British aid ships ready for 'deal' in Burma

A deal may be in the pipeline to allow a US flotilla – and French and British ships in the same situation – to finally join in the relief effort after the devastating Cyclone Nargis.

A deal may be in the pipeline to allow a US flotilla – and French and British ships in the same situation – to finally join in the relief effort after the devastating Cyclone Nargis.

Though extremely reluctant to allow foreign militaries access into the devastated Irrawaddy Delta, Burma’s ruling junta appears to be weighing a proposal that would put Asian intermediaries in charge of ferrying the aid from the ships to the shore.

The deal would break an impasse over what to do with the ships, which are ready and capable of providing a huge boost to relief operations for the more than two million people believed to be in severe need of help.

British Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch-Brown told the BBC that the junta was considering the arrangement, and said he was guardedly optimistic that they would accept it.

“I think if there were Asian partners able to transship into the delta area from ships, this may become an option,” Mr Malloch-Brown said yesterday. “I think you’re going to see quite dramatic steps by the Burmese to open up.”

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said over the weekend that the disaster caused by the cyclone is fast being surpassed by what he called a “man-made catastrophe” and warned that Britain would consider circumventing the junta if it continued to deny its people much-needed help.

He did not give details – though the possibility of air drops or direct landings ashore has been raised.

“We rule nothing out, and the reason we rule nothing out, is that we want to get the aid directly to the people,” he said.

Britain is currently the chair of the UN Security Council, but resolutions to approve direct intervention in the delta were unlikely because China, Burma’s biggest ally, has veto power and in the past has supported the junta against international pressure.

In the meantime, the flotilla waits.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence said it had dispatched a Royal Navy frigate, the HMS Westminster, to the area “as a contingency” .

The Westminster broke away from an exercise with the French and Indian navies to help in Burma. Britain’s Department for International Development said the ship is stationed 12 miles off Myanmar’s coast “and will remain there as part of the UK’s humanitarian contingency plans”.

The spokesman said the ship carried a crew of 98 and was equipped with a communications facility, a Merlin helicopter, two sea boats, a doctor and a paramedic. The spokesman added that the crew are all trained in disaster relief.

The junta today announced a three-day mourning period for victims of the cyclone that left at least 130,000 people dead or missing, while the country’s neighbours made plans to help distribute foreign aid to survivors.

State television announced that the mourning period will begin tomorrow and be marked by flying the national flag at half-mast.

The announcement came as people remained in a state of shock at the May 2-3 storm’s devastation and angry at what appeared to be an inadequate government effort to help the survivors, including its rejection of much foreign assistance.

It also follows on China’s declaration of three days of mourning, starting today, for the more than 32,000 dead from its own disaster, an earthquake in Sichuan province just last week.

In Singapore, an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)decided that the bloc will work with the UN to hold an aid donor conference in Rangoon on May 25, Singapore foreign minister George Yeo told reporters.

In a major concession after being slammed for blocking foreign help, Burma agreed to open its doors to medical teams from all Asean countries, Mr Yeo said.

In a potentially major breakthrough, the ministerial meeting – which included Burmese foreign minister Nyan Win – agreed to set up an Asean-led task force for redistributing foreign aid.

“This mechanism will facilitate the effective distribution and utilisation of assistance from the international community, including the expeditious and effective deployment of relief workers, especially health and medical personnel,” Mr Yeo said.

Burma’s military regime, meanwhile, allowed the UN humanitarian chief into the devastated Irrawaddy delta for a brief tour today, a UN official said.

But the United Nations said the rest of its foreign staff were still barred from the delta and it described conditions there as “terrible,” with hundreds of thousands of cyclone victims suffering from hunger, disease and lack of shelter.

John Holmes, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, flew by helicopter to the delta before returning to Burma’s largest city, Rangoon, to meet with international aid agencies, said a UN official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak with the media.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will also travel to Burma this week, and will visit the battered delta after his scheduled arrival in the country on Wednesday, UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said in New York.

European Union nations have warned the junta could be committing a crime against humanity by blocking aid intended for up to 2.5 million survivors faced with hunger, loss of their homes and potential outbreaks of deadly diseases.

At least 78,000 people were killed in the storm and another 56,000 are missing.

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner says the UN Security Council can and should force Burma to allow delivery of international aid to cyclone victims.

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