Broken Hallelujah

Tomorrow, on June 19th 2005, Burma's democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, will be 60 years old. On that day she will have spent a total of 9 years and 238 days in detention.

Armed soldiers behind a barricade of barbed wire turn away any visitors. The regime has also cut her phone line, so no-one can call to wish her happy birthday. The brutal generals who rule Burma have already made one attempt on her life, attacking a convoy she was travelling in on May 30th 2003. Up to 100 of her supporters were beaten to death in the attack. Aung San Suu Kyi's car managed to speed away, but she was later arrested.

REM are planning an onstage protest against Burma. They will broadcast a song dedicated to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently under house arrest in Burma. The band will play the unspecified song during a concert in Dublin, but it will be broadcast into the military-ruled Burma via an Oslo-based satellite TV station.

REM are performing the song to raise awareness of Suu Kyi's 2,523rd day in detention on the Nobel Peace Prize winner's 60th birthday. The band will also speak about the activist while onstage in Dublin. It is part of a series of worldwide events against Burma.

She stands alone after all these years fighting for the freedom of her country and I pray she sees her country free some day soon. Why the story of Aung San Suu Kyi should haunt the conscience of the world.

What You Can Do
Arrest Yourself
Send Birthday Cards
Global Protest At Embassies