US Senate asks ASEAN leaders to suspend Myanmar from group

---

WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (AFP): The US Senate unanimously adopted a resolution Friday urging an upcoming ASEAN summit to suspend military-ruled Myanmar from the grouping for its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
The move came as President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda condemned Myanmar's military generals for the violent suppression in September, after talks at the White House.
First Lady Laura Bush, separately, urged foreign companies to shun a just opened Myanmar gem show aimed at reaping much-needed foreign currency amid tightening Western sanctions.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had issued a rare rebuke to Myanmar's military junta following the crackdown, expressing "revulsion" and demanding that the generals immediately stop the use of violence against protesters.
"It is now time for ASEAN to back its words with actions," said Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer from California, whose resolution was adopted Friday ahead of next week's ASEAN summit in Singapore.
Her resolution said the US Congress "would welcome a decision by ASEAN, consistent with its core documents and its new charter, to review Burma's membership in ASEAN and to consider appropriate disciplinary measures, including suspension, until such time as the Government of Burma has demonstrated an improved respect for and commitment to human rights."
ASEAN leaders, at their meeting, plan to sign a landmark charter, which seeks to promote human rights and democracy, but rights groups say there is no clear mechanism for the association to take action against Myanmar.
The regime told a UN rights investigator Friday that 14 people were killed in the military suppression of pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks in September in the main city of Yangon, described as the biggest anti-government demonstrations in nearly 20 years.
Amnesty International has estimated that 700 people arrested over the protests were still in detention, although the government has said only about 90 of the nearly 3,000 originally rounded up are still being held.
The crackdown was condemned globally, with the United States and European Union stepping up sanctions against Myanmar.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Bush and Fukuda, speaking after their meeting Friday, called for the release of Myanmar's arrested democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners, and called for "a genuine dialogue" between the military regime and democracy groups.
Bush said that Fukuda told him that Japan, which has canceled nearly five million dollars in grants to Myanmar, was reviewing other aid projects to ensure that they directly benefited the people of the tightly controlled nation.
Fukuda said he had been working to push democratization and improvement of the human rights situation in Myanmar.
Laura Bush urged firms to shun the potentially lucrative gem auction show opened in Myanmar's main city Yangon on Wednesday, saying, "Every Burmese stone bought, cut, polished, and sold sustains an illegitimate, repressive regime."