UN must support Asean on Burma

It was a commendable idea because the long-term rehabilitation and reconstruction of the damaged Irrawaddy Basin and to bring normalcy to more than 1.5 affected people would require a large sum of assistance, patience and sustainability.

But there is one caveat. Whatever the UN plans to do with Burma should be done with the full cooperation of Asean and its ongoing effort to help its member. Secretary General of Asean, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, has been coordinating efforts from Asean members in preparation of the 19 May special Asean foreign ministerial meeting in Singapore.

The Asean Emergency Rapid Assessment Team has been dispatched to Burma on Thursday for a first-hand observation of the damages brought by Cyclone Nargis. This team will prepare a report that will be used to formulate a long-term strategy to rehabilitate Burma.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been urging Burma to open up the country to facilitating the admission of foreign assistance and concerned officials.

He expressed deep concern and immense frustration at the unacceptably slow response to this grave humanitarian crisis. Ban also warned of an outbreak of infectious diseases if relief aid failed to reach Burma in time.

According to various UN-related agencies and international organizations, between 1.2 million to 1.9 million out of the total 50 million people are believed to be affected by the deadly cyclone.

On Thursday, Thai Prime Minister Samak Sudaravej flew to Nayphidaw, Burma's new capital, to discuss with Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein on various measures to assist Burma inclduing the request to facilitate entry visas for aid workers.

He told the Thai media that the Burmese junta could handle the situation themselves and outside assistance is not need. The Burmese junta leaders also assured him that there were no outbreaks of cholera and other dieseases.

His comment was in contrast with several pessimistic statements from various UN-related and international organizations which have warned of possible outbreaks of disease and cholera.

Obviously, the planned UN summit for Burma would certainly set forth future plans to help with the reconstruction of Burma. But nobody knows how the junta would react to the UN enthusiasm.

So far, the UN appeals including Ban's repeated unanswered calls, has fallen on deaf ears.

While the UN is pivotal to mobilize funds and large-scale and longtime commitments from various donor countries, Asean should play a leading role in coordinating and oversee the aid as well.

This way, Asean as a whole and Surin in particular, will be partnered with the UN relief effort. At the moment, Asean does not have the capacity to handle an emergency as huge as the Cyclone Nargis.

Since the tsunami tragedy at the end of 2004, Asean has been practicing at least three times how to cope with emergencies but the grouping still lacks the necessary expertise in the recovery efforts.

That was the main points of discussion in Wahsington on Thursday between Surin and World Bank President Robert B Zoellick. Both organization agreed to strengthen further their cooperation with the bank's offering its expertise in assessing the devastation and planning for recovery.

They are also working on a 13-point, joint work plan that would include a closer cooperation in the Greater Mekong sub-region to support the Asean new members, joint researching on regional integration, infrastructure development and climate change.

UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance has working closely with Asean. Asean, World Bank and UNOCHA are expected to form a consortium to unite their efforts and exertise to help Burma reconstruct its economy and society.

Further details of the joint work plan would be taken up by the Asean foreign ministers when they meet on Monday to discuss the issues in Singapore. After the meeting, future direction of assisting Burma would be clearer both at the regional and international level.