UN officials call Myanmar after cyclone a 'major disaster'

President Bush on Tuesday called on Myanmar's military junta to allow the U.S. Navy to help search for the dead and missing. But Myanmar's military, which regularly accuses the United States of trying to subvert the regime, was unlikely to accept U.S. military presence in its territory.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said France minimized its aid to about $309,000. He said Myanmar officials are willing to accept aid but insist on distributing it themselves, which he said was "not a good way of doing things."

The cyclone came only a week ahead of a key referendum on a constitution backed by Myanmar's military leaders as an important step forward on their "roadmap to democracy."

State radio also said Saturday's vote would be delayed until May 24 in most of the townships in the Yangon area and seven in the Irrawaddy delta. But it indicated that the balloting would proceed in other areas as scheduled.

The decision drew swift criticism from dissidents and human rights groups who question the credibility of the vote and urged the junta to focus on disaster victims.

On Wednesday, about 30 Filipino protesters demanded that Myanmar's junta postpone the constitutional referendum and allow the unrestricted entry of international relief.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. Its government has been widely criticized for suppression of pro-democracy parties such as the one led by Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been under house arrest for almost 12 of the past 18 years.

At least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained when the military cracked down on peaceful protests in September led by Buddhist monks and democracy advocates.