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Myanmar aid 'seized'
BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Aid agencies are furious over the Myanmar government's refusal to let them distribute food and supplies flown in for victims of the cyclone that is estimated to have killed up to 100,000 people.
Cyclone survivors rest Thursday at a hospital in the Irrawaddy Delta.
1 of 3more photos » The ruling military junta has been allowing planes to land but is refusing to let the cargo be distributed by most foreign aid workers, especially those from Western nations.
The United Nations issued a "flash appeal" Friday to raise $187.3 million in cyclone relief for Myanmar-based assessments by more than 20 organizations.
It includes $56 million for food, nearly $50 million for logistics and about $20 million for shelter.
The Asia head of the U.N.
World Food Program said Friday that the government had seized the contents of two flights that arrived in the morning at Yangon which carried enough food for 95,000 people.
They contained 38 tons of high-energy biscuits, medical kits and other items.
Watch as families mourn victims »
"We off-loaded the food, and then the authorities refused us permission to take that food away," WFP director Tony Banbury said.
"We were told we needed a special letter from the Minister of Social Welfare.
We hand-delivered a request to him.
The answer back was 'No, you can't have the food.'
"That food is now sitting on the tarmac doing no good.
I'm furious. This is unacceptable."
In response, the U.N.
Temporarily suspended its emergency airlifts.
However, the WFP -- which under U.N.
Rules must control and distribute its aid supplies -- said later that it would try to send more aid Saturday.
"The World Food Program has decided to send in two relief flights as planned tomorrow, while discussions continue with the government of Myanmar," spokeswoman Nancy Roman said.
Despite earlier reservations, Myanmar has now agreed to allow one American cargo aircraft to land with relief supplies Monday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Gordon Johndroe said Friday.
The United States had proposed an aid plan that would minimize the presence of American troops on the ground, with the planes to drop supplies off and then turn around and leave.
The U.S.
Is also proposing that its Navy helicopters already in Thailand and onboard Navy ships in the region fly supplies to remote areas.
The helicopters would conduct low-level flights and air-drop the supplies .
Four U.S.
Navy ships are now moving to a region off Myanmar.
"There are problems to get the aid inside [Myanmar], and there are problems to get the aid out to the delta area," director Anders Ladekarl told AP.
"We are simply lacking transportation.
There are almost no boats and no helicopters.
This is really a nightmare to make this operation run."
Agencies such as the Red Cross, World Vision and Medecins sans Frontieres had staff inside Myanmar before the cyclone hit but have been struggling to get permission to bring in more, AP said.
As many as 6 million people lived in the Irrawaddy Delta, the low-lying region that bore the brunt of the storm.
Look at satellite pictures of the damage by the flooding »
The Myanmar government said last week's cyclone killed 22,000 people, but United Nations' coordinator for humanitarian affairs, John Holmes, said Friday that between 63,000 to 100,000 are believed to have died.
The exact scale of the catastrophe was unknown, he added, because of the government's refusal to let outside aid workers into the country, but most of the casualties were in the delta.
"The logistical challenge of operating in the delta is huge," he said at the United Nations.
Thousands are without food, shelter and clean water, and aid workers say boats and helicopters are needed to reach remote areas.
As the delivery of aid supplies lags, the possibility of diseases such as malaria rises, medical authorities say.
Friday's move by the Myanmar military government to stop aid workers distributing supplies came one day before a national constitutional referendum that would strengthen the power of the military junta.
The government delayed voting in areas most ravaged by last Saturday's cyclone but, despite urging by U.N.
General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon, refused to cancel the balloting countrywide.
Ban told authorities that it may be "prudent" to focus their resources on emergency response efforts.
Political observers note that Myanmar has been isolated from outside influences since the military began ruling the country in 1962.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the military junta in Myanmar has behaved "appallingly" by declining to grant more visas to relief workers.
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Poor countries sure have a way with getting the best leadership they can get.
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'Please Use Your Liberty to Promote Ours' - Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
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If only there was oil there, we'd show 'em who's the boss.
Otherwise, tough shit.
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If Myanmar doesn't want the heel of the US stuck in it's neck, it's smart not to just let us move in and rebuild everything.
They'd lose their whole country, and more lives in the long run.
Obviously, it's fear of being "owned" by the west that keeps them from receiving aid.
You can't get things like that without making promises and agreements.
None of that "aid" is free...
And as soon as they start accepting it is when their government's integrity starts to come apart.
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