Bush urges Myanmar to accept US disaster teams
(Adds details)
By Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush made a rare personal appeal to Myanmar's junta on Tuesday to accept U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
REACHING OUT
With Washington trying to reach out with a humanitarian response to last weekend's cyclone, the State Department said on Monday the junta was refusing to let U.S. disaster experts into the country to assess its emergency needs.
"We're prepared to move U.S. 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 U.S. Embassy in Myanmar has so far authorized the release of $250,000 in emergency aid but further U.S. 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.
But it has been harder for Myanmar to open up to the United States because of the strained relations, especially since its violent crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks in September.
Bush had further criticism for Myanmar's rulers in awarding the Gold Medal to Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
"This is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman who speaks for freedom for all the people of Burma, and who speaks in such a way that she's a powerful voice in contrast to the junta that currently rules the country," he said.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won elections in 1990 but the junta refused to hand over power and has detained her for most of the time since then.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino insisted further cyclone aid would not be contingent on Myanmar accepting U.S. disaster teams, but declined to estimate how much aid might be forthcoming. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
By Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush made a rare personal appeal to Myanmar's junta on Tuesday to accept U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
REACHING OUT
With Washington trying to reach out with a humanitarian response to last weekend's cyclone, the State Department said on Monday the junta was refusing to let U.S. disaster experts into the country to assess its emergency needs.
"We're prepared to move U.S. 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 U.S. Embassy in Myanmar has so far authorized the release of $250,000 in emergency aid but further U.S. 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.
But it has been harder for Myanmar to open up to the United States because of the strained relations, especially since its violent crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks in September.
Bush had further criticism for Myanmar's rulers in awarding the Gold Medal to Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
"This is a fitting tribute to a courageous woman who speaks for freedom for all the people of Burma, and who speaks in such a way that she's a powerful voice in contrast to the junta that currently rules the country," he said.
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won elections in 1990 but the junta refused to hand over power and has detained her for most of the time since then.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino insisted further cyclone aid would not be contingent on Myanmar accepting U.S. disaster teams, but declined to estimate how much aid might be forthcoming. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky; Editing by Doina Chiacu)
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