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YANGON : Myanmar's military government on Monday declared three days of official mourning for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, which has left at least 133,000 people dead or missing, state television announced.
Beginning Tuesday, flags will be lowered to half-mast to remember the victims of one of the deadliest natural disasters in recent history, the announcement said.
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"Because many people were killed by Cyclone Nargis, we have declared three days of mourning from May 20 to 22, and will lower flags to half-staff starting at 9:00 am on May 20," the statement said.
The announcement was made as China, one of Myanmar's few allies, began its own three-day period of mourning for victims of the massive Sichuan earthquake that has left 71,000 dead, missing or buried.
The declaration, made 17 days after the storm laid waste to broad swathes of the Irrawaddy delta and then pounded the main city of Yangon, was a rare acknowledgement by the regime of the human cost of the tragedy.
Myanmar's military supreme, Senior General Than Shwe, made his first public gesture toward the storm victims only on Sunday, when he visited relief camps on the outskirts of Yangon.
His regime has allowed only a trickle of aid to reach the 2.4 million people estimated to be in desperate need, refusing visas to many international experts with the skills needed to oversee a complex relief operation.
Earlier Monday, the secretive and isolationist regime agreed to allow its neighbours in Southeast Asia to lead an international relief effort, but stopped short of allowing a full-scale aid operation. - AFP/ms
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