Western powers make Burma appeal

The foreign ministers said Burma had not met UN demands

The foreign ministers of the US, France and UK have appealed to global leaders to press the government of Burma to respect the basic rights of its people.

The rare joint statement - at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland - urged the world not to forget Burma.

The three foreign ministers said the regime had met none of the list of demands made by the UN Security Council in October.

The demands included the release of all political prisoners.

The Burmese junta bloodily suppressed pro-democracy protests in September.

'Horrified'

David Miliband, Condoleezza Rice and Bernard Kouchner said in their statement that "the urgent need for progress towards a transition to democracy and improved human rights in Burma" was a priority for this year's meeting.

"It is now more than four months since the world was horrified by the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations in Burma," they said.

"We must convince the Burmese regime to meet the demands of the international community and respect the basic rights of Burma's people."

The Security Council called on the junta, among other things, to free all political prisoners - including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been kept under house arrest for 12 out of the past 18 years.