Senator Mitch McConnell, one of the bill's 16 sponsors, suggested that the sanctions remain in place until Myanmar's military rulers embarked "on an irreversible path towards reconciliation and democracy,"

Apparently referring to the junta's recent decision to free several opposition figures and allow them to meet, McConnell said the junta was "window dressing" ahead of a convention it planned to hold on May 17 which he called a "charade."

The junta is keen for as many political parties and ethnic groups as possible to attend the convention to draft a new constitution, which is the first step in its so-called "roadmap to democracy."

A previous convention collapsed in 1995 when the opposition walked out.

McConnell said even if Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's opposition leader, were released before that date, "it is not sufficient."

This is because "there are no guarantees for her security, no assurances that she will be able to freely express here views to the nation or to meet with ethnic leaders, and no sure bet that the junta will grant visas to journalists to travel to Burma," McConnell said, using Myanmar's old name.

The resolution was to renew sanctions imposed last year after Aung San Suu Kyi's detention following an ambush on her National League for Democracy (NLD) supporters by a junta-backed mob.

In a statement, the United States Campaign for Burma group, which is pushing for freedom in that country, called for swift passage of the sanctions, which include bans on imports and financial services.

"These sanctions will deny my country's military regime part of the hard currency it needs to stay in power," said U Mya Win, an official of the group and an elected NLD member of parliament forced to flee Myanmar after serving nearly 10 years behind bars as a political prisoner.

In a surprise move this week, leaders of the NLD were allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi and several NLD leaders were freed.

NLD secretary U Lwin said Thursday that relations with the government had improved and that the party would continue to push for Aung San Suu Kyi's release.

But McConnell said the senators learned from credible sources Wednesday that 11 NLD supporters arrested in the wake of last year's premeditated attack were sentenced by the junta from seven to 22 years in prison. This was in addition to the death sentence given to a Myanmar sports writer who had complained about soccer related corruption and to three other men for having contact with the International Labor Organisation, a UN agency.

Two US legislators last week alleged that the Myanmar government used rape as a weapon of war, citing a new report by a Thailand-based Burmese ethnic-minority group, the Karen Women's Organization.

The report documented more than 100 recent rapes by the regime's soldiers.

US President George W Bush discussed the situation in Myanmar with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a telephone conversation Tuesday.

Myanmar had abruptly cancelled plans to attend international talks on prospects for reform due in Bangkok this month, forcing their postponement.