U.S. aircraft approved for Myanmar aid mission

By Jeremy Pelofsky Reuters - Friday, May 9 07:49 pm

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - After resisting for days, Myanmar's military government agreed to allow one U.S. military aircraft carrying relief supplies to land in the country on Monday, the White House said on Friday.

U.S. officials were working with relief agencies to determine what kind of aid would be sent on the C-130 military cargo plane. It could carry water purification systems and supplies to ward off water-borne diseases.

The ruling junta has not yet approved visas for a team of U.S. disaster assistance experts that is standing by in Bangkok ready to help, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

"One flight is much better than no flights," he said in Texas, where President George W. Bush is at his ranch where his daughter Jenna will be married on Saturday. "And we're going to keep on working to provide as much assistance as possible in the coming days, weeks and months."

Myanmar's reclusive military leadership, which has ruled since 1962, has been reluctant to accept foreign aid despite the devastation from Cyclone Nargis.

The country has not updated its official death toll since Tuesday, when it said nearly 23,000 were dead, with 42,000 missing. The U.S. charge d'affaires has said fatalities could reach 100,000.

Johndroe declined to discuss what prompted the junta to allow the U.S. flight but thanked China and other countries for their efforts to convince Myanmar to permit relief aid.

Still, U.S. officials expressed disappointment that the military government had seized some U.N. food shipments.

"That's not going to deter us from continuing to work with others, work with diplomacy to get through to the decision makers in the regime, to allow in not only assistance but also those experts that can help the Burmese people," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, referring to the country by its former name.

He said the food seizure raised questions about whether aid would reach those most in need.

The Pentagon said it hoped approval for the flight would open the door to more U.S. aid and assured the junta that any U.S. military presence would be temporary.

"We will come, provide assistance and then leave, just like in Bangladesh, Indonesia and other places," said Marine Maj. Stuart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman.

(Additional reporting Andrew Gray and Susan Cornwell in Washington, editing by Alan Elsner and David Alexander)

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