Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Czech minister of Foreign Affairs Karel Schwarzenberg spoke with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi by telephone on Monday, a statement from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.

Schwarzenberg reassured the pro-democracy leader of the Czech Republic’s support for democratic change in Burma and its continuing support for maintaining EU sanctions against the military regime until the new government’s intentions are made explicit.

The foreign minister urged that Suu Kyi have more contact with world leaders.

‘She needs to get the chance to communicate her opinions directly, and I will further encourage my colleagues and fellow foreign ministers to be in direct contact with her,’ Schwarzenberg said after the conversation with the Nobel peace price laureate.

Schwarzenberg compared Suu Kyi’s struggle for democracy with that of his own nation’s,

“Having our own Czechoslovak 40-year long experience with an undemocratic regime, we understand how important it is to have such brave people who dare to speak out,”

The statement released on Monday also condemned the regime’s treatment of Suu Kyi, saying ‘The current regime works to marginalize and delegitimise her and the international community should oppose these efforts.’

The former president of the Czech Republic and political prisoner Václav Havel is a staunch supporter of Suu Kyi, and he nominated her for the Nobel peace prize that she won in 1991.