You have struggled too long under dictatorship, Cameron says, and we want to be your partners in achieving democracy.
Let me be clear, he says: there is still much, much more that needs to be done. We know what a long road needs to be travelled between now and 2015, Cameron says.
Cameron says when democracy becomes embedded you can't expect to win 45 byelections in a row.
My colleague Nicholas Watt asks if Aung San Suu Kyi is parlaying with the enemy like her father did. She says she is parlaying with people who are no longer the enemy. She says the byelections showed a revolution of the spirit in Burma.
Cameron says he has invited Aung San Suu Kyi to come to the UK in June and he hopes she will be able to leave Burma and then return to Burma.
She says two years ago she would have said she couldn't go (because she wouldn't have been allowed back) - but now she can say: "Perhaps." And that is progress, she says.
There is much more we need to do - we will keep that pressure on, he says.
If we really want to see freedom and democracy in Burma, we should respond when they take action, Cameron says.
But suspending the sanctions rather than lifting them is the right thing to do, he says.
Let's not forget how far things have come, he says. We are standing in a house where you were under house arrest for decades, he says, addressing Aung San Suu Kyi.
Cameron says this is the crossroads of Asia, endowed with enormous
natural resources. It shouldn't be as poor as it is today, he says. He
is optimistic that if Burma can make these political changes it could
then become much more economically successful.
Cameron says when the EU sanctions come up "for ending" in April he will argue that they are suspended.
That should cover everything except the arms embargo, he says.Let me be clear, he says: there is still much, much more that needs to be done. We know what a long road needs to be travelled between now and 2015, Cameron says.
Burma has been crying out for freedom and it is worth taking that risk, Cameron says.
Aung San Suu Kyi
is asked what the strength is of opponents of democracy. She says she
does not know what it is but it does not in any way match the strength
of those who want democracy. "I'm a cautious optimist," she says, but
she is determined to make sure the will of the people is heard.Cameron says when democracy becomes embedded you can't expect to win 45 byelections in a row.
My colleague Nicholas Watt asks if Aung San Suu Kyi is parlaying with the enemy like her father did. She says she is parlaying with people who are no longer the enemy. She says the byelections showed a revolution of the spirit in Burma.
Cameron says he has invited Aung San Suu Kyi to come to the UK in June and he hopes she will be able to leave Burma and then return to Burma.
She says two years ago she would have said she couldn't go (because she wouldn't have been allowed back) - but now she can say: "Perhaps." And that is progress, she says.
Aung San Suu Kyi is asked about the disappointments of the past. She
says they were not disappointments, they were setbacks; she and her
colleagues had to take risks then, and they have to take risks now.
Cameron
says he can't speak for the regime to say why they are opening up now,
but he notes that in Burma's neighbours democracy and economic growth
are going hand in hand.There is much more we need to do - we will keep that pressure on, he says.
If we really want to see freedom and democracy in Burma, we should respond when they take action, Cameron says.
Cameron is asked if suspending sanctions removes the pressure on the government to keep reforming.
I think it's right to respond positively to the steps the president has already made, Cameron says.But suspending the sanctions rather than lifting them is the right thing to do, he says.
Let's not forget how far things have come, he says. We are standing in a house where you were under house arrest for decades, he says, addressing Aung San Suu Kyi.
I am very, very happy to welcome all of you, not just the prime
minister, to Burma, and as this is the time of the water festival, it is
a good opportunity to wash away all your sins, if you have any, she
says.
She says she hopes this new year, starting on 17 April, will
bring democracy to Burma and closer cooperation between Burma and
Britain.
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