20 Nov 2007, 0412 hrs IST,AFP

NEW YORK: Human Rights Watch called on Monday for the international community to halt new investment in Myanmar's oil and gas sector to punish the regime for its violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.

The human rights watchdog urged the United Nations, Southeast Asian countries, the United States, European Union, China and India to act, saying revenues from the industry were helping to keep Myanmar's military rulers in power.

"Burma's generals act as if they are immune from worldwide condemnation because they're still getting cash from foreign-financed oil and gas projects," said the watchdog's Arvind Ganesan, using the former name for Myanmar.

"It's time to cut them off," added Ganesan, director of the New York-based rights group's business and human rights program. The group also called for targeted sanctions on companies owned and controlled by the regime.

It identified 27 firms in 13 countries as having interests in Myanmar's oil and gas fields, 13 of which were wholly or partly owned by foreign governments.

"The Burmese military government relies heavily on the oil and gas sector to sustain itself in power," the group said.

"Lucrative revenues from gas sales allow it to ignore demands to return to civilian rule and improve the country's human rights record," it added.

Myanmar's gas revenues were one billion dollars higher in 2006 than the year before, mostly due to increased commodity prices, Human Rights Watch said, adding that revenues in 2007 were likely to be even higher.

The group urged the international community to put pressure on countries doing business with Myanmar.

"Burma's generals have used the promise of oil and gas supplies to buy the silence of energy-hungry countries, including China and India," said Ganesan.

"Those governments should be told their international standing will suffer if they do business as usual with Burma," he added.

The group said companies from Australia, the British Virgin Islands, China, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and the United States invested in Myanmar's oil and gas sector.

Protests that began in August snowballed in September when Buddhist monks began leading marches that turned into the biggest anti-government demonstrations in nearly 20 years, leaving at least 13 people dead.

The US government has twice tightened sanctions on Myanmar since the clampdown, imposing an asset freeze on key junta figures and blacklisting companies and individuals believed linked to the regime.

The European Union earlier on Monday imposed fresh sanctions on the import of timber, gems and metals from Myanmar.