Burma Grants U.N. Permission To Deliver Aid by Helicopter
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RANGOON, Burma — The United Nations has received permission from Burma to use nine helicopters to ferry relief supplies to stranded cyclone victims, U.N. Secretary-General Ban said yesterday as he warned that relief efforts are at a “critical moment.”
“We have received government permission to operate nine WFP [World Food Program] helicopters, which will allow us to reach areas that have so far been largely inaccessible,” Mr. Ban told reporters in New York before departing on a trip to Burma.
His announcement was not immediately confirmed by officials of Burma’s military government.
“I believe further similar moves will follow, including expediting the visas of relief workers seeking to enter the country,” Mr. Ban said. “I’m confident that emergency relief efforts can be scaled up quickly.”
The U.N. undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes, was in Burma seeking to persuade the junta to let in more international assistance and paving the way for Mr. Ban’s visit, which begins tomorrow.
