Bono on Holidays in Burma

Bono paid a holiday visit to Burma this week, including a tour of the ancient city of Bagan in Mandalay Division.

In a post on Tuesday to the Facebook page of U2,  a photograph of the Bagan skyline dotted with hot air balloons, a popular means of taking in the sacred Buddhist site, was accompanied by the caption “Hot & cold air – Bono.”

Fans were quick to show their support, thanking Bono for visiting the former hermit state and doling out thousands of “likes” to the post. One user shared a picture of Bono with well-known Burmese comedian Zarganar, also known as Maung Thura.

Eleven Media reported on Thursday that the singer-songwriter flew Wednesday to Shan State’s Heho, where the airport is commonly used as the fly-in point for Inle Lake, another popular tourist attraction.

When National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest for nearly two decades under Burma’s former military junta, Bono dedicated the band’s 2002 Grammy Award-winning song “Walk On” to the pro-democracy leader.

In an interview with ITV News in 2012, Bono said he was “very, very moved” to meet Suu Kyi, referring to when he met the face of Burma’s pro-democracy movement in Dublin to award her Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award, also in 2012.

“Ms. Suu Kyi is enormously admired in this country, and her visit here is something which we have long hoped to see,” Bono said in the interview.

“I expressed the warm welcome and admiration which is felt for her in this country. I wished Daw Suu Kyi every success with her Irish visit and her ongoing important work on behalf of the Burmese people, which enjoys the full support of the Irish people.”

http://www.irrawaddy.com/

Electric Burma For Aung San Suu Kyi

'There is no one on this island who doesn’t understand how costly the word freedom is.  How difficult the word justice is to live by. How quixotic peace can be. After all your years of wide-open heartache in an enclosed space, your newly travelled road has brought you here to Dublin at a big old bun fight in your honour… and we love that.'


At Electric Burma at the Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin this evening, Bono presented Aung San Suu Kyi with Amnesty International’s ‘Ambassador of Conscience’ Award. The award was originally announced from the stage when U2  played Croke Park in July 2009 - while the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize recipient was still under house arrest in Burma.


'The honour is ours just to be in your presence,'  said Bono in his speech. 'Everybody is here to sing for you tonight, but it’s your song that everyone wants to hear. It’s your song we need on the radio all over the world… your words… your topline melody. It’s a timeless song yet it seems more important in this time, than ever before…'  


Responding to the award Aung San Suu Kyi said that it was a reminder that 'Twenty four years ago I took on duties from which I shall never be delivered but you have given me the strength to carry on.' In Ireland she had discovered just how much people care: 'I had not expected this.'


'I feel very close to you. The British used to refer to the Burmese as the Irish of the East. We never quite understood why. Some say it was because we never gave them any peace, we were very rebellious and others say it was because our men like their drink and we are all rather superstitious.
For whatever reason tonight I  feel proud to be your Eastern counterpart - I am very happy to be the Irish of the East.


'Throughout these years, you and others like you, and Amnesty International and other organisations like AI have helped us to keep our small wick of self respect alight. You have helped to keep the light. And we hope that you will be with us in the years to come, that you will be able to join us in our dreams and not take either your eyes or your mind off us,  and that you will help us to be the country where hope and history merges.'


Irish and international artists from the worlds of music, drama, cinema and dance took part in  ‘Electric Burma’, a three hour show organised by Amnesty International.  


An audience of 2,000 saw Riverdance open the show followed by Donal Lunny leading a chant of Aung San Su Kyi's name. Music came from Damien Rice and Angelique Kidjo while actor Vanessa Redgrave read Seamus Heaney's  'The Republic of Conscience'.  Human right activists such as Wu’er Kaixi, the exiled leader of the Tiananmen Square protest,  reminded the audience of political prisoners across the world who remain behind bars. The set featured a wall of opened birdcages, referencing the lyrics to Walk On and Aung San Suu Kyi's  release from house arrest.





Read Bono's speech and Aung San Suu Kyi's response in full here.


Watch Bono's interview with RTE News. 


From A Conspiracy of Hope in 1986 to a clandestine film trip to Burma in 2011, our  slideshow charts U2's long collaboration with Amnesty International and with Aung San Suu Kyi.



http://www.u2.com

Bono Welcomes Aung San Suu Kyi in Norway

She wore red roses in her hair, he donned his huge orange sunglasses - Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday met one of her biggest fans, U2 frontman and activist rock star Bono. 
'I'm star-struck,' admitted the Irish singer, who has long supported her freedom struggle and dedicated the song Walk On to her, when they met at a peace forum in Oslo, Ms Suu Kyi's latest stop on a five-nation Europe tour. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ms Suu Kyi has herself received superstar treatment and been cheered by crowds of many thousands as she visited Norway on her first Europe trip in a quarter-century after years of house arrest. Long isolated, threatened and vilified by one of the world's must repressive dictatorships, she has recently rejoined mainstream politics in a changing country, while many of her party members have been freed from prison.


