ASEAN and UN discuss Myanmar cyclone, stress importance of rapid aid

Aug 30, 2010, 15:18 GMT

Bangkok - The United Nations on Monday stressed the importance of rapid international reaction to disasters, after the delay in getting help to Myanmar after a cyclone two years ago was widely condemned.

A UN representative said that 'trust has been built' in the two years since Cyclone Nargis inundated the Irrawaddy Delta on May 2-3 2008, when bureaucratic difficulties prevented outside aid from reaching those affected for the critical first days and weeks.

At the conference hosted by Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to discussed lessons learned after Cyclone Nargis, participants agreed victims should receive aid faster next time.

Relief efforts after Nargis were held up as the Myanmar ruling junta denied entry visas to aid workers for several months after the disaster, which left up to 140,000 dead or missing.

An action plan was finally established between the government, United Nations and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) for emergency and recovery efforts, but the delay drew widespread criticism.

On Monday, ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan said Myanmar's attitude to international aid improved in the months following the disaster.

'Myanmar has come to realize there is help out there' from the international community, Surin said.

But the country's ruling generals have still been criticized for hindering the aid organizations that have been working for two years to help those affected by the cyclone.

In her speech at the conference, UN Under Secretary General Dr Noeleen Heyzer said the organizations involved do have a 'sense of accomplishment.'

But 'swift support in the immediate aftermath of the disaster could have saved more lives and reduced the damage,' said Dr Heyzer, who is also Executive Secretary of the UN's Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Asked about Myanmar's role in the relief efforts, she said 'much of the work has to be done at the local level, and there has to be accountability,' without providing further details.