Burma asks for aid as cyclone death toll tops 10,000

CBC News April 12

Extra U.S. aid conditional

The Burmese government was in talks with international agencies to discuss aid requirements and how to get help to the worst-affected areas, Horsey said. The UN has been invited to send aid and expert help, news agency reports from Rangoon say.

Speaking in Washington, Laura Bush, President George W. Bush’s wife and the White House’s chief voice on human rights and political conditions in Burma, said the U.S. embassy in the Southeast Asian nation is providing an immediate $250,000 US in aid from an existing emergency fund to humanitarian organizations working on the ground.

Cyclone Nargis hits Burma at the Irrawaddy River delta around Rangoon. Cyclone Nargis hits Burma at the Irrawaddy River delta around Rangoon. (NASA/Modis)

The U.S. is prepared to send additional aid, but that is conditional on Burma allowing a U.S. disaster response team into the country to assess the needs, she said. The State Department said permission was denied.

Bush also criticized the ruling junta for deciding to go ahead with a May 10 constitutional referendum, describing it as a sham, and questioned why leaders didn’t warn citizens earlier about the storm.

“We know already that they are very inept,” she said.