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UNITED NATIONS - UN chief Ban Ki-moon and US President George W. Bush on Monday berated Myanmar's government over its slow response to a powerful cyclone that has killed tens of thousands of people.
The UN Secretary General expressed strong frustration at the situation after more than a week of mostly rebuffed efforts by the international community to persuade the Myanmar leaders to open up to international disaster relief teams and supplies.
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"Today is the 11th day since typhoon Nargis hit Myanmar. I want to register my deep concern and immense frustration on the unacceptably slow response to this grave humanitarian crisis," Ban told a news conference.
"I emphasize that this is not about politics. It is about saving lives. There is absolutely no more time to lose," he said.
"We are at a critical point. Unless more aid gets into the country very quickly, we face an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today's current crisis," Ban said.
"I therefore call in the most strenuous terms on the government of Myanmar to put its people's lives first. It must do all it can to prevent this disaster from becoming even more serious."
According to state television in Myanmar, the death toll is 31,938 with another 29,770 still missing.
The United Nations says more than 100,000 are likely to have been killed.
The United States sent its first aid flight to Myanmar on Monday as experts warned that the relief effort was floundering and 1.5 million cyclone survivors were at grave risk from hunger and disease.
Bush said "the world ought to be angry and condemn" the government over its handling of the cyclone.
"Either they are isolated or callous," Bush told CBS radio. "There's no telling how many people have lost their lives as a result of the slow response" to the disaster.
The flow of international aid into Myanmar has increased in the past two days, but relief agencies say much more is needed to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
Ban called on Myanmar to move quickly to expedite visas from relief personnel, saying the workers so far allowed into the country have only been able to help one-third of the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the storm.
"Even they only received the most rudimentary assistance. We have been so far unable to organize the massive logistical support that would ordinarily be well underway," he said.
Ban noted that UN agencies are well-positioned to help with all types of needs, including food, fresh water and medical supplies as well as rebuilding critical transport and communications links.
"We already have many staff on the ground, yet they are grievously overstretched and the government continues to deny visas to most foreign aid workers.
"As a result, we have been able to reach fewer than a third of the total number of people at risk, some 217,000 people," he said.
"The volume of food so far allowed in the country amounts to less than a 10th of the amounts needed," Ban added.
"I hope the government will move quickly to expedite visas for relief personnel."
Ban said that he still had not been able to reach the military government's head, Senior General Than Shwe, by telephone since the cyclone devastated the heavily populated Irrawaddy Delta region on May 2-3.
"I wanted to ask his co-operation with the international community and ask for his full support. I was not able to reach him and so delivered a letter early this morning through diplomatic channels, a second letter to him since cyclone Nargis."
Ban warned that rice stocks inside the country were near depletion, and that time was running out.
"Handled properly, Myanmar can recover from this calamity. Handled poorly, it will become an even deeper crisis that will set back the country's people and government for years," he said. "Myanmar cannot do it alone." -AFP/vm
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