Bush urges Myanmar to accept US disaster teams

Nearly 22 500 have been killed, with a further 41 000 missing

US President George W Bush made a rare personal appeal to Myanmar's junta today to accept US disaster teams that have been blocked and said Washington was ready to help more after a devastating cyclone.

Addressing a government he has long tried to isolate, Bush said: "Our message is to the military rulers. Let the United States come and help you, help the people." Bush spoke in the Oval Office as the death toll from Cyclone Nargis, the worst storm to hit Asia since 1991, rose to nearly 22 500 with an additional 41 000 missing.

He offered emergency assistance from the US Navy, which the White House said had two ships within two days' sailing time of the poor Southeast Asian country. "The United States has made an initial aid contribution but we want to do a lot more," Bush told reporters.

But he risked further antagonizing the junta by coupling his humanitarian aid offer with a signing ceremony for legislation awarding its chief political opponent, detained democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, the Congressional Gold Medal, America's top civilian honor.

The Bush administration and Myanmar have long been estranged. Bush last week imposed a new round of sanctions on the country's military rulers to pressure them on human rights and political reform.

Junta refuses to let US team in
With Washington trying to reach out with a humanitarian response to last weekend's cyclone, the State Department said yesterday the junta was refusing to let US disaster experts into the country to assess its emergency needs. "We're prepared to move US naval assets to help find those who lost their lives, to help find the missing, to help stabilize the situation," Bush said. "But in order to do so, the military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country."

The US Embassy in Myanmar has so far authorized the release of $250 000 in emergency aid but further US relief efforts appear to have stalled. The scale of the disaster has drawn a rare acceptance of outside help from Myanmar's generals, who spurned such approaches in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. - Reuters