Amnesty International seeks U.N. action

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- A top official from Amnesty International is calling on the U.N. Security Council to act immediately on the developing security crisis in Myanmar.

Irene Khan, Amnesty International's secretary-general, said the U.N. Security Council should take steps to resolve the human-rights crisis and erupting violence in Myanmar to avoid further bloodshed.

"The high risk of a crackdown against the demonstrators makes it imperative for the international community to act urgently," Khan said in a statement. "The military government in Myanmar must be told in no uncertain terms that there will be dire costs if they repeat the violent repression as in 1988."

Khan also expressed that the U.N. mission should discuss how to resolve the alleged human-rights problems in the country with the Myanmar authorities including the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

Peaceful demonstrations sparked by sharp increases in fuel prices have recently grown in size. Myanmar security forces used forceful method Wednesday in Yangonin, cracking down on the mass protests against the military junta, killing at least four people including three Buddhist monks.

Some officials say the mass demonstrations are comparable in scale to those in 1988, when security forces broke up massive pro-democracy demonstrations with deadly violence, killing thousands.