Clooney and Pitt launch Myanmar ad campaign

"Burma's neighbours have the power to help victims who remain desperately in need," said the advertisement, signed by former and current regional leaders and Nobel laureates, referring to Myanmar by its previous name.

Signatories included former Philippine president Corazon Aquino, East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi and former Czech president Vaclav Havel.

The advertisement said Myanmar's regime is risking thousands of lives by holding out on aid, although the junta has been giving increasing access to foreign relief workers despite its initial refusal to cooperate.

The advertisement singled out Myanmar's military leader General Than Shwe for criticism, saying the general had backed out on a May promise to allow all foreign aid workers into the country.

"Despite this, foreign supply ships with emergency and lifesaving equipment have been turned away or gone home. International relief continues to be slowed," the advertisement was quoted by AFP as saying.

"Burma's delta remains shattered, its people starving and in danger."

The May 2-3 cyclone left around 138,000 people dead and missing in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta region, according to the junta, and the UN estimates 2.4 million people are in need of aid.

The junta has refused entry to most Western aid workers but allowed in a 250-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) backed assessment team on June 2.

Local donors including volunteers and ...