Burma wants aid-pledging conference

Noppadon Pattama said his Burma counterpart, Nyan Win, was expected to inform fellow foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of the proposal at a special meeting in Singapore later Monday.

He also said ASEAN was expected to send its secretary general, Surin Pitsuwan, to Burma for a first-hand look at the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, which hit the country more than two weeks ago.

"We will mandate the ASEAN Secretary General to go there to assess the situation in Myanmar (Burma) and we will listen to the Myanmar foreign minister regarding the pledging conference which he would like to host on the 22nd or 23rd of May in Yangon (Rangoon)," Mr Noppadon told AFP ahead of the meeting.

"Myanmar would like to host that meeting although the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon would like to host the ASEAN-UN pledging conference in Thailand. But we have to listen to Myanmar`s opinion first."

The international community has been turning up the pressure on the military regime over its handling of the tragedy, which has left nearly 134,000 people dead or missing since tearing into the Irrawaddy Delta on May 2.

Mr Noppadon said he was optimistic about Monday`s meeting hosted by Singapore, which currently holds the ASEAN chairmanship.

"I`m an optimist. We come here with the hope that ASEAN would do something for Myanmar and it`s a good opportunity for ASEAN to show solidarity," he said.

Asked if ASEAN would put pressure on the Burma junta to open up, he said: "There won`t be any pressure, there would be persuasion to allow Myanmar to consider opening or giving more access to international humanitarian assistance."

Asked about calls to force Burma to accept humanitarian aid, he said: "Humanitarian assistance should be by agreement, not by force. I`m sure Myanmar will receive international assistance without using any force."

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