British prime minister David Cameron called for sanctions against Burma to be eased today after holding talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Making a historic visit to the former British colony, Mr Cameron insisted that moves towards democratic reform should be rewarded.
He was standing alongside the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in the garden of the lakeside villa where she spent 15 years under house arrest. “I think it is right to suspend sanctions that there are against Burma,” he said. “To suspend them, not to lift them.”
Mr Cameron continued: “[Burma] shouldn’t be as poor as it is, it shouldn’t have suffered under dictatorship for as long as it has and things don’t have to be that way. There is the real prospect of change and I’m very much committed to working with you in trying to help make sure that your country makes those changes.
“I met with President Thien Sein today and there are prospects for change in Burma and I think it is right for the rest of the world to respond to those changes," the prime minister said.
“Of course we must respond with care, we must always be sceptical and questioning because we want to know those changes are irreversible, but as we have discussed, I think it is right to suspend the sanctions that there are against Burma - to suspend them, not to lift them - and obviously not to include the arms embargo."
Responding, Ms Suu Kyi paid tribute to the “help friends have given us over these last decades, especially Britain and other very close friends”.
She added: “They have always understood our need for democracy, our desire to take our place in the world and the aspirations of our people.
“We have always shared the belief that what is necessary for Burma is an end to all ethnic conflict, respect for human rights - which would include the release of political prisoners - and the kind of development aid which would help empower our people and take our country further towards the road to genuine democracy,” Ms Suu Kyi said.
Mr Cameron said he had invited Miss Suu Kyi to visit Britain in June. Answering press questions today, she said: “Two years ago, I would have said thank you for the invitation but sorry. Now I am able to say perhaps. That is great progress.”
The British leader arrived in Burma today in what is believed to be the first visit to the former colony by a British prime minister.
Earlier today, he said he wanted to meet Ms Suu Kyi, describing her as “a shining example for people who yearn for freedom, for democracy, for progress”
PA