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UN Chief Deeply Worried about Myanmar

By Prensa Latina,

United Nations : UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern about the Myanmar tragedy in the wake of confirmation of the death of more than 22,000 people and another 41,000 gone missing by hurricane Nargis.

In a statement released by Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes at the UN headquarters on Wednesday, Ban said that preliminary estimates suggest that at least one million people are homeless and many more need humanitarian assistance.

The statement adds that this is a critical moment for the Myanmar people and it is very important to offer the greatest assistance possible in these first days after the hurricane hit the country.

Taking into account the magnitude of this disaster, Ban called the Myanmar Government to respond to the increasing world support and solidarity by facilitating the arrival of humanitarian workers and speedily authorize relief consignments, as this cooperation may help Yangon to confront this tragedy.

The Government in Myanmar has taken first steps to speed up the process of entry of international humanitarian relief to victims of Hurricane Nargis by appointing a Deputy Foreign minister as facilitator of the work of relief agencies in order to speed up the granting of entry visas, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

OCHA Director John Holmes said several specialists were authorized to enter the South East Asian country tomorrow to assess damages.