ASEAN SECRETARIAT VIEWS ON BURMA CONFERENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001009 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR EAP, OES, PRM, SES-O STATE ALSO PASS TO USAID DEPT FOR EB/IFD/OMA AID/W FOR DCHA/FFP AND DCHA/OTI AID/W FOR DCHA/OFDA KLUU, ACONVERY, RTHAYER BANGKOK FOR DCHA/OFDA WBERGER AND RBARTON BANGKOK FOR REO OFFICE, USAID/RDMA PACOM FOR FPA TREASURY FOR IA-SETH SEARLS COMMERCE FOR 4430/ KELLY SINGAPORE FOR BAKER E.O. 12598: N/A TAGS: EAID PHUM PREL PGOV KDEM ID BM SUBJECT: ASEAN SECRETARIAT VIEWS ON BURMA CONFERENCE REF: SECSTATE 53985 ¶1. Summary. Post reviewed the Burma Donor Conference points with the ASEAN Secretariat. According to Dr. Anish Kumar Roy, Director of the Bureau of Resource Development and point person on the ASEAN task force to coordinate aid to Burma, the May 25 pledging conference will focus on the immediate and long-term needs of the cyclone affected regions of Burma. The Government of Burma (GOB) will provide an assessment of its needs based in part on the findings of the ASEAN Emergency Response Assessment Team (ERAT) and the ASEAN medical teams currently on the ground in Burma. The ERAT team report to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on May 19 in Singapore provided a solid overview of the needs in Burma, according to Roy. The ASEAN task force charged with coordinating relief and reconstruction efforts in Burma will meet on the margins of the pledging conference to finalize ASEAN's system for coordinating relief donations. End Summary. Conference to Focus on Short- and Long-Term Needs -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) According to Dr. Anish Kumar Roy, Director of the ASEAN Secretariat's Bureau for Resources Development, the May 25 pledging conference will focus on the immediate and long-term needs of the cyclone affected regions of Burma. ASEAN and the U.N. are sponsoring the conference, with Burma acting as host. The conference will include a presentation by the GOB on the scale of the disaster and the immediate and long-term needs of the country in order to cope with the devastation, according to Roy. The conference organizers will also solicit pledges from international donors to meet Burma's immediate and long-term needs. ¶3. (SBU) The GOB will base its assessment in part on the findings of the ERAT and the ASEAN medical teams currently on the ground in Burma. According to Roy, the ERAT team report to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on May 19 provided a solid overview of the current needs in Burma. (Note: a copy of the report is available at http://www.asean.org/21558.pdf. End note.) In response to the report and the May 19 discussion, the GOB agreed to accept a team of 30 medical personnel from Thailand and 22 medical personnel from Laos to work in the affected areas. Additional medical teams from Brunei, Singapore and the Philippines are on stand-by to enter the country and conduct similar assessments. Roy emphasized the need for logistical support to the GOB, given the GOB's limited capacity to access the hardest-hit regions. ASEAN Task Force to Coordinate Aid -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Roy also noted that the ASEAN task force charged with coordinating relief and reconstruction efforts in Burma will meet on the margins of the pledging conference in order to finalize ASEAN's system for coordinating relief donations. Roy will serve as the primary coordinator for donors on the task force. He stated that the GOB had provided strong support for the task force at the May 19 Ministers Meeting and that he expects the GOB to accept aid, including disaster relief personnel, if donors funnel donations through this mechanism. Roy believes that part of the GOB resistance to receiving aid stems from their lack of capacity to coordinate and manage the process. Although developments continue to change on a daily basis, Roy is optimistic that the GOB will begin to accept large quantities of aid and relief teams in the JAKARTA 00001009 002 OF 002 coming weeks. HEFFERN