LONDON: Prime Minister Gordon Brown declared on Monday that Britain "will not turn away" from Myanmar as he outlined measures his government will be taking to press for a return to democracy there.
In a statement released ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg later on Monday, Brown called for tougher sanctions against Myanmar's military regime, and said he was making proposals for increased financial aid to the former British colony if it transitioned to democracy.

"We cannot forget the images on our television screens of monks and ordinary citizens in Burma protesting; nor the death and human rights abuses we know are still taking place," Brown said.

"As I have made clear, we will not turn away." Brown reiterated Western demands that the Myanmar regime must "start a process of reconciliation with the opposition that includes (pro-democracy leader) Aung San Suu Kyi" and "end the violence and release political detainees."

"Burma must take clear steps towards the return of democracy." He added that any progress that the regime makes towards democratic rule must be monitored by the UN Security Council, which he said should consider "further measures" if the pace of reform proves too slow.

Britain is among the most vocal critics of the Myanmar military regime, and refuses to refer to it by the name its rulers chose in 1989, choosing instead to call it Burma, the name preferred by the country's pro-democracy movement. Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband have repeatedly called for the regime to transition to democracy in the former British colony since Buddhist monks led up to 100,000 people onto the streets of Yangon in September.

The subsequent crackdown by the generals, who have ruled this country since 1962, led to deaths and the arrests of more than 2,000. Concern is growing for the safety of about 1,000 people still in custody, after a Thailand-based monitoring group said last week that one activist died after being tortured during interrogation.

Brown said that at the Luxembourg meeting, Britain will push for "tough sanctions, including on individuals and commodities like timber, gems and metals."

"We will also press for a ban on future investment linked to progress with the reconciliation talks."

He called for a review of the EU arms embargo on Myanmar, and said Britain would begin talks with its international allies on a UN arms ban. British ministers were also being sent to China, India, Japan and other ASEAN countries to work together on a plan to support a transition to democracy and reconciliation.

On the economic front, Brown, who was Britain's finance minister for a decade, said he had written to leaders of the Group of Seven industrialised nations, India, China, Portugal -- which currently holds the rotating EU presidency -- as well as the heads of the World Bank and the IMF.

He proposed an economic package for Myanmar involving the UN, EU, ASEAN, China, India and major international financial institutions, "conditional on progress with reconciliation and democracy."