Brown urges immediate international action on Myanmar

London, Sep 26 (UNI) British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged ''immediate international action'' to avoid a military crackdown on protesting monks in Myanmar.

The Prime Minister also urged the ruling military junta in Myanmar to exercise restraint in dealing with the recent wave of peaceful pro-democratic protests which have brought thousands of monks on to the streets.

In a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday, Mr Brown called for a warning to Myanmar of tougher sanctions in case of a military crackdown, the Guardian reported.

Mr Brown wrote in the letter: ''We need concerted international action, including the UN, to discourage violence. We need to stand together. We have all been watching with concern the unfolding human tragedy in Myanmar, which requires immediate international action.'' ''The widespread and growing popular demonstrations, led by Buddhist monks, are unprecedented. They illustrate the failure of the Burmese regime to promote a genuine process of political reconciliation.'' Expressing concern on the threat of use of force against the demonstrators, he wrote violent suppression of the demonstrations would be a tragedy.

The last pro-democracy uprising in the south east Asian nation in 1988 led to a military crackdown on demonstrators which resulted in an estimated killing of 3,000 students and some monks.

UNI