Myanmar junta says aid running smoothly

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government said onThursday its cyclone relief effort was moving along swiftlyeven as foreign powers warned of starvation and disease amongup to 2.5 million people left destitute by the storm.

The European Union's top aid official urged the junta toallow in foreign aid workers and essential equipment to preventmore deaths from the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, but thereclusive generals signalled they would not budge.

"We have already finished our first phase of emergencyrelief. We are going onto the second phase, the rebuildingstage," state television quoted Prime Minister Thein Sein astelling his Thai counterpart this week.

Separately, the junta announced an overwhelminglyfavourable vote for an army-backed constitution in a referendumheld after the cyclone despite calls for a delay in light ofthe disaster.

Nearly two weeks after the storm tore through the heavilypopulated Irrawaddy delta rice bowl, leaving up to 128,000people dead, supplies of food, medicine and temporary shelterhave been sent in dribs and drabs to devastated communities.

In the delta town of Bogalay, where around 10,000 peopleare thought to have died, people complained of forced labourand low supplies of food at state-run refugee centres.

"They have to break stones at the construction sites. Theyare paid K1,000 ($1) per day but are not provided any food,"said Ko Hla Min, who lost nine members of his family in thestorm.

Along the river in Bogalay rotting corpses are stilltangled in the scrub. Villagers fish, wash and bathe in thesame river.

The United Nations has said over half a million people maynow be sheltering in temporary settlements.

The U.N. has also ramped up its estimate of the number ofpeople in urgent need of aid to 2.5 million, and called for ahigh-level donors conference to deal with the crisis.

Myanmar state television raised its official toll to 38,491dead, 1,403 injured and 27,838 missing on Wednesday, butindependent experts say the likely figures are far higher.

POLITICAL PRESSURE

Despite calls the postpone the charter referendum in lightof the disaster, the junta went ahead on May 10 in areas notseriously affected by the cyclone. It said on Thursday morethan 92 percent of the ballots cast were in favour of thecharter.

The military sees the constitution as a key step in itsdemocracy roadmap, but critics say it will only entrench theirrule because it gives the military an automatic 25 percent ofseats in parliament and control of key ministries.

"This referendum was full of cheating and fraud across thecountry," said Nyan Win, a spokesman for the oppositionNational League for Democracy.

A vote in the cyclone-hit areas is set for May 24.

The junta has consistently resisted outside calls forfaster and more transparent moves to democracy, and since thecyclone has rebuffed calls for a full-blown international aideffort.

Louis Michel, the European Union's top aid official, was inYangon to further press the international community's case.

"He made it quite clear that every hour counts right nowand that thousands of lives continue to be at stake," JohnClancy, Michel's spokesman, said.

As the clock ticks and conditions deteriorate, with monsoonrains adding to the misery and aggravating transport problems,the political pressure on Myanmar is likely to grow.

Britain's U.N. ambassador, John Sawers, said a proposedhigh-level conference on the crisis would be more than adonors' meeting, calling it a "major international meeting".

PATIENCE WITH GENERALS

However, the Secretary-General of the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN), one of the few groupings thatallows Myanmar as a member, urged patience.

"We are trying to work around a very, very strictresistance and mentality and mindset that have been there for along, long time," Surin Pitsuwan, a former Thai foreignminister, said.

The United States and other countries continued to fly aidinto Yangon on Thursday despite unconfirmed reports somesupplies were being diverted by the army.

In Bogalay relief materials were being held in storagewaiting for distribution and government officials soldtin-sheets for roofs at K4,900 ($5) apiece, far above thebudget of most.

Po Aung, who survived the tidal wave that tore through hisvillage by clinging onto a tree, just wants to go home.

"Those dead are gone. But, we the remaining want to returnto our own place," said the 57-year old, one of 80 survivorsfrom a village of over 500. "We are very sad and disappointedtoo. We just don't know what to do."

(Additional reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan and DarrenSchuettler in BANGKOK; Writing by Carmel Crimmins and JerryNorton; Editing by Alex Richardson)