The Green party today called for immediate action by the UN Security Council to quash the continuing violence in Burma against pro-democracy protesters.
Foreign affairs spokesman Ciarán Cuffe said the party had written to the Burmese consulate in London requesting the junta allow the thus-far peaceful protests to take place and called on the international community to "take immediate action to quell the increasingly violent actions of the ruling military junta in Burma".
"We now know that up to ten people have been killed by the ruling junta's violent crackdown on the peaceful pro-democracy protests that have been taking place for the past number of days," he said.
"The international community has a responsibility to send a clear and unequivocal message to the military junta in Burma that such human rights violations are not acceptable," he added.
Labour party spokesman on European Affairs and Human Rights, Joe Costello echoed these sentiments and said the Government "should seek an urgent meeting of the Council of Ministers of the EU Member States to emphasise the seriousness of the crisis in Burma and to determine action by the European Union".
"The scenes of violence are growing daily in Burma and the international community is standing idly by," said Mr Costello.
"The pro-democracy movement was savagely suppressed 20 years ago by the military junta with more than 3,000 innocent civilians killed. The present violent attacks on monks and civilians peacefully protesting against the military regime are shocking," he added.
Burma Action Ireland is to hold a protest in Dublin tomorrow over the military junta's clampdown on democracy activists.
Organisers say they wish to show Ireland's support for the people of Burma and to maintain international pressure on Burma's military to end violence and start a process of national reconciliation.
The protest begins at 2pm on O'Connell Street. Other Burma solidarity groups are to hold similar peaceful protests across Europe tomorrow.
The leader of Burma's National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 2000. The award was accepted by her son as she is under house arrest.
Burmese state media has said nine people were killed in Rangoon yesterday, but Australian Ambassador Bob Davis said the real toll could be far higher. Asked on Australian radio for an unofficial estimate of the number of those killed, he said: "Several multiples of the 10 acknowledged by the authorities."