Brown Offers Carrot While Eu Gives Stick to Burmese Junta

European ministers agreed yesterday to impose tougher sanctions on Burma, targeting its gem, metal and timber exports while Gordon Brown offered economic aid if the junta pursued democratic reforms.

After receiving a petition from Burmese pro-democracy activists, the prime minister said: "We are prepared to draw up a package of measures for the improvement of the Burmese economy, with other world leaders, that would be available if Burma is prepared to move towards democracy and reconciliation."

Meanwhile in Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers agreed to toughen existing sanctions on Burma in response to the regime's brutal suppression of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations two weeks ago. The ministers said in a joint statement that the measures "do not harm the general population but ... target those responsible for the violent crackdown and the overall political stalemate in the country".

The new sanctions include an export ban on equipment to the timber, metals, minerals, semi-precious and precious stones sectors as well as import and investment bans on those sectors.

The US also threatened more sanctions yesterday. Adding to the pressure, the Burmese regime's principal protector on the international stage, China, agreed to a UN security council rebuke over the weekend and joined a call for the release of political prisoners.

The international condemnation has so far had limited effect. Despite a pledge to open a dialog with opposition leaders, the junta has extended its crackdown.

The UN special envoy on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, said the arrest over the weekend of several Burmese student leaders was "extremely disturbing" and ran "counter to the spirit of mutual engagement" between the UN and Burma.

The carrot-and-stick approach pursued by Britain is similar to recent government policy towards Zimbabwe. It was put forward yesterday by the foreign secretary, David Miliband, in a joint article with his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner. "The EU needs to consider a package of positive measures to the Burmese people should the regime show its willingness to genuinely work for reconciliation," they said in the International Herald Tribune.