Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications of the recent crackdown on protesting students in Burma for the credibility of Burma's reform process; and if he will make a statement.

We have made clear our concern about the use of force by police in Letpadan on 10 March and the use of irregular security groups in Rangoon on 5 March. These events undermined an otherwise disciplined approach to the policing of student protests over several weeks, and demonstrated the need for further policing reform.

More broadly, Burma is moving from decades of authoritarian government to a more democratic system. Such a complicated transition will of course not be quick or easy and will require significant reform in all of its institutions, not least the police. The UK will continue to engage as appropriate to encourage this reform.