New Delhi - A French naval ship carrying relief supplies for cyclone victims in Burma arrived in Thailand's Phukhet town after Burmese authorities denied it access to the Irrawaddy delta, diplomatic sources in Bangkok said.
The French military vessel, 'The Mistral' , which is docked off the coast of Burma since May 17 is carrying 1,000 tonnes of relief supplies including medicines, water purification tablets, rice, tents and mosquito nets, meant to be distributed among the victims of Cyclone Nargis in the Irrawaddy delta.
"The ship arrived in Phukhet Island in Thailand, and all French aid will be transferred to the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nation," said the source, who did not want to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the press.
The French defence and foreign ministries in a statement released on May 25 said, "We are particularly shocked that the Burmese authorities haven't agreed," to help the cyclone victims.
The diplomat said the French aid will now be handed over to the UN, which will then be sent to Burma through UN aid agencies to be distributed to survivors of Cyclone Nargis that lashed Burma's Irrawaddy and Rangoon division on May 2 and 3.
Meanwhile, the United States' military vessel 'USS Essex' that is also docked in international waters near the coast of Burma said it is awaiting permission from the Burmese government to allow distribution of aid to remote areas of the Irrawaddy delta.
"There is no time frame for the ship's departure," Lt - Col Douglas Powell, US Marine spokesperson, told Mizzima.
"We are hopeful that the Burmese government will give permission to USS Essex. We are waiting for them," Powell added.
Powell said the USS Essex is carrying medical and water supplies and 14 helicopters, and supports landing craft.
"We are frustrated because we know we can do so much more," Powell said.
The USS Essex, the French 'Mistral' and Britain's military vessels have all docked off the coast of Burma waiting to go into help cyclone victims but all have been denied access.
Burma's military junta had indicated during the pledging conference in Rangoon held on Sunday for cyclone victims that while it has agreed to let aid supplies and workers in to the cyclone hit regions, it will not accept aid from military vessels.
The junta today echoed this stand through its state-run newspaper, the New Light of Myanmar, saying aid for cyclone victims could be delivered in other than military vessels and charged western nations, particularly France and the US of having dubious intentions behind its proposal to supply aid to cyclone victims.
But Htay Aung, director of research department of the Thailand based Network for Democracy and Development (NDD) said the Burmese junta is afraid of the influence of western countries if they are allowed access.
"The junta denied access to the US, UK and France because they are paranoid and are afraid of foreign influence or being attacked," said Htay Aung.
He added that the junta feared that the West, which has been particularly critical of the junta's stand, would use the disaster as a ground to intervene into the country's politics.
Meanwhile the United Nations said several aid workers have been allowed to enter Burma and also the Irrawaddy delta, where the cyclone hit the hardest.
Amanda Pitt, Regional Public information and Advocacy officer of the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Bangkok said, 45 more people from the UN have been granted visa to enter Burma on Wednesday.
Burma's military supremo Senior General Than Shwe on Friday told visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that all aid workers will be given access to the cyclone devastated areas 'regardless of nationality'.
"To date 137 UN staff members have been able to obtain visas to travel to Burma," Pitt told Mizzima.
However, she said it was still early to comment on the progress, 'we will have to wait for a couple more days' before commenting on the progress made in terms of the flow of supplies and aid workers in to Burma's cyclone-hit zones.
(Editing by Mungpi)