Both of them participated in The Oslo Forum  which gathered around 100 peace brokers and key players in peace processes around the world. Bono himself was there to speak about the peace process and reconciliation in Northern Ireland, before escorting Suu Kyi to Dublin Monday afternoon for a major concert sponsored by Amnesty International in Dublin Monday night. Bono told reporters he hoped he wouldn’t be too nervous to sing, with Suu Kyi in the audience.


Click here to watch the Forum where Aung San Suu Kyi   and Bono participated.

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (left) welcoming Bono to the hotel and conference center Losby Gods in Oslo on Monday. PHOTO: Kjetil Elsebutangen/Utenriksdepartemente

Ahead of her visit, Bono met up with Nobel Prize-winning poet Heaney, who was taking part in a reading as part of the "Dalkey book festival" founded by Sian Smyth and David McWilliams. Thousands of supporters are expected to turn out to honour Ms Suu Kyi today when she will be presented with Amnesty International’s prestigious Ambassador of Conscience award.

Bono with poet Seamus Heaney &  Sian Smyth

http://www.straitstimes.com/http://www.newsinenglish.no/http://www.thesun.co.uk

'Grace And Courage...'

In Dublin on Monday Amnesty International’s prestigious ‘Ambassador of Conscience’ Award will be made to Aung San Suu Kyi. 

The presentation, at 'Electric Burma',  will be made by Bono - it was originally announced from the stage when U2 when played at Croke Park in July 2009.

'It's so rare to see grace trump military might and when it happens we should make the most joyful noise we can. ' says Bono. 'Aung San Suu Kyi’s grace and courage has tilted a wobbly world further in the direction of democracy. We all feel we know her, but it will be such a thrill to meet her in person. How honoured we are that she should consider Ireland for her first real trip from home.'

From A Conspiracy of Hope in 1986 to a clandestine film trip to Burma in 2011, the U2.com slideshow charts U2's long collaboration with Amnesty International and with Aung San Suu Kyi.

http://www.u2.com/

ELECTRIC BURMA

"Electric Burma" is a concert to celebrate the inspiring woman  Aung San Suu Kyi.On June 18, she will fly to Dublin where, for the first time in history, she will attend a concert in her honor outside Burma.

The concert will commence at 5 pm on June 18th, at the Bord Gais Energy Theater. Actors, musicians and dancers will travel to Dublin from across the globe to celebrate this inspiring woman. We want to share this moment in an intimate opera-house setting with the whole world.She will have received Amnesty International’s highest accolade, the Ambassador of Conscience Award.

 This concert is a celebration, but it is also an opportunity to echo Daw Suu’s message, which is also Amnesty International’s message, that human rights matter.

Bono is one of the stars present in the celebration together with: Damien Rice, Vanessa Redgrave,Bob Geldof, Riverdance,Angelique Kidjo and more acts.  

Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.ie

http://www.electricburma.com/

Bono to appear on stage with Suu Kyi at concert

BONO will appear on stage with Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi when she attends a special concert in her honour in Dublin next month.

A theatrical celebration has been planned for Ms Suu Kyi in the Bord Gais Theatre in Dublin's docklands on June 18. Ms Suu Kyi will attend the event as part of a whistle-stop visit to Dublin.

While U2 will not appear as a band, Bono has not ruled out making a musical contribution on the evening, according to sources close to the group.

The singer campaigned for many years on behalf of Ms Suu Kyi (66) and prominently featured her 15 years of house arrest in Burma during the band's performances.

The visit is being organised by Amnesty International and Art for Amnesty founder Bill Shipsey has promised a "special event to mark the occasion".

Ms Suu Kyi will be presented with Amnesty International's most prestigious award -- Ambassador of Conscience -- at the concert.

http://www.independent.ie

International Women´s Day: In Celebration,Aung San Suu Kyi

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies. In 1911, following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's 'Bread and Roses' campaign.

A woman that has become  an international symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of oppression is Aung San Suu Kyi.  U2 dedicated her  the song Walk On (from the album "All that you can`t leave behind) who was under house arrest for her pro-democracy activities. The album was banned in Burma. Democratic Voice of Burma correspondent Myint Maung Maung told British music magazine NME, "The album was banned because it includes a song, 'Walk On,' dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi and the democracy movement in Burma." When the album was released, U2.com had a page calling attention to the political situation in Burma, where they say 8 million people have been consigned to forced labor and half a million people are the target of ethnic cleansing campaigns.

Aung San Suu Kyi has become not only the face of Burma`s democracy but also of the fight for opression and injustice all over the world.

U2 supported her on their 2009 U2 360° Tour by encouraging fans to wear masks with her likeness on them during the band's performance of the song "Walk On", which was originally written for her, and in some cities they welcomed Amnesty International volunteers on stage again during the performance of the song, carrying lanterns in her tribute. 

In November  2010, Aung San Suu Kyi was liberated after  many years of house arrest. She  is a 
symbol of peaceful fight and people power. A woman to celebrate in Women´s day.


