By CONSTANT BRAND,

AP

Posted: 2007-09-25 10:22:28

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) – The international community appealed to Myanmar ’s military leaders on Tuesday not to crack down on tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators carrying out the boldest protests seen in the Southeast Asian country in nearly two decades.

Soon after the end of Tuesday’s demonstration in Yangon, held in defiance of government orders, truckloads of soldiers were seen on the streets, according to diplomats and ethnic guerrillas.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly, U.S. President George W. Bush  tightened economic sanctions against leaders of the regime and also urged other nations to apply pressure on Myanmar.

Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the protests in Myanmar, also known as Burma, had shown the failure of the country’s regime to demonstrate that real political change was possible.

“It is vital that the Burmese authorities exercise restraint in the face of the demonstrators, and seize the opportunity to launch a process of real political reform,” Brown wrote in a letter sent to U.N. Secretary-General Ban-Ki-moon and Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose country holds the EU presidency.

“It is disturbing that they are now threatening to use force against the demonstrators,” Brown wrote. “Violent suppression of the demonstrations would be a tragedy and another missed opportunity for Burma.”

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Aung San Suu Kyi should take her place as elected leader of Burma. Suu Kyi, who is held under house arrest in Yangon by the military junta, appeared outside her house last week as a gesture of support the marchers.

After praising her public appearance, Miliband said, “I think it will be a hundred times better when she takes her rightful place as the elected leader of a free and democratic Burma.”

Swedish Aid Minister Gunilla Carlsson said the eyes of the world were now on Myanmar to see how the junta will handle the protesters’ call for reform.

“I want to express our strong support for the Burmese people in their efforts to create a democratic future. The Burmese regime now has the opportunity to start a peaceful dialogue and respect people’s freedom of expression and gathering. We encourage the regime to take that chance,” Carlsson said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the U.N. Security Council again to consider the situation in Myanmar, and suggested it might be necessary to toughen sanctions.

“We can only hope that things continue there without bloodshed,” Merkel told reporters in New York, where she was attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting.

In Paris, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Frederic Desagneaux warned Myanmar’s ruling generals they “will be held responsible for the security of the demonstrators, held responsible by the international community.”

Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu praised the “courage of the people of Burma” in backing the demonstrations, which have grown steadily and are now led by Buddhist monks.

“It is so like the rolling mass action that eventually toppled apartheid” in South Africa, Tutu said in a statement.

He backed international calls for the release of all political prisoners and for a peaceful resolution to the protests.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Aung San Suu Kyi should take her place as elected leader of Burma. Suu Kyi, who is held under house arrest in Yangon by the military junta, appeared outside her house last week as a gesture of support for the marchers.

After praising her public appearance, Miliband said, “I think it will be a hundred times better when she takes her rightful place as the elected leader of a free and democratic Burma.”

Thailand’s Surin Pitsuwan, who is expected to take over the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Jan. 1, voiced hope at U.N. headquarters in New York that the massive protests would lead to change.

“We do hope in ASEAN that things will not get out of hand, will not become too violent, but would lead to some kind of a congregation, some kind of change,” said Surin.

Secretary-General Ban praised the peaceful nature of the Myanmar protests and voiced his hopes that authorities in the country would “seize this opportunity to engage without delay in dialogue with all the relevant parties to the national reconciliation process.”

European Union  spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said the 27-nation bloc was watching the situation closely, but that it was not now considering an expansion of sanctions against the junta.

“So far no violence has been used to quell peaceful demonstrations, however we are also concerned by the increasing military presence on the streets,” Altafaj Tardio told reporters. “We are urging all stakeholders, particularly the government of Burma/Myanmar to exercise maximum restraint.”

Stability and peace “can only be achieved through political reform,” said a statement issued by the office of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who was at the United Nations in New York where Myanmar was being discussed at the opening of the U.N.’s General Assembly. Solana urged Myanmar’s government to show “tangible progress” in seeking political dialogue with opposition groups, and to release Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.