By RAF CASERT,

AP

Posted: 2007-10-03 12:44:48

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) – The European Union  sought to turn up the pressure on Myanmar  on Wednesday, by toughening sanctions and trying to draw India and China into a more robust stance against the military regime.

The 27-nation EU agreed to expand sanctions against the junta to protest the continued crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators.

Ambassadors backed an expanded visa ban for members of the military leadership, and extended bans on key exports like tropical timber and gems, but not oil.

Sensing it would take a global approach to contain the junta, the EU also called on regional powers China and India to help isolate the leadership.

The urgency for international pressure increased Wednesday. After the pro-democracy uprising was broken up, people were dragged from their homes at night and the junta let others know they were marked for arrest.

Italian Premier Romano Prodi called for “stronger and more vigorous” action from the international community, saying that “the situation is calm on the surface, but underneath it is disastrous.”

Prodi also said he wrote to the leaders of China and India to urge them to help solve the crisis.

Both China and India have significant economic stakes in Myanmar, mainly in the country’s booming energy sector. China is the largest single investor in Myanmar and its projects include a pipeline delivering gas to its energy-hungry south.

The two governments, which have been reluctant to criticize the junta in the past, are seen by officials as well placed to pressure it into accepting international demands.

The EU on Wednesday wanted to reinforce that point. “We passed very serious messages,” said EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana. “One with China and one with India, two countries that are fundamental when we are talking about Myanmar,” he said.