Persecution cannot persist in Myanmar, Zimbabwe: British PM

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday told people facing persecution in countries like Myanmar and Zimbabwe that their suffering could not last forever.

Brown was speaking as more than 100,000 people flooded the streets of Yangon, joining Buddhist monks in the strongest show of dissent against Myanmar's ruling generals in nearly two decades.

"There is a golden thread of common humanity that across nations and faiths binds us together, and it can light the darkest corners of the world," Brown said.

"A message should go out to anyone facing persecution, anywhere from Burma and Zimbabwe: human rights are universal and no injustice can last forever."

Brown was speaking in Bournemouth on the southern English coast at the annual conference of his governing Labour Party.

Britain's Foreign Office on Monday warned Myanmar against any violent crackdown on mass protests against the military regime, but said it welcomed the largely peaceful response so far.