Anger mounts over Burma aid block
Updated on 12 May 2008
Politicians and relief agencies urge new strategies to overcome the Burmese authorities reluctance to accept aid.
"It's like they are taking a gun and shooting their own people" - one aid worker stranded in Bangkok, reflecting the anger over Burma's continued reluctance to allow in foreign help.
Gordon Brown urged the authorities to allow "unfettered access", while the Conservative leader David Cameron said if there was no change within 24 hours aid should be dropped into Burma from the skies.
One US relief flight was allowed to enter Burma today - the first since cyclone Nargis struck nine days ago.
But it was carrying only a modest payload: two palates of mosquito nets, one palate of water and another of blankets.
A US aid official who flew in separately said, after days of negotiation, that the US stood ready to help as the situation deteriorates.
Burmese TV showed the generals welcoming the supplies, but again insisted they did not need foreign help to distribute it.
But without outside assistance the UN has warned of disease, violence and mass migration as the cyclone victims struggle.
