Ms. Maguire said she felt very sad when she witnessed on TV the latest crackdown taking place against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Buma’s democracy movement. She said this behavior by the Burmese regime is totally unacceptable by people around the world and called upon tougher sanctions sanctions to be taken and force the Burmese dictatorship to move toward dialogue.
She urged UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to personally intervene and to visit his fellow Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma. Ms. Maguire said, “ Nobel Laureates are very concerned about what’s happening and Bishop Tu Tu has called for sanctions. Jody Williams who visited Daw Aung San Suu Kyi earlier this year and other Laureates are very much united in calling for sanctions and also in calling for the dialogue to start in order for the national reconciliation process to begin.”
She also said, “ Daw Aung San Suu Kyi , NLD and representatives of ethnic groups have a right to their voice and they are key to a peaceful Burma. So we would like to encourage the SPDC to start dialogue seriously for the sake of the Burmese people.”
Ms. Maguire, earlier has also issued a press release in which she urged all parties to move to substantial talks for national reconciliation in Burma, to impose sanctions on the illegitimate regime, to freeze the assets of the members of the regime, to impose stringent travel restrictions on them and demand the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and those detained on 30th May when they were on non violent peaceful campaign.
She also noted ,"Because of human rights abuses and lack of democracy in Burma, whenever we get news out of Burma, it’s very sad news. We look forward to the day when there will be change in Burma . In the meantime, people do not want to travel to Burma because we feel we would be adding to suffering of the Burmese people."