In a unanimous vote of 66 to 0, the European Union Parliament passed a resolution calling on European Union member countries to do everything in their powers to achieve passage of a binding Security Council resolution on Burma.

Given the immediacy of the crisis in Burma, the September 6th resolution states the convening of an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council would be an appropriate measure.

Coming after weeks of unrest and arbitrary detentions inside Burma related to the government’s spur of the moment increase in fuel and energy costs, the resolution deplores the Burmese government for its lack of foresight and economic planning, especially given that 90 percent of the population is already said to exist below or near the poverty line, while there remain vast domestic energy resources available to the regime.

Referring to the necessity of international action, Minister Colm Burke, echoing the words of Edmund Burke, told the assembly, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. The international community is doing little, while the Burma Junta is perpetrating atrocities against its own people. How long can we justify allowing this evil to reign?”

The resolution goes on to state the junta’s National Convention and constitutional process “lacks credibility”, and condemns the actions of junta-backed civilian defense forces, Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and Swan Arrshin, in confronting peaceful protestors, especially in actions directed against women.

There must be a “cessation of the current illegitimate constitutional process, and its replacement by a fully representative National Convention including the NLD and other political parties and groups”, reads the resolution.

China, Russia and India are all urged to use their economic leverage with the regime to foment positive change inside Burma, while the resolution asks that current business interests be suspended if shown to be linked with human rights abuses.

The resolution does, however, acknowledge the failure of sanctions and a policy of isolation toward Burma, though supportive of their intent, and therefore encourages a reworking of these strategies.

“An effective policy should aim at bringing the country back into the international community. As regards engaging the regime, there is a consensus more needs to be done, not less. Isolation will only make the population pay a greater price”, stated European Union Commissioner Viviane Reding on Thursday night.

However, the European Commission did warn that it views Burma, in addition to the threat it poses to its civilian population as a result of government initiatives, as a threat to regional and international security. Such an interpretation of the extent of the threat posed by Burma was at the center of differences between those that favored a January Security Council resolution on Burma and those that felt the venue inappropriate.

Meanwhile a report, presented last week to the EU Parliament by a consortium of Ministers, councils the body to act as a moral guarantor of the EU’s external actions by effectively applying strategies of ‘soft power’ vis-à-vis Burma. ‘Soft power’, as developed by its philosophical creator Professor Joseph Nye, pursues end results largely through ideological means.

The report advocates that human rights must always take precedence over geopolitical interests. The resolution itself calls on the immediate release of all political prisoners, including National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.