14 August 2004 (ABC) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell says Washington will continue to exert pressure on the military government of Burma to introduce democracy.
He says opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her National League for Democracy and other groups should be allowed to fully participate in a reformed political process.
Mr Powell says as long as Aung San Suu Kyi is denied the opportunity to participate in the political life of Burma, and her party is so denied, then America will continue to speak out strongly.
Aung San Suu Kyi is currently more than a year into her third period of house arrest.
The junta has never allowed her National League for Democracy to rule, although it scored a landslide victory in elections the international community considered otherwise free and fair in 1990.
Last month, US President George W. Bush renewed sweeping trade and economic sanctions imposed in 2003 to punish Burma for its failure to engage in a genuine dialogue with the NLD and agree to democratic reforms.