UNITED NATIONS - U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari warned Myanmar on Friday of possible serious international repercussions from its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and urged the ruling junta to release all political prisoners.
Gambari was reporting to the U.N. Security Council on a four-day visit he made to Myanmar sparked by concern over the violent suppression of last week's protests.
He said there were "continuing and disturbing reports of abuses being committed by security and non-uniformed elements, particularly at night during curfew, including raids on private homes, beatings, arbitrary arrests, and disappearances."
Gambari also said there were unconfirmed reports that the number of casualties was "much higher" than the dozen people reported killed by authorities.
He said the Myanmar government must recognize that what happened there "can have serious international repercussions."
Western countries are pushing for action by the Security Council, such as through sanctions, but veto-wielding China has said the situation in Myanmar is an internal affair and it opposes Security Council action.
Despite that, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told the council: "If the Burmese government does not take appropriate steps ... the United States is prepared to introduce a resolution in the Security Council imposing sanctions."
"We must all be prepared to consider measures such as arms embargoes," Khalilzad said, urging Myanmar's neighbors to exert the maximum pressure in the meantime to get the military government there to cooperate with Gambari's efforts.
China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya, however, reiterated Beijing's view that Myanmar posed no threat to international peace and security, a condition for Security Council action. China neighbors Myanmar and is one of the country's few allies and major trading partners.
Pressure, he said, "will not help address the problem but might lead to mistrust and confrontation."
