The United States will give an additional 3
million dollars in aid to Myanmar in response to a cyclone that has left more
than 22,000 people dead in the south-east Asian nation, the White House said
Tuesday.
The money through the US Agency for International Development will be at the
disposal of an aid team in Thailand that is prepared to go into Myanmar if the military government grants it access, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino
said.
President George W Bush earlier Tuesday urged Myanmar's military junta to
accept US aid.
"The United States has made an initial aid contribution, but we want to do
a lot more," Bush said, while signing legislation awarding Myanmar Nobel
peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi the highest civilian honour from the US
Congress, the Congressional Gold Medal.
"We're prepared to move US Navy assets to help find those who've lost
their lives, to help find the missing, to help stabilize the situation. But in
order to do so, the military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams
into the country," he said.
Washington would also consider diverting its funds through international
organizations such as the United Nations if its aid workers are not allowed
into the country, Perino said.
"The assistance that we are providing is needs-based, and it's dependent
on only us wanting to help them," Perino said, stressing that "the
relief that Burmese people need would be much better handled if we could get
into the country."
The money is on top of 250,000 dollars in immediate emergency aid through the
US embassy in Yangon released on Monday, DPA
reported.