US calls for renewed pressure on Myanmar for democratic reform

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday called for renewed international pressure on Myanmar to end a crackdown on opposition and restore civilian rule. In a news conference at the State Department, she said that attention by other countries has waned since the country violently repressed protests by Buddhist monks in September. "Frankly, as the international community unfortunately sometimes does, that energy dissipates," she said. Later in the day, the US State Department said that Myanmar had arrested at least six student activists this week, demonstrating that the crackdown is continuing.