Nations meet on Myanmar disaster aid

MYANMAR: Nations and aid groups met Sunday to discuss billions of dollars for cyclone-hit Myanmar, which is welcoming donations but baulking at foreign aid workers to supervise how and where the money is spent.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is co-hosting the meeting, where Myanmar is expected to ask for 10.7 billion dollars, just two days after announcing what could be a breakthrough deal with the military junta to allow in outside relief workers.

But the secretive nation, ruled by Senior General Than Shwe, has a long history of not keeping its international promises - and donors want to ensure aid actually gets to 2.4 million desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis.

"I will make clear in unequivocal terms the responsibility of the Burmese regime to allow the unfettered access that the international community wants to see," said Douglas Alexander, Britain's top international development official.

He told AFP before attending the meeting that the focus would be "both the continuing humanitarian crisis and the continuing need for access to address it." Yangon, Sunday, AFP