British PM supports change in Myanmar sanctions

British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday that he would support suspending the European Union's economic sanctions on Myanmar, which are to be reviewed by the end of the month.

Cameron spoke after meetings with the country's president, Thein Sein, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a longtime political prisoner who was recently elected to parliament.

However, Cameron specified that he did not want to see an arms embargo on Myanmar be lifted as part of any easing of sanctions.

The embargo, along with economic and political sanctions, was imposed during the rule of the country's previous military government.

"We know there is still much, much more needed to be done, as the president himself has acknowledged, that there are more changes that need to be made," Cameron said at a news conference after meeting with Suu Kyi.

"The right thing for the world to do is to encourage the change and to believe in the possibility of peaceful progress toward democracy."

By talking of suspending rather than lifting sanctions, Cameron was making clear the move would be a provisional one that could easily be withdrawn, if judged necessary.

Western nations have held out the prospect of easing sanctions if Thein Sein, a former general who retains close ties to the military, continues the political liberalization he began after taking office a year ago.

Foreign investors as well as Myanmar entrepreneurs expect a business boom when restrictions are lifted.

Cameron's visit is the first in memory by a British prime minister, and may actually be the first ever by a serving British head of government since Myanmar obtained its independence from Britain in 1948, when it was called Burma.

The European Union is expected next week to review its policies on economic sanctions on Myanmar, which were imposed because of repression under the previous military rule.