Laura Bush pushes Security Council on Myanmar

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AFP) -

US First Lady Laura Bush has pressed Panama, which holds the UN Security Council's rotating presidency, to help keep pressure on Myanmar's junta, the White House said Friday.Bush, in New York for a heart disease awareness event on Thursday, met with Panamanian President Martin Torrijos, who was receptive to her message, spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters.

"Mrs Bush took the opportunity to remind and reinforce the importance for the UN Security Council to keep pressure on the military junta in Burma," said Fratto."President Torrijos said that he would of course want to keep the pressure on Burma to make the democratic changes that we all have been calling for," the spokesman said.In mid-January, the UN Security Council bemoaned the slow progress in initiating democratic reforms in Myanmar, where the junta in September crushed the biggest pro-democracy protests in nearly 20 years.