President Bush reaffirmed his support for the democracy movement in Burma during his State of the Union speech.
While most of the president's speech Tuesday was devoted to domestic issues and the war in Iraq, he promised to push for democracy in several countries.
He said the United States will continue to speak out for the cause of freedom in places like Cuba, Belarus and Burma, and to awaken the conscience of the world to save the people of Sudan's Darfur region.
Earlier this month, the United States drafted a UN Security Council resolution against Burma's military government, urging it to release all political prisoners, speed up progress toward democracy, and stop attacks against ethnic minorities. The
measure was voted down in a rare double-veto by China and Russia.
Those two countries said the Security Council was not the proper place to discuss Burma because it does not pose a threat to international peace and security.
Information for this report is provided by AP.