King Kofi arrives -- finally!

[Yonivore]

By Dan Eaton and Achmad Sukarsono

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan flew over the tsunami-ravaged landscape of Indonesia's Aceh province on Friday and asked "Where are the people?"

The Indonesian official with him was heard to respond, "They're either dead or they've been evacuated to hospitals and refugee camps by the Americans and Aussies, you idiot! Where the have you been?"

[desflood]

[Yonivore]

More:

At the same time, US officials were briefing journalists about the lack of a UN presence at the airport in Banda Aceh, the capital of the province. "Look around and see who's present, and you will also see who's missing," said one. "I think you can read between the lines. "They [the UN] have their compound in town, their cars, but are they getting food out? Are they setting up clinics?"

The UN has been desperate to put experts on the ground all week, fearing that thousands of people have yet to receive food or medical treatment. Michael Elmquist, the UN co-ordinator, said he had approached the Americans for help. "The answer was, I should go through the Indonesians," he said. The Indonesian military agreed to lend three helicopters for the UN to use yesterday. But the mission to assess needs was cancelled due to a lack of paperwork. When UN officials arrived at the airport they were told they had failed to hand in flight permission forms by 8pm the previous night. "They were at the airport and I was expecting them to go out," said Mr Elmquist. "We were not informed in advance that it was necessary to fill in these forms." -- The Daily Telegraph

I guess the Indonesians forgot to fill out the UN form advising them they needed to complete an Indonesian form in Indonesia.

Oh yeah, those people are much better off now that the U.N. is in charge!

[Yonivore]

[Yonivore]

[Hook Dem]

Kofi finally shows up