Burma’s military government has refused offers of international relief aid in the wake of the tsunamis that hit south and Southeast Asia, including large areas of southern Burma and the Irrawaddy delta.

A statement Thursday released by a meeting of international relief organizations said that the government’s ministries of health and social welfare had said that they “believe there is no need for an emergency operation (for Burma). They can cope with the present situation.”

Representatives of about 15 organizations attended the meeting. They included representatives from UN agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNICEF, WHO, MSF-Holland, the Myanmar Red Cross Society and from three western embassies.

The known death toll from Burmese areas hit by the tsunamis and a concurrent earthquake stands at 86, although the government says 36 people were killed. The government statistics list 45 people injured and 14 missing.

Thursday’s statement said: “(The) overall agreed assessment of the situation is that Myanmar [Burma] has been fortunate to be spared a major disaster in comparison with neighboring countries.”

The death toll throughout the region soared Friday to 121,000 and is still rising drastically as rescue workers recover more bodies in shattered coastal towns and villages from Sumatra in the east to Sri Lanka and India in the west.

“We are very lucky,” said a senior official of Myanmar Red Cross Society who attended the meeting on Thursday and monitors disaster relief operations inside the country.  

Irrawaddy Division, southwest of Rangoon, was the most severely affected area. Forty seven people died there, 45 were injured and more than 700 homes were damaged. More than 3,500 people are affected in some way by the disaster.

In southernmost Tenasserim Division, 27 people died and about 270 houses were destroyed. Twelve people died in western Arakan State.

The state-run Myanma Alin reported Friday that the Coco Islands, originally thought to have been hard hit, were least damaged by the earthquake and tsunamis. The daily also said that the authorities had distributed cash, food and other material aid to affected families in Irrawaddy and Tenasserim divisions.