UN: No quick reply from Burma on visas for relief workers

 The UN had asked the government in Burma to waive visas for relief workers assembled in nearby Bangkok so they can begin their journey to Myanmar, said Rachid Khalikov, an official of the UN emergency relief department at UN headquarters in New York. But the Burmese embassy in Bangkok was closed on Monday for a Thai holiday.

 "So far, there were no instructions for visas in Bangkok," Khalikov said.

 In the past other countries have waived visa requirements to aid in relief efforts. For example, aid workers could provide emergency assistance to earthquake victims in Iran because that country waived visa requirements.

 The devastating cyclone hit Burma over the weekend and the government there said more than 22,000 people have been killed and more than 40,000 people were missing. The government said more than 100,000 people needed urgent humanitarian assistance.

 Khalikov said the UN headquarters in New York has had difficulties gathering information on conditions in Burma because of problems in communications with its staff in Burma. UN officials had met with Myanmar diplomats in New York to discuss urgent steps to assist the people in the impoverished south-east Asian nation, but they were also stymied by communication problems.//dpa