Brown Calls on Myanmar to Free Protesters

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown slammed on Sunday Myanmar's crackdown on dissidents and demanded the release of those held after street protests against fuel price rises.

More than 100 people have been arrested in recent days as the dissent provoked one of the most far-reaching crackdowns in the former Burma since 1988.

"I deeply deplore the Burmese government's violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations," Brown said in a statement.

"I call upon the Burmese authorities to release immediately all those detained merely for protesting at the hardship imposed on them by the government's economic mismanagement and failure to uphold fundamental human rights," he said.

He called for the release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

He urged countries and organisations with influence over the Myanmar authorities to "impress upon the generals the need for an early transition to democratic rule, full respect for human rights and genuine national reconciliation."

Brown backed calls for the United Nations' Security Council to examine the situation in Myanmar as soon as possible. He said he planned to raise the Myanmar situation with key countries in the region and with the European Union and United States.

U.S. President George W. Bush has already criticised Myanmar's military junta for arresting dissidents who participated in the recent protests.