Advocates urge support for Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar, June 20 (UPI) -- The future of Myanmar may lay in the hands of international powers willing to negotiate with the troubled country's military regime, advocates say.

The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that human rights advocates are urging Western governments to become more actively involved with the Myanmar government in order to improve the quality of life for the country's residents.

The advocates, along with U.S. congressional leaders and dissidents, also support increased pressure on Myanmar's trading partners, such as China and Singapore, to push the military regime toward making wholesale changes.

U.S. and European officials have attempted to bring about change in Myanmar with a decade of sanctions, but U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in February such efforts were not working.

The Journal said another key concern for the international community regarding Myanmar are analysts' predictions the country could soon become a nuclear power.

Russia and Myanmar reached an agreement in 2007 paving the way for a nuclear research center and reactor in the southeastern Asian country formerly known as Burma.