Burmese president visits London

(Vatican Radio) Burma's President, Thein Sein, makes his first visit to London on Monday, with meetings scheduled between the former General and both Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague. The visit follows some limited reforms in Burma under Thein Sein, and comes amid revisions to the British policy toward Burma in the wake of those reforms, including the lifting of sanctions and consideration of encouraging economic partnership ventures. Mark Farmaner of the Burma Campaign UK told Vatican Radio he welcomes Thein Sein’s reforms, but thinks they are no more than a small first step. “[Thein Sein] has made some reforms, and they are welcome,” Farmaner said, “but Burma still has one of the worst human rights records in the world today.” Pressure from rights monitors and other advocacy groups on Prime Minister Cameron has been high, with many and repeated calls from many quarters for him to press Thein Sein on human rights, and to continue to make genuine reform the condition of continued cooperation in the economic sphere. Listen to Chris Altieri’s extended conversation with Mark Farmaner of the Burma Campaign, UK: