Referendum in Myanmar despite cyclone chaos

YANGON, Saturday (Reuters) - Myanmar held a rare election today to approve a new army-drafted constitution, ignoring calls from the outside world to postpone the vote amid the devastation wreaked by Cyclone Nargis. More than a week after Nargis (Daffodil) swept up the Irawaddy Delta, packing 190 kph (120 mph) winds that whipped up a wall of sea-water pulverising everything it its path, aid was barely dribbling to 1.5 million increasingly desperate survivors.

Health experts warned a "second disaster" loomed from diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria, even if survivors of the cyclone that left tens of thousands killed or missing do manage to find food and shelter. State-run TV repeatedly told citizens it was their "patriotic duty" to approve the new constitution that enshrines a dominant role for the military, which has ruled the country of 53 million since a 1962 coup.

"I voted yes. It was what I was asked to do," 57-year-old U Kyaing told Reuters in Hlegu, 50 km (30 miles) northeast of the cyclone-ravaged former capital, Yangon. Even before Cyclone Nargis hit on the night of May 2, groups opposed to military rule, and foreign governments led by the United States, had denounced the constitution and vote as an attempt by the military to legitimise its 46-year grip on power.

The government's feeble response to the disaster has only fed widespread cynicism about the generals' attempt to proceed with their "roadmap to democracy" meant to culminate in multi-party elections in the former Burma in 2010.

The United Nations appealed for $187 million in aid, even though it is still not confident the food, water and tents flown in will make it to those most in need due the junta's reluctance to admit international relief workers. During an emergency meeting in New York on Friday, dozens of U.N. envoys voiced concern at the difficulties aid workers were having getting in.

But Myanmar's delegate insisted food and other supplies were being sent where needed upon arrival."We are ready to cooperate fully," Ambassador Kyaw Tint Swe told the meeting. "Regarding access, we hear you and I will certainly report back to the authorities."

The U.N.'s World Food Programme briefly suspended its aid airlift after it said 38 tonnes of biscuits and medical supplies were impounded at the airport in Yangon. Scores of relief experts, accustomed to entering a disaster zone within 48 hours, are still in Bangkok waiting for visas.

The generals approved one U.S. aid flight, due to arrive as soon as Monday - 10 days after Nargis made landfall. The military cargo plane would leave from the Thai air force base of Utaphao carrying water purification systems and supplies to ward off water-borne diseases, U.S. officials said.

With each day that passes, pressure is mounting on the junta to admit a massive international relief operation before starvation and disease swell the death toll even more."This is the second disaster," Greg Beck, Southeast Asia programme director for the International Rescue Committee, told Reuters. "First was the cyclone and the surge of water, the second will come if their is no access to food, water and shelter. They will start dying," he said.

Myanmar has not updated the official toll since Tuesday, when it said nearly 23,000 were dead and 42,000 missing. Even those numbers, which are likely to rise, make Nargis Asia's worst cyclone since 143,000 people died in Bangladesh in 1991.

U.S. charge d'affaires Shari Villarosa has said the death toll could reach 100,000.

The U.S. Navy is sending four ships on exercises in Thailand towards Myanmar, and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was sending a naval ship with 1,500 tonnes of aid to arrive by the middle of next week. The vessel, Le Mistral, is capable of carrying heavy-lift helicopters and was the same one used to evacuate French nationals from Lebanon in 2006.

State-run TV in Myanmar warned of "foreign interference" in a repeatedly broadcast message urging people to cast their ballots for the new constitution. Voting in cyclone-devastated areas, including Yangon, has been postponed for two weeks.The broadcast showed five young women performers in colourful clothing and singing songs, including the lyrics: "let's go voting" and "come along for voting" with upbeat background music.