The United States imposed new sanctions on Myanmar's ruling junta Thursday as its Southeast Asian neighbors urged a peaceful resolution to growing political unrest in the country.The U.S. Treasury Department announced it is freezing the assets of 14 senior members of Myanmar's government.The State Department is also imposing travel restrictions against the same junta leaders."The Burmese government has got to stop thinking that this can be solved by police and military and start thinking about the need for some genuine reconciliation with the broad spectrum of political activists in the country," Christopher Hill, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said Thursday."The world is watching the people of Burma [now known as Myanmar] take to the streets to demand their freedom, and the American people stand in solidarity with these brave individuals," Bush said in a statement read by press secretary Dana Perino."I call on all nations that have influence with the regime to join us in supporting the aspirations of the Burmese people and to tell the Burmese junta to cease using force on its own people, who are peacefully expressing their desire for change," the statement said.
