Burma a priority, says foreign office

The government has insisted that the welfare of the people of Burma is a "priority" on the first anniversary of Cyclone Nargis which killed 140,000 people.

At the time, the government of Burma was criticised for being slow to let in international aid into the country. Eventually, a recovery package was agreed by the government with the ten-member Association of South East Asian Nations.

The Foreign Office has called on the government of Burma to continue to work on reconciliation and political progress in the country and warned against its "flawed roadmap process" which it fears will further entrench military rule.

Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell said: "The Burmese people have suffered from poverty and poor governance for too long. They deserve a better future. We are determined to help them achieve it."

The government added that it would continue to work with the EU and the US to urge the government to implement a "more fundamental process of peaceful change" in its internal politics.

Last week, Oxfam warned that hundreds of thousands of people in the country were still trapped by poverty and renewed calls for aid to the country.

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