European Union officials appealed to Burma's military junta on Tuesday not to launch a crackdown against tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators, urging the government to seek negotiations to solve the showdown.
EU spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said the 27-nation bloc was "very concerned" about the situation in Myanmar adding EU officials were watching the situation closely, but said the EU was at this time not considering an expansion of sanctions against the junta.
US President George W Bush was expected to announce additional sanctions later Tuesday meant to further isolate key members of the junta and those who provide them financial aid.
"So far no violence has been used to quell peaceful demonstrations, however we are also concerned by the increasing military presence on the streets," Altafaj Tardio told reporters. "We are urging all stakeholders, particularly the government of Burma/Myanmar to exercise maximum restraint."
Stability and peace "can only be achieved through political reform," said a statement issued by the office of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who was at the United Nations in New York where Burma was being discussed at the opening of the UN's General Assembly. Solana urged Burma's government to show "tangible progress" in seeking political dialogue with opposition groups, and to release political prisoners including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy who has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years.
EU nations extended a series of diplomatic and economic sanctions against Burma in April for another year to protest the lack of political reforms and its dismal human rights record.
Sanctions were first imposed in 1996 and include a ban on travel to Europe for top government officials, an assets freeze and a ban on arms sales to the Asian country.
EU spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said the 27-nation bloc was "very concerned" about the situation in Myanmar adding EU officials were watching the situation closely, but said the EU was at this time not considering an expansion of sanctions against the junta.
US President George W Bush was expected to announce additional sanctions later Tuesday meant to further isolate key members of the junta and those who provide them financial aid.
"So far no violence has been used to quell peaceful demonstrations, however we are also concerned by the increasing military presence on the streets," Altafaj Tardio told reporters. "We are urging all stakeholders, particularly the government of Burma/Myanmar to exercise maximum restraint."
Stability and peace "can only be achieved through political reform," said a statement issued by the office of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who was at the United Nations in New York where Burma was being discussed at the opening of the UN's General Assembly. Solana urged Burma's government to show "tangible progress" in seeking political dialogue with opposition groups, and to release political prisoners including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy who has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years.
EU nations extended a series of diplomatic and economic sanctions against Burma in April for another year to protest the lack of political reforms and its dismal human rights record.
Sanctions were first imposed in 1996 and include a ban on travel to Europe for top government officials, an assets freeze and a ban on arms sales to the Asian country.
