6 October 2007
Gordon Brown has promised that the world will not forget the people of Burma and their "courage and dignity" in opposing the country’s "brutal regime".
In a Downing Street statement, the PM said there was "grave concern" over the fate of thousands of protesters, including monks and nuns, who had been arrested by the authorities. As demonstrators held pro-democracy rallies around the world, he called for tougher EU sanctions and demanded that Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader currently under house arrest in Rangoon, be allowed to play a "central role" in a process of reconciliation.
The PM said:
"Today is above all about repeating a firm message: the world has not forgotten - and will not forget - the people of Burma. We have not forgotten their courage and dignity, taking to the streets in the face of a brutal regime. We have not forgotten the guns and batons, the arrests and murders, which met them.
"The job of all those demonstrating today - campaigners, the media, politicians, members of the public - is to keep up the pressure for change."
Mr Brown met with Burmese monks and pro-democracy campaigners in Downing Street this morning as thousands of demonstrators made their way to Trafalgar Square. The PM promised to give continued support to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who held talks with the regime’s leaders earlier this week.
Burma has been under military rule since 1962 and is largely isolated from the international community. Previous demonstrations against the ruling junta have been violently suppressed, including in 1988 when many thousands of people are believed to have been killed.
Last night the Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a statement on the recent unrest and released information it has gathered on the potential severity of the current crackdown.
PM’s statement in full
Today is above all about repeating a firm message: the world has not forgotten - and will not forget - the people of Burma.
We have not forgotten their courage and dignity, taking to the streets in the face of a brutal regime. We have not forgotten the guns and batons, the arrests and murders, which met them.
We believe that there have been many more killings than the regime admit. And appalling attacks on monks like that on the night of 25 September at the Ngwekayan monastery in Rangoon, when at least 80 monks were arrested. Or the five raids in Kachin State alone, where the authorities abducted 295 monks.
And we have very grave concerns about hundreds, possibly thousands, of monks, nuns and others who have simply disappeared. There is strong evidence to suggest that hundreds are now held in three or more detention facilities in the Rangoon area - these include the Institute of Technology, the Mingladon detention facility and the old race course. I have asked my officials to continue monitoring this situation, and I encourage NGOs and other governments to do so too. The demonstrators who have made sacrifices, and the brave citizens and journalists who have risked so much to get images and information to the outside world, deserve no less. I have also sent material we have received to the UN Secretary General - it is important that he sees the scale of the violence.
The job of all those demonstrating today - campaigners, the media, politicians, members of the public - is to keep up the pressure for change.
For my part I am committed to:
- Securing tougher EU sanctions, including a ban on future investment, on top of the sanctions against individuals and their assets and measures aimed at specific commodities.
- supporting Secretary General Ban as he redoubles his personal effort - with his envoy Professor Gambari - towards a process of reconciliation and democracy. That process must have Aung San Suu Kyi playing a central role. It will have to include the leaders from opposition and minority groups. And it will need to have international legitimacy. If this process of change begins we stand ready - as the international community - to support the recovery of Burma.
- maintaining the UN Security Council’s active vigilance and engagement.
- continuing to use my contacts with leaders in the region to encourage them to play their part with the Burmese leadership.
I salute and share the commitment of those who will send such a powerful message of support to the people of Burma today - and of condemnation to the regime that seeks to stifle those same Burmese voices.
Image copyright: Reuters
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