M A I N   N E W S

US, EU want India, China to help out
Ashish Kumar Sen writes from Washington

The United States and the European Union on Wednesday urged India and China to use their clout to help the people of Myanmar, where the military junta is battling some of the worst anti-government demonstrations this week.

State Department spokesman Tom Casey noted that a statement from the U.S. and EU “specifically named” China and India and the nations of ASEAN “who are neighbors of and have great influence on the activities of the Burmese regime, to be able to also consider what they can do.”

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week discussed the situation in Burma with the Chinese foreign minister. Casey said she would also be meeting Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee later this week.

The U.S. and EU expressed their solidarity with the people of Burma and noted they were “deeply troubled by reports that security forces have fired on and attacked peaceful demonstrators and arrested many Buddhist monks and others.”

“We condemn all violence against peaceful demonstrators and remind the country’s leaders of their personal responsibility for their actions,” they said.

The statement called on the military authorities to stop violence and open a process of dialogue with pro-democracy leaders including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years.

Buddhist monks are leading the protests, which began last month against a surge in fuel prices. The junta responded with force and news reports from the region yesterday said some monks had been killed in the demonstrations.

On Wednesday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon dispatched his special envoy to meet with the leaders of the regime in Burma. 

India told to defuse crisis

New York, September 27
As the crackdown against the protesters in Myanmar escalated, world leaders today wanted regional powers like India to play a role in defusing the crisis and bring democracy in the troubled nation.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard told the ABC in Sydney that India, China and South-East Asia should put pressure on the “loathsome” military regime to halt the drive by security forces against mass street protests.

Howard said Canberra had instructed its representatives in China, India and key south-east asian nations to use their influence with the Burmese regime to counsel restraint and push for genuine reform.

Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said cooperation from India and China was crucial to ending unrest in Myanmar, saying South-East Asian nations alone could not defuse the situation.

Surayud told reporters in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit that ASEAN needed the backing of Myanmar’s two key regional allies — India and China — to resolve the crisis. — PTI

US sanctions on Myanmar officials

Washington, September 27
The US Treasury Department said on Thursday it imposed sanctions on 14 senior Myanmar government officials in the wake of Yangon’s military crackdown on political demonstrations.
The Treasury’s action, which follows an executive order by President George W. Bush authorising new sanctions against the Myanmar government, prohibits US financial transactions with the 14 officials and seeks to freeze any assets they may have under the US jurisdiction.