The EU has expressed concern over the Burmese military government’s continued detention of former student leaders, arrested last week, and is pressing for their immediate release.

A statement issued from Brussels on Wednesday noted the bloc’s “deep concern” over the recent arrests of five activists in Rangoon, and calls on the junta “to release the detained individuals immediately.”

The statement said that “the EU appreciates the aspirations of different civil society actors who try to promote peaceful reconciliation and transition to democracy in Burma.” It also stressed that “dialogue between various representatives of the society in Burma…is indispensable for the development of the country.”

The junta earlier accused the detained activists, all of whom are members of the 88 Generation Students group, of creating “instability and unrest,” and of having links with exiled activists-a charge the group has dismissed as groundless.

“If one studies carefully our recent statements, they will obviously see our willingness to promote national reconciliation through dialogue,” said Kyaw Min Yu, a member of the group. Activists in Rangoon and across the country are currently campaigning to collect signatures for a petition that calls for the activists’ release.

A “color campaign” is also in the works, in which the public is being asked to wear white colors to signify their support of the group’s efforts towards political development in the country. The new campaign will start on October 10 and run until the 44th birthday of group leader Min Ko Naing-one of the five detained activists-on October 18, the group said on Friday.

Although the planned campaign coincides with the reopening of the junta-sponsored National Convention, the group maintains that it has nothing to do with the event, but only seeks national reconciliation in the country. The military government has decreed that anyone deemed to have interfered with the proceedings of the convention will be punished.

The National Convention-the first step of the junta’s roadmap to democracy, which has been tasked with drafting a new constitution-has been widely criticized for its lack of delegates from ethnic opposition groups and the country’s main opposition party National League for Democracy.

“A genuine process of democratization can only be achieved by a dialogue between the government and all other political and civil society forces,” reads the EU statement.

The 25-nation bloc has drawn criticism for its perceived soft approach to Burma’s military regime. On Tuesday, the London-based Burma Campaign UK slammed the EU for failing to block companies from member states investing in Burma’s lucrative oil, gas and timber trade, claiming that such investments generate revenue for the military regime.