U.S. says Myanmar backtracks on aid

Reuters - Thursday 8th of May 2008

The United States is still waiting for approval from Myanmar to start military aid flights for survivors of Cyclone Nargis, its ambassador to Bangkok said on Thursday.

"This morning, we and our Thai allies thought we had a decision from the Burmese leadership to let the C-130 in. As of now, we don't have that decision," U.S. ambassador Eric John told a news conference in the Thai capital.

"We don't have permission yet for the C-130 to go in but I emphasise 'yet'" John said.

Earlier, Thai Supreme Commander Boonsrang Niumpradit told Reuters the U.S. military had been given the green light and an embassy official confirmed the decision.

The decision was surprising given the huge distrust and acrimony between the former Burma's generals and Washington, which has imposed tough sanctions to try to end decades of military rule.

International pressure has been building on the junta to throw its doors wide open to an international relief operation for the worst cyclone to hit Asia since 1991, when 143,000 people were killed in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Aid has barely trickled into one of the world's most isolated and impoverished countries, although experts feared it would be too little to cope with the aftermath of Nargis, which left up to 100,000 feared dead and one million homeless.

Witnesses saw little evidence of a relief effort under way in the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta region.

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