ASEAN urges generous help for cyclone-hit Myanmar
AFP - 20 minutes ago
SINGA****E, May 6, 2008 (AFP) - ASEAN on Tuesday appealed for
"generous" international aid for its member Myanmar after the country
was devastated by a cyclone that killed more than 15,000 people,
according to government estimates.
"We are now appealing to all ASEAN governments, the private sector and
the civil society... to please respond generously," Surin Pitsuwan,
secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), told re****ters in Singa****e.
Surin also called for help from ASEAN's dialogue partners, which
include the United States, the European Union, China, Japan and South
Korea, as well as from non-government organisations and civil society
groups worldwide.
"Bilateral and regional efforts are now being coordinated with the
international agencies, including the UN agencies, in order to bring
quick, effective and adequate assistance to Myanmar," he said.
State media in the military-ruled nation said more than 15,000 people
were killed -- including 10,000 in a single town -- after the cyclone
swept through the southwestern part of the country over the weekend.
The cyclone affected about 24 million people or nearly half the
population, according to the United Nations.
Surin, a former Thai foreign minister, said he had discussed the
disaster with Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who proposed that
ASEAN should help stricken members as a regional grouping.
He said he hoped that "we, ASEAN, can begin to build a stockpile of
emergency relief as a network in the region in order to be prepared
for such natural calamities and disasters," Surin said.
ASEAN and its three biggest trading partners in the region, China,
Japan and South Korea -- also known as "Plus Three" countries --
already have an East Asian emergency supply of rice.
Surin said discussions are underway on how to tap into this rice
stockpile to help Myanmar.
"There is a stockpile ready to be delivered in times of emergency
among ASEAN and ASEAN Plus Three," he said, adding that regulations
governing disbursement needed to be worked out.
"The intention is there. The stock is available," he said. "I think
they are getting into serious discussions now."
Lessons from the 2004 tsunami that hit countries bordering the Indian
Ocean, including ASEAN states Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, "have
given us a wake-up call and has triggered a sense of urgency among us
all to get going," he said.
"We cannot be complacent any longer about this kind of disasters that
can come anytime."
The 2004 tsunami killed 220,000 people in a dozen countries but caused
little damage in Myanmar.
Surin was in Singa****e to speak at the launch of a new centre on non-
traditional security issues -- including climate change and
degradation of the environment.
Apart from Brunei, Myanmar and Singa****e, ASEAN includes Cambodia,
Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
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