US 'working on Burma's neighbours'
A senior US diplomat said America was pushing China, India and Japan to use their influence to increase pressure on Burma’s military leaders after the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
Angry US politicians called for the United States and the world to do more; they also heaped criticism on China, Burma’s top trading partner, for not taking a stronger stand.
Scot Marciel, a deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia, told a Senate sub-committee that the junta’s squashing of demonstrations with gunfire, tear gas and baton charges had reinforced the Bush administration’s commitment to see that democracy was restored in Burma.
“We’re working to turn the international outrage into increased pressure on the regime,” he said, by pushing Burma’s Asian neighbours and others to do more.
Burma has vast oil and gas deposits that are coveted by its neighbours and by large companies around the world. India and China, reluctant to criticise the junta in the past, are seen as crucial to pressuring the military into accepting international demands.
Marciel said that while China was worried about the situation inside Burma, it had not yet shown a willingness to go beyond calls for restraint. He said a key test would be China’s reaction when the matter came before the United Nations Security Council.
After crushing large protests last week, the junta has now begun dragging people from their homes at night and letting others know they are marked for detention. The crisis began on August 19 with rallies against a fuel price increase; it escalated when Buddhist monks joined in, drawing world attention.
The government says 10 people were killed in the crackdown, but dissident groups put the toll at about 200. They say 6,000 people have been arrested, including thousands of monks.
The US has responded by imposing new sanctions on the junta’s leaders.
Democratic senator John Kerry, however, said sanctions by the US alone would not work without action by Burma’s neighbours and especially China, whose economic relationship with Burma was allowing the junta to survive.
“The killing has to stop, and China needs to make it clear that it’s unacceptable,” Kerry said.
Republican senator Mitch McConnell expressed frustration with China, India and Thailand for, he said, ignoring the generals’ abuse in order to do business with Burma.
Burma has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta came to power after snuffing out a 1988 pro-democracy movement against the previous military dictatorship, killing at least 3,000 people in the process.
