U.N. chief arrives in Myanmar to meet military rulers

Ban Ki Moon at the Holy Shwedagon pagoda


YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived Thursday morning in Myanmar, where he planned to push the country's ruling military junta to accept an outpouring of international aid for millions of cyclone victims.

Myanmar's leaders have been slow to allow foreign aid in the country, and prevented foreign agencies from doing a needs assessment after the storm. The government also insisted that any aid that came in be distributed by their soldiers and volunteers, which went against the policy of many agencies.

Mr. Ban with Foreign Minister Nyan Win

Ban was welcomed by Foreign Minister Nyan Win before signing a condolence book for cyclone victims. He made a stop at the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda -- a historic landmark also known as the Golden Pagoda -- and then headed to meet Prime Minister Thein Sein for lunch.

In the afternoon, Myanmar's rulers were expected to escort Ban and U.N. delegates to the Irrawaddy Delta in southern Myanmar. The coastline of the Andaman Sea was especially hard-hit, and bodies still line the shore in some spots.

Ban plans to tour the devastated Irrawaddy Delta in southern Myanmar on Thursday. The coastline of the Andaman Sea was especially hard-hit, and aid workers have reported that bodies still line the shore in some spots.

The U.N. leader said he will meet with Senior Gen. Than Shwe, leader of the junta that rules the country, also known as Burma.

Before his arrival, Ban made a stop in Bangkok, Thailand, where he said Asian nations are beginning to focus on the reconstruction needs of Myanmar, devastated by Cyclone Nargis earlier this month.

"Even as we attend to today's emergency, we must give thought to Myanmar's medium- and longer-term assistance," Ban said at a news conference held after he arrived in Bangkok, where he will remain overnight before proceeding to Myanmar.

Myanmar is expected to face a food crisis because the cyclone wiped out crops in the Irrawaddy Delta, the heartland for rice farming, and filled it with salt water, imperiling future crops.

Thailand has pledged to provide rice feed and farming equipment to its neighbor.

Ban was scheduled to leave for Thailand Friday night before coming back to Yangon Sunday for an international donors conference, largely to discuss the country's future.

Ban called the aftermath of the cyclone "a critical moment" for Myanmar. "The government itself acknowledges there has never been a disaster on this scale in the history of their country," he said.

The storm claimed more than 130,000 lives and left more than 2 million homeless, according to the United Nations.

Ban will return to Bangkok to meet Friday evening with Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej. Thailand is the first country that successfully persuaded the junta to allow medical teams into the country.
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The teams are now stationed in the delta city of Myaungmya. CNN news teams said they have seen trucks full of people arriving at refugee shelters there.

Ban said Thai doctors have seen no sign of an epidemic in Myanmar, one of the fears after the cyclone hit early this month.

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