Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has scheduled his on-again, off-again trip to Burma for Wednesday, when he will personally hand over an appeal to allow more aid from the secretary general of the United Nations to the Burmese military junta.
Foreign Minister Noppodon Pattama told the media on Tuesday that "Mr Samak will go to Burma tomorrow (Wednesday) to deliver a message from Ban Ki-Moon," the UN chief.
He spoke on the way into a cabinet meeting, which was expected to approve new Thai emergency aid of $500,000, in addition to the $100,000 already pledged last week, and another $500,000 for China's earthquake victims.
UN chief Ban reportedly phoned Mr Samak on Monday to ask for his assistance in persuading the junta to allow more international aid workers and aid into Burma to speed up a multi-million-dollar disaster relief operation for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, which killed an estimated 100,000 people and left more than 1.5 million homeless.
It was not the first time Mr Samak offered his good offices as middleman between the international community and the xenophobic Burmese generals.
Last Friday, Mr Samak announced he intended to fly to to Rangoon to persuade the ruling junta to accept aid workers and supplies from the United States, but he had to cancel the weekend visit when he heard that the junta "was not ready" to accept foreign aid workers.
Mr Samak has cultivated warm relations with the Burmese dictators since he became premier in January. After an official visit in March, Mr Samak described the ruling generals as "good Buddhists," months after they launched a crackdown on peaceful protests led by Buddhist monks that left at least 31 people dead and the world appalled.
The international aid community has expressed growing frustration with the Burmese military for throwing up unnecessary obstacles to a massive disaster relief programme for victims of Cyclone Nargis, which crashed into central Myanmar May 2 and 3, leaving an estimated 100,000 dead and up to 2 million desperately in need of food, water, shelter and medicine.
Thailand was the first country to fly in emergency aid into Rangoon on May 8. The government proposed using a Thai military C-130 cargo plane to deliver US aid, but the offer was rejected by Burmese authorities.
Ina reversal, the junta then permitted the US to fly one of its own military C-130s with aid aboard into Rangoon from Utapao base in Chon Buri. The first US aid delivered via Thailand was on Monday with a second flight planned later on Tuesday.
Burmese Vice-Admiral Soe Thein, speaking through the regime's mouthpiece newspaper New Light of Myanmar said the country was grateful for the shipment from the United States.
"The donation will enhance friendship between the governments, armed forces and the peoples of the two countries," Soe Thein said.
But he also reiterated that Burma remained closed to foreign aid workers. (BangkokPost.com, dpa)
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Foreign Minister Noppodon Pattama told the media on Tuesday that "Mr Samak will go to Burma tomorrow (Wednesday) to deliver a message from Ban Ki-Moon," the UN chief.
He spoke on the way into a cabinet meeting, which was expected to approve new Thai emergency aid of $500,000, in addition to the $100,000 already pledged last week, and another $500,000 for China's earthquake victims.
UN chief Ban reportedly phoned Mr Samak on Monday to ask for his assistance in persuading the junta to allow more international aid workers and aid into Burma to speed up a multi-million-dollar disaster relief operation for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, which killed an estimated 100,000 people and left more than 1.5 million homeless.
It was not the first time Mr Samak offered his good offices as middleman between the international community and the xenophobic Burmese generals.
Last Friday, Mr Samak announced he intended to fly to to Rangoon to persuade the ruling junta to accept aid workers and supplies from the United States, but he had to cancel the weekend visit when he heard that the junta "was not ready" to accept foreign aid workers.
Mr Samak has cultivated warm relations with the Burmese dictators since he became premier in January. After an official visit in March, Mr Samak described the ruling generals as "good Buddhists," months after they launched a crackdown on peaceful protests led by Buddhist monks that left at least 31 people dead and the world appalled.
The international aid community has expressed growing frustration with the Burmese military for throwing up unnecessary obstacles to a massive disaster relief programme for victims of Cyclone Nargis, which crashed into central Myanmar May 2 and 3, leaving an estimated 100,000 dead and up to 2 million desperately in need of food, water, shelter and medicine.
Thailand was the first country to fly in emergency aid into Rangoon on May 8. The government proposed using a Thai military C-130 cargo plane to deliver US aid, but the offer was rejected by Burmese authorities.
Ina reversal, the junta then permitted the US to fly one of its own military C-130s with aid aboard into Rangoon from Utapao base in Chon Buri. The first US aid delivered via Thailand was on Monday with a second flight planned later on Tuesday.
Burmese Vice-Admiral Soe Thein, speaking through the regime's mouthpiece newspaper New Light of Myanmar said the country was grateful for the shipment from the United States.
"The donation will enhance friendship between the governments, armed forces and the peoples of the two countries," Soe Thein said.
But he also reiterated that Burma remained closed to foreign aid workers. (BangkokPost.com, dpa)
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