Brown tells Myanmar to lift aid restrictions immediately

AFP - Friday, May 9 09:53 pm

LONDON, May 9, 2008 (AFP) - The government on Friday called on the military junta in Myanmar to remove restrictions on aid, amid estimates that the number of dead and missing in the deadly cyclone there could be as high as 100,000.

"It is completely unacceptable that the Burmese government should block the international aid," Prime Minister Gordon Brown said. "They should immediately remove the restrictions.

"We will work with the UN to make sure the international community puts pressure on the Burmese."

Brown, backed by his International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander, spoke as the UN launched an emergency appeal to help victims and its secretary-general warned lives were at stake if aid was not allowed in.

Alexander urged Ban Ki-moon to visit the region as soon as possible to raise the need for immediate access directly with the Myanmar authorities and key partners in nearby countries.

"The scale of the disaster and the urgency to act quickly cannot be overstated," Alexander said. "Now is the time to work together, in a spirit of common humanity, to save lives."

Britain has already pledged up to five million pounds (6.3 million euros, 9.7 million dollars) for the relief effort. An emergency team is set to travel to Myanmar to support the work of its team already there and the UN effort.

The Disasters Emergency Committee umbrella group of British charities and aid agencies has raised four million pounds in two days, it said Friday, also warning of the risk of further deaths from disease if aid is barred.

Earlier Friday, Britain's ambassador to Myanmar, Mark Canning, quoted credible sources as saying the number of dead and missing in last week's cyclone was between 63,000 and 100,000.

But the figure could rise "very dramatically" as up to 1.9 million people are considered vulnerable, he said on a conference call to reporters in London from Myanmar's largest city, Yangon.

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