Bush Seeks Doubled Tsunami Aid
The United States said it was preparing to more than double its pledge for tsunami relief, as Sweden released the names of hundreds of people still missing from Asian coastlines a month and a half after the killer waves lashed the region.
President Bush says he will ask Congress for $950 million — up from $350 committed so far — a pledge that would put the United States on the top of the list of donors to help nations affected by the disaster.
Australia has promised $810 million, followed by Germany's $660 million, the European Commission's $624 million and Japan's $540 million.
"We will use these resources to provide assistance and to work with the affected nations on rebuilding vital infrastructure that re-energizes economies and strengthens societies," said Mr. Bush.
Aftershocks have rattled the region since Dec. 26 when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake spawned the tsunami, killing more than 160,000 people in 11 Indian Ocean nations. Most of the victims were in Indonesia's Aceh province, closest to the epicenter.
A 6.2-magnitude temblor struck Aceh on Wednesday, shaking buildings and sending terrified residents fleeing for higher ground in cars and on foot while police shouted "Tsunami! Tsunami!" There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Tens of thousands of people are still missing following the December disaster, though officials say it's too early to add them to the toll.
After weeks of keeping the names private, police in Sweden released a list of its 565 missing citizens. It made harrowing reading: A 9-month-old boy, entire families and nearly 100 children younger than 13.
The National Police had compiled the list — which included the country's 43 confirmed dead — but kept them secret citing privacy concerns for victims' families. On Wednesday a court ordered its release.
Most of those killed or missing had fled the harsh Swedish winter for the warmth of Thai beaches over the Christmas holidays.
Sweden's four largest newspapers published the names on their Web sites, saying it would help clear up some of the confusion still lingering over the extent of the tragedy.
Some relatives of the missing, like Nicklas Lindskog, 36, said the list should have been published sooner.
Lindskog's son Hugo survived the tsunami in Khao Lak, Thailand, where he was vacationing with his mother, Lotta Goeransson and his sister Linn Edling, 15. Both are missing.
"Why did they not publish it from the beginning? Why wait for one and a half months?" he was quoted by tabloid Expressen as saying. "Had they published the list at once, it would have spared us and other relatives a lot of pondering and thinking."
Also Wednesday, Mr. Bush laid the groundwork for the visit of a high-level U.S. delegation to Thailand, which was ravaged by the tsunami, and congratulated Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on his landslide election victory.
All the ballots have not been counted from the Feb. 6 voting, but Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party appeared to capture a vast majority of the country's 500 parliamentary seats. The White House made no mention of what critics see as Thaksin's autocratic tendencies and their fears he may turn back progress toward full democracy.
In a little more than a week, Mr. Bush is sending former Presidents Clinton and Bush to the Indian Ocean region, including Thailand, to review efforts to help the countries recover from the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami that killed at least 157,000 people. Last month, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell and the president's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, went to the region.
White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the two former presidents are aiming to "get a firsthand look at the ongoing tsunami relief and reconstruction efforts.