To read more about Aung San Suu Kyi   : http://www.dassk.com/
Internatioal Women´s Day: http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Refugees, humanitarian volunteers bask in U2's limelight at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium

U2'S HEROES: Burma refugees Htee Ku Sot Win, Hayblu Win, Eh Ta Ler Htue, Sarblair Twayjaw, Tem Leh and Christabel Wah were part of a group of 30 who were invited on stage during the U2 concert in Brisbane. Picture: Peter Wallis Source: The Courier-Mail

SIX refugees from Burma now living in Brisbane were part of a group 30 humanitarian volunteers to join Irish supergroup U2 on stage at Suncorp Stadium.
The Footsteps for Burma Campaign volunteers worked for Burma Campaign Australia (BCA) before the concert asking U2 fans to join the BCA campaign's email database and raise awareness of the oppressed people of Burma.

Htee Ku Sot Win, Hayblu Win, Eh Ta Ler Htue, Sarblair Twayjaw, Tem Leh and Christabel Wah - all from the Karen community of eastern Burma - joined volunteers from Bono's own advocacy group, One, to make an Amnesty International circle of light on stage in front of 55,000 fans.

The band wrote the song about Burmese opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from 15 years of house arrest last month.

Sarblair Twayjaw, 36, has been living in Australia for six years after coming to the country as a refugee.

He escaped military oppression in his township by crossing the Thai-Burma border, eventually spending 14 years of his life in the Mae Lae refugee camp in Thailand.

``I am so happy and proud to be part of this,'' he said.

``U2 have given us the opportunity to tell people about the Burma Campaign."


www.couriermail.com.au

Auckland, 2nd Night

'Dunedin, Wellington, Tauranga, Auckland...' Second night in New Zealand and Mt Smart Stadium is rocking again.

'Thank you to Jay-Z for getting this space ship off the ground,' said Bono, 'The hip-hop heavyweight champion of the world and not just hip-hop... that band is scary.'

He promised, 'we're gonna have a greater night. Because we can, we must. It's Friday night, we're a long way from home... and we're feeling a little flirtatious.'



And so we were into the second night of U2's fifth visit to New Zealand: '84, '89, '93, '06, 2010' - as Bono listed the years when the band have played Kiwi shows, it seemed like everyone in the house was yelling for 'More!'.

'It's been a long romance with this wild and extraordinary country but tonight I think we should go all the way...'

And they did, with another blistering 24-song set including a series of second-night surprises including New Year's Day, Angel of Harlem ('This goes out to the Queen B' - Beyonce, who is at the show tonight) and Hold Me Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me.

One Tree Hill was again particularly poignant as Bono recalled it was written about 'a life unfairly snatched away... we wrote it for Greg Caroll, whose family are with us tonight. But tonight it belongs to the miners of the West Coast Pike River...'

And as it ran, beautiful as ever, down to the sea so the red balloons rose from the stadium into the night and the names of those who have lost their lives lit up the huge screens above the stage.

Other notable moments: 'Streets' featuring some great new video footage of Edge walking the hills back in The Joshua Tree era and thanks to the U2 audience for campaigning for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi: 'She sends her thanks to you all and now we campaign for the more than 2,000 political prisoners... then we will truly rejoice.' And into Scarlet...

Setlist 

Return of the Stingray Guitar

Beautiful Day

New Year's Day

Get On Your Boots

Magnificent

Mysterious Ways

Elevation

Until the End of the World

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Movin' On Up

One Tree Hill,

Angel Of Harlem - Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

In A Little While

Miss Sarajevo

City of Blinding Lights

Vertigo

Relax - I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (remix) - Two Tribes

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Scarlet

Walk On - You'll Never Walk Alone

Encore(s): One, Unchained Melody - Where the Streets Have No Name

Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me

With or Without You

Moment of Surrender

www.u2.com

Bono on Aung San Suu Kyi

Bono talks about Aung San Suu Kyi´s release and makes plea to world for release of more political prisoner with CNN.

News Updated: "Cautious Joy"

U2 have responded to the news of Aung San Suu Kyi's release today.

'There is a cautious joy amongst the campaigners for Aung San Suu Kyi's release. Over the years we have feared for her life, and until Burma's leadership better reflects its people, we should continue to be vigilant in our concern.

'For a life denied the basic freedoms, she has lived so vividly in the minds of her people and supporters and accomplished so much.  By putting the people of Burma's interests above her own, she has lived in stark contrast with her oppressors.  Her struggle has become a symbol for all humanity, of what we are capable of - best and worst.  Her very grace so infuriating to the bully government whose brutish gorging of the country's rich resources have left the people of Burma poor and hungry.

We can only pray that those in the junta who decided on her release will start to see sense and seize this opportunity to begin a genuine dialogue towards democracy. We will know they are serious when they release the other 2,202 prisoners denied a life for the crime of wanting to believe an election result.'

www.u2.com

Aung San Suu Kyi Released

Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, but warned that the release should not be interpreted as a sign that democratic reform is on the way.  Burma Campaign UK also called for the immediate release of 2,202 political prisoners who remain in detention.

“The release of Aung San Suu