London keeps pressure on Myanmar

LONDON, June 20 (UPI) -- The British government will maintain pressure on Myanmar to encourage political reforms, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

Parliamentarian and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week arrived in London, where she received an honorary degree from Oxford University.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was freed from house arrest in 2010. She took her seat in the Myanmar legislature following by-elections early this year.

Some governments have relaxed sanctions against Myanmar for taking steps toward political reform. Hague told lawmakers in London, however, that Myanmar had "a long way to go."

Hague described Suu Kyi as an inspirational figure but vowed to "keep up the pressure" on Myanmar as it progressed with political reform.

Suu Kyi is to address both houses of the British Parliament Thursday.

Fighting in western Myanmar erupted in early June when 10 Muslims were killed following an attack by Buddhists reacting to the alleged rape and killing of a young girl by Muslims in May.

London in the wake of the attacks advised against all but essential travel to the region.