By Aung Hla Tun
YANGON (Reuters) - Flags flew at half-mast across Myanmaron Tuesday for the victims of Cyclone Nargis as the U.N.'s topaid envoy pressed the military government to allow foreignhelicopters to fly in supplies to survivors.
The first day of the three-day mourning period passed intorrential rain and diplomatic prodding of the reclusivegenerals to allow more international aid after a cyclone thatstruck two weeks ago, leaving nearly 134,000 dead or missing.
"There are still a lot of supplies needed to get in thefuture in terms of food, but not just for now but for somemonths to come," U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes toldreporters after meeting Prime Minister Thein Sein.
He said military-run camps in the devastated IrrawaddyDelta for the homeless "seemed well organised" but mostsurvivors were still without shelter.
Holmes said he had discussed the use of helicopters withthe general, who "took note" of his suggestion.
Myanmar has allowed relief flights to deliver supplies toYangon but balked at any aerial access to the southwesterndelta, where an estimated 2.4 million people were leftdestitute.
"I hope we can reach agreement on that," Holmes said. "Ithink the use of more helicopters from outside would be mostwelcome."
The army's declaration of a mourning period after the firstvisit on Monday to the delta since the cyclone by 75-year-oldjunta supremo Than Shwe, was taken as a possible sign theleadership had woken up to the scale of the catastrophe.
"The old man must have been shocked to see the realsituation with his own eyes," one retired government officialsaid in Yangon, the former capital where the start of themonsoon season has caused more flooding and misery for stormvictims.
The top general, who has run the country since 2005 fromNaypyidaw, a new capital 250 miles (390 km) north of Yangon,was shown on state-run TV touring hard-hit towns and again onTuesday, offering words of encouragement and giving orders.
U.N. BOSS ON THE WAY
In another high-level diplomatic mission, U.N.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was to arrive in the Thai capitalBangkok on Wednesday and go to Myanmar on Thursday.
Asked by reporters before his departure whether he wouldmeet Than Shwe, Ban said: "I will be, I hope I will be meetingSenior General Than Shwe and other senior governmentofficials."
In Tokyo, the Southeast Asian country's ambassador told theforeign ministry it would allow Japanese relief workers in tohelp victims, a ministry official said.
Until the last few days, the junta's attention appeared tohave been on a May 10 referendum on an army-draftedconstitution intended to precede multiparty elections in 2010.The vote was postponed to May 24 in areas worst-hit by thecyclone.
The official toll is 77,738 killed and 55,917 missing, oneof the worst cyclones to hit Asia in decades. The governmenthas estimated the damage at $10 billion (5 billion pounds).
Than Shwe's appearance coincided with moves by theAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of whichMyanmar is a member, and the U.N. to convene an aid pledgingconference on Sunday in Yangon and work on a bigger aiddelivery plan.
Historically the military in the former Burma has beensuspicious of foreign interference. That distrust has deepenedsince the wave of international outrage and tighter sanctionsfollowing last year's crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
Flags flew at half mast from government buildings and a fewprivate buildings amid growing criticism of the slow andinsufficient measures mustered by the military.
But the New Light of Myanmar, the junta's main mouthpiece,quoted Than Shwe as saying the government "took prompt actionto carry out the relief and rehabilitation work shortly afterthe storm".
Some donors returning from the outskirts of Yangon said theauthorities were handing out leaflets telling people not tohand donations directly to victims, but to do it under theirmanagement.
The leaflets said the handouts might make victims "lazy andmore dependent on others", people who were given them said.
"One young man felt very sad to see what was written in theleaflet," one woman said. "He murmured 'what are we supposed todo if we don't depend on donations in this situation?'."
Although there is little detail of how ASEAN will carry outwhat it called an aid "mechanism", Western governments andrelief groups know it is the only option acceptable to thegenerals.
"It's a face-saving way to get them to admit outside help,but we'll have to wait and see if it works or if it's a fudge,"one humanitarian official told Reuters.
The United States and France have naval vessels waiting inwaters near Myanmar ready to deliver supplies, but whether ornot the generals will permit them to do so is still not known.
(Additional reporting by Ed Cropley in BANGKOK and ClaudiaParsons at the UNITED NATIONS)
(Writing by Grant McCool; Editing by Darren Schuettler andAlex Richardson)
