 hours later)
Dozens of international delegates are meeting in Rangoon to pledge money for Burma's recovery after the devastating Cyclone Nargis, which killed 78,000. International aid donors meeting in Rangoon are renewing pressure on Burma to grant unhindered access to the areas devastated by Cyclone Nargis.
Burma's military government is expected to ask for a total of nearly $11bn (£5.5bn) to fund relief work. A top US official, Scot Marciel, said further US aid depended on Burma giving disaster experts access to the affected areas, where at least 78,000 have died.
Burma's leaders promised on Friday to allow all aid workers into the country, but there has been little movement. This was "established practice readily accepted by other nations" responding to natural disasters, he added.
Correspondents say many attending the conference are reluctant to pledge more aid without clear-cut assurances. Burma's military government wants some $11bn (£5.5bn) to fund relief work.
American, French and British military ships full of aid are waiting just outside Burma's waters.
But, diplomats say, the Burmese government is concerned that these ships could somehow be used to launch an invasion.
Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein said Rangoon would accept supplies from foreign warships off its coast, but only if they came in on civilian boats.
'Saving lives'
Opening the aid conference, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said he was encouraged that dozens of countries were represented.
Click here for a map of the deltaReporter's diaryWill Burma keep its word on aid?Burmese anger at juntaSend us your comments
He said Burma had begun honouring an agreement struck on Friday to allow in foreign aid workers.
But Mr Ban rejected Burma's insistence that relief work was already over.
"I ask all of us to keep our eye firmly on the immediate objective - saving lives," he said.
"I expect the relief effort will run for several months, probably six months at least, as we feed and care for those who have lost everything."
Three weeks on, many of the 2.4 million people affected by the cyclone have not received help. More than 50,000 people are still missing, in addition to those confirmed dead.
The BBC's Laura Trevelyan, in Rangoon, says the donor governments do not want to give aid funds until their experts have been able to go in and assess the damage for themselves.
Invasion fear
Forty-four countries have signed up to attend the conference, which has been jointly organised by the UN and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).Forty-four countries have signed up to attend the conference, which has been jointly organised by the UN and the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).
class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7408423.stm">Click here for a map of the delta class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7417229.stm">Reporter's diary class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4736&edition=1">Send us your comments class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7417203.stm">Will Burma keep its word on aid? class="" href="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7416952.stm">Burmese anger at junta The real test of the promises from the regime will come in the days ahead when the suffering people of the Irrawaddy Delta need action and not simply words from their government Douglas AlexanderUK International Development Secretary
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who will chair the meeting, has arrived in Rangoon. While Burma will not get the $11bn it seeks pledged today, the talks mark the beginning of a process, our correspondent says.
The BBC's Laura Trevelyan, who is travelling with Mr Ban, says the military leaders appear to have made a major concession by saying they will let admit international aid workers - but countries will want to know that is really going to happen before they pledge money. Mr Marciel, from the US State Department, said his country was ready to pledge millions more in aid, but that it was conditional on the Burmese allowing "international disaster assistance experts to conduct thorough assessments of the situation in the affected areas".
The British overseas development minister, Douglas Alexander, who is one of only 15 ministers attending, said his government would be taking a tough line. "These requests are not unusual, but rather established practice readily accepted by other nations around the world when they are confronted with a natural disaster of this magnitude," he added.
He said the challenge would be to "make sure the regime hears a clear and unequivocal message that we want their word to be translated into actions." Britain's International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, said his government would be taking a tough line.
Three weeks on, many of the 2.4 million people affected by the cyclone have not received help. "The real test of the promises from the regime will come in the days ahead when the suffering people of the Irrawaddy Delta need action and not simply words from their government," he said.
Disaster response 'celebrated'
On Saturday, Mr Ban opened a new logistics hub at Bangkok airport, in Thailand, to help speed up the delivery of outside aid to victims of the cyclone.
"It will enable larger planes to be used, more aid to be flown in from all over the world, it will save lives," he said.
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Burmese monks on a secret trip to hand out aidBurmese monks on a secret trip to hand out aid
The BBC's Chris Hogg in Bangkok says some aid has already accumulated in a cavernous warehouse in the city's old airport, which will be sorted so that the most urgent shipments can be prepared for loading. On Saturday, Mr Ban opened a new logistics hub at Bangkok airport, in Thailand, to help speed up the delivery of outside aid to victims of the cyclone.
The UN has chartered three cargo planes to carry it into Burma. The BBC's Chris Hogg in Bangkok says some aid has already accumulated in a cavernous warehouse in the city's old airport, which will be sorted so that the most urgent shipments can be prepared for loading. The UN has chartered three cargo planes to carry it into Burma.
The international organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres says it has some foreign staff working in four areas of the Irrawaddy Delta. There is also a Thai medical team working there.
The UN estimates that only a quarter of the 2.5 million Burmese affected by the cyclone have received the help they need.The UN estimates that only a quarter of the 2.5 million Burmese affected by the cyclone have received the help they need.
But on Saturday Burmese state television ran a special programme essentially celebrating the government's response to the disaster. But on Saturday Burmese state television ran a special programme celebrating the government's response to the disaster.
Meanwhile, the authorities decided to go ahead with polling for a controversial constitutional referendum, which had been postponed in those areas affected by the cyclone.Meanwhile, the authorities decided to go ahead with polling for a controversial constitutional referendum, which had been postponed in those areas affected by the cyclone.
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