US House joins Senate in seeking UN action against Myanmar

US House joins Senate in seeking UN action against Myanmar

Oct 8 (AFP) - The US House of Representatives passed a resolution calling on the United Nations Security Council to take immediate action to restore democracy and the rule of law in military-ruled Myanmar.

"With the United Kingdom and United States chairing the United Nations Security Council, respectively, in October and November, we should use this opportunity to press for action by the Security Council on Burma," said Republican representative Elton Gallegly, who proposed the bill.

A near identical resolution on Myanmar, previously called Burma, was adopted by the Senate last month.

The Yangon government has come under constant criticism from the United States, Britain and other Western powers for human rights abuses, including the detention of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and the clampdown on her National League for Democracy (NLD).

"The regime poses a serious threat to regional stability of Southeast Asia," Gallegly said, citing cross-border flow of illegal narcotics, trafficked persons, unchecked spread of HIV/AIDS and an exodus of 200,000 refugees into neighboring Thailand and Bangladesh.

In addition, he charged that the Yangon government had attempted to acquire military hardware from nuclear-armed North Korea, China and Russia.

"Burma is ruled by one of the world's most brutal military dictatorships," Gallegly said.

The United States in recent months has stepped up pressure on Yangon to release Aung San Suu Kyi after imposing wide-ranging sanctions on the impoverished country.

The NLD won elections in 1990 by a landslide but their victory was ignored by the military, which has ruled Myanmar since a 1962 coup.

The European Union warned Thursday it would slap tougher sanctions on Myanmar for failing to heed its demand for the release of the opposition leader.

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