‘A Tragic Situation’

What has the dialogue been like with the government of Burma?
The government of Burma formally appealed to the United Nations for assistance, which is quite a breakthrough. That allows us to work now with the government to decide how we can mobilize assistance. Now the question on the ground is about capacity: do we have enough capacity for the U.N. agents to carry out assistance and provide assistance? I can tell you right now: no. Current capacity there now is for normal situations. What we have now is a tragic situation, so the capacity should be commensurate to the level of the crisis.

Is this the first time that the Burmese government has turned to the United Nations to open any kind of dialogue?
I don't remember any time before that they've appealed for international assistance. But one has to take into account the following. Ten thousand people have already been announced dead. The population living in the affected territories is 24 million. We don't know how many are in need of emergency assistance. Most of the country is affected in one way or another. Maybe they don't all need shelter and water purification or food, but certainly their lives were disturbed. The government is seeing that dimension and clearly needs help.

Could this kind of openness have political effects that lead to more international dialogue beyond just the relief effort?
What I hope is that arrangements will be worked out. If they allow the international players to launch effective assistance, it will help to help strengthen confidence and relations between Burma and the United Nations, which is a good thing. But it's important to remember that when this kind of disaster happens, a lot of political points are always taken into account, but don't play a dominating role.

© 2008