United States lawmakers are mobilising to impose new sanctions on Burma after the military junta's latest crackdown against 1991 Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders, with some calling for ''regime change'' in the rogue state.

A growing number of members of Congress support sanctions against the authoritarian regime after repeated serious attacks on Suu Kyi (left) and her political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), last week.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell introduced the "Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003". The bill imposes a US import ban on goods manufactured in Burma.

Recent violence and detentions in the Southeast Asian country that culminated in Suu Kyi's arrest set off a wave of indignation that gives fresh impetus to long-standing efforts by a number of Congress members to impose sanctions on Burma.

"It is past time to hold the SPDC (the ruling State Peace and Development Council) accountable for the many injustices it has inflicted on the people of Burma," McConnell said Tuesday in Congress.

"It is time for a regime change in Burma," he stressed.

Economic isolation

The new bill can be seen as another step in further isolating the military junta economically. The administration of former president Bill Clinton imposed a ban on new investment by US companies doing business in Burma in 1997, and activists have urged a comprehensive ban on trade with the country.

The proposed ban on goods made in Burma would be in place until certain conditions are met and certified by President George W Bush, including measurable progress to end human rights abuses, the release of all political prisoners and the achievement of an agreement between SPDC, the NLD and ethnic minorities to transfer power to a popularly elected civilian government.

The legislation would also freeze the SPDC's assets in the United States, and would expand a visa ban to former and present SPDC leaders.

The bill requires Washington to oppose and vote against loans or other assistance proposed for Burma by international financial institutions, such as the World Bank. It also encourages the Secretary of State to promote greater awareness of the SPDC's abuses.

Earlier this month, congressmen Peter King and Michael Capuano harshly criticised what they described as increasingly violent attacks on Suu Kyi and her supporters by the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the junta's political arm, and suggested that they would seek stronger sanctions if such harassment persisted.

Escalating attacks

The military junta has long been assailed by human rights organisations as one of the world's worst rights abusers.

In 1990, it permitted an election in which Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD Party won more than 80 percent of the vote, but the army refused to recognise the results or transfer power. Instead, it initiated a crackdown against the opposition and, since then, Suu Kyi has been repeatedly put under house arrest.

The violence against the opposition leader and the reported killing of several people and injuries suffered by dozens more marked the latest in a series of escalating attacks against Suu Kyi and the NLD.

It was hoped that her release from house arrest last year would intensify a dialogue that began when she was still being held, but in recent months the opposition leader indicated those efforts had not borne fruit.

Suu Kyi had been touring the country to meet her supporters. While tens of thousands of people had turned out to greet her, the USDA had also mobilised protests against her. She and at least 17 NLD officials were detained after a clash in the town of Ye-u last Friday.

"This is the regime's most serious crackdown on democracy in years," said AungDin, director of policy for the Free Burma Coalition, in a statement.

"This latest outrage proves yet again that Burma's regime has lied to the international community and lied to the Burmese people."

True nature

In the House of Representatives, Tom Lantos, senior Democrat on the International Relations Committee, also strongly condemned the ruling regime and said he too is sponsoring legislation for an import ban.

"With this brutal action, Burma's thug regime has abandoned its international charm offensive and showed its true nature," Lantos said.

Suu Kyi has a number of powerful defenders in Congress, who co-introduced the new legislation earlier this week.

"Although in general I do not support the use of trade embargos as an effective instrument of foreign policy, in certain circumstances and when faced with certain conditions I believe they are necessary and proper and can, in fact, provide effective leverage," Senator Dianne Feinstein said Wednesday.

"Burma, I believe, is such a case and an import ban is a proper and much needed step to take."

A ban would also be in line with the decision of 40 US companies to boycott Burma products. Under pressure from consumers, so many firms have banned clothing manufactured in Burma that US imports from the nation dropped 28 percent in the past year - a sharp reversal compared to a previous surge in imports.

Suu Kyi, has repeatedly called for foreign businesses to avoid Burma, saying that sanctions "send a strong political and economic message" to its dictatorship. - IPS