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Updated Sunday, September 30, 2007 0:00 am TWN, By Chisaki Watanabe, AP

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Nations urge Myanmar to end crackdown

TOKYO -- Myanmar’s main political and economic allies, China and Japan, joined other nations around the world in urging the country to use peaceful means to restore stability. The United States called on “all civilized nations” to press Myanmar’s leaders to end their crackdown on demonstrators.

Japan, Myanmar’s biggest aid contributor, lodged a protest over the death of a Japanese journalist, who was among at least nine people killed Thursday when soldiers fired automatic weapons into a crowd of unarmed demonstrators. A special envoy from the United Nations arrived in Myanmar Saturday to persuade the junta to start a dialogue with the opposition.

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said in a telephone conversation with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that China was “very much concerned about the current situation” in Myanmar, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“China hopes all parties in Myanmar exercise restraint and use peaceful means to restore its stability as soon as possible,” Wen said. He added the international community should offer constructive help to resolve the situation.

About 300 die-hard protesters took to the streets in Myanmar Saturday as troops consolidated their control. Internet connections were cut.

The White House accused the government of attempting to hide the violence, and urged “all civilized nations” to pressure the junta to stop it.

“They don’t want the world to see what is going on there,” White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said Friday.

Bush and Brown talked about the situation via a video teleconference on Friday and agreed on the importance of the visit to Myanmar by U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari.

Stanzel said they agreed on “the need for countries around the world to continue to make their views clear to the junta.”

Gambari arrived at the Yangon airport Saturday afternoon and was expected to head immediately to Naypyitaw, where the country’s military leaders are based.

Western diplomats were already complaining that Gambari would probably not be able to meet with senior opposition members or the country’s leader, Gen. Than Shwe. His schedule was being set by Myanmar’s government.

“After talks I’ve had with Premier Wen, President Bush and with other leaders around the world, I hope the Burmese regime can be told today by Mr. Gambari just how seriously we view this — and that there is a huge anger across the world about the deaths and about the violence that’s been perpetrated against the Burmese people,” Brown told reporters Saturday.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana was quoted by Germany’s Bild am Sonntag weekly as calling on China to exert more influence on Myanmar’s leadership.

“All country’s who have an influence on (Myanmar’s) rulers must act now. This is of course true for immediate neighbors, such as China,” Solana was quoted as saying in an advance release of the interview, to be published Sunday.

Solana was quoted as saying that the EU is pushing for a process of reconciliation, but warned that Europeans were also checking what measures could be taken if the military uses further violence against the demonstrators.

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