YANGON, Myanmar — A U.S. plane ferried relief to Myanmar for the first time Monday to help nearly 2 million cyclone victims facing disease and starvation, but the U.N. chief criticized the military junta for its “unacceptably slow response.”
Even as the death toll climbed, Myanmar’s authoritarian regime continued to bar nearly all foreigners experienced in managing humanitarian crises from reaching survivors of Cyclone Nargis.
With hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed, refugees packed into Buddhist monasteries or camped in the open, drinking water contaminated by dead bodies and animal carcasses. Medicine and food were sorely lacking — even as supplies bottled up at the main international airport.
Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, was pounded by heavy rain Monday, and more downpours were expected throughout the week, further hindering aid deliveries. For many, the rainwater was the only source of clean drinking water.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon chided the junta for its “unacceptably slow response” in helping victims and warned of a deepening crisis.
“Unless more aid gets into the country — very quickly — we face an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today’s crisis,” he said. “I therefore call, in the most strenuous terms, on the government of Myanmar to put its people’s lives first.”
Myanmar’s authoritarian regime made a concession Monday by letting the U.S. bring in relief after prolonged negotiations. A U.S. military C-130 cargo plane with 14 tons of water, mosquito nets and blankets was unloaded in Yangon, providing what officials said was help for about 30,000 victims of the May 3 disaster.
It was transferred to Myanmar army trucks to be ferried by air force helicopters to the worst-hit Irrawaddy Delta, a government spokesman told reporters.
The first British aid flight packed with plastic sheets to provide shelter was also on its way to Yangon.
