U.N. frustration grows at Myanmar's junta over aid

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ratcheted up the pressure on Myanmar on Monday, saying he was extremely frustrated by the junta's slow delivery of aid to more than 1.5 million victims of Cyclone Nargis.

"Today is the eleventh day since ... Nargis hit Myanmar," Ban told reporters. "I want to register my deep concern -- and immense frustration -- at the unacceptably slow response to this grave humanitarian crisis."

In his most critical comments on Myanmar's military government to date, Ban said that despite repeated attempts to contact the junta's senior general, Than Shwe, he had been unable to speak with him and had sent him a letter.

"We are at a critical point," he said. "Unless more aid gets into the country very quickly, we face an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today's crisis."

"I therefore call, in the most strenuous terms, on the government of Myanmar to put its people's lives first. It must do all that it can to prevent this disaster from becoming even more serious."

U.N. humanitarian affairs chief John Holmes told reporters a problem with visas for U.N. relief officials had improved somewhat. He said a total of 34 Myanmar visas were being granted to U.N. aid workers, though more would be needed.

France's Deputy U.N. Ambassador Jean-Pierre Lacroix raised the issue at a meeting of the Security Council. He told reporters that Paris fully supported Ban's statement about the government of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

"We share that frustration," he said. "If there is no progress (on aid delivery)...we will again raise that issue in the Security Council and will consider submitting a text."