Navy awaits Myanmar’s decision on aid

[unhappycamper]

Navy awaits Myanmar’s decision on aid
By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday May 7, 2008 6:39:03 EDT

President Bush on Tuesday urged the military junta leaders in Myanmar to accept assistance from U.S. Navy ships and military forces in the region poised to help the nation recover from a devastating cyclone.

More than $3 million is being allocated through the U.S. Agency for International Development to help the residents of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, the White House announced.

“We urge the government of Burma to grant full access to the affected areas to international humanitarian relief teams and nongovernmental organizations so that they can help provide assistance to those in need,” White House press secretary Dana Perino told reporters during a Tuesday briefing, according to a transcript.

“In addition to the $3 million, the other thing that we have in the region is a Marine expeditionary unit with ... ships there with naval personnel that were doing exercises for disaster assistance and disaster relief. So we have multiple ways that we can support them,” Perino said. “This would be our initial assessment for what we think is the need right now, and we’ll continue to work with the U.N. or any other organization that is allowed into Burma to try to help the Burmese people.”

The naval force nearest to the hard-hit region is the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, with more than 2,000 Marines embarked on three amphibious ships, including the amphibious assault ship Essex. The Essex Expeditionary Strike Group, normally based in Japan, is operating in the Gulf of Thailand, off Thailand’s eastern coast, and preparing for the scheduled “Cobra Gold” exercises that begin on Thursday, Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon, said Tuesday afternoon.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/05/navy_myanmar_050608w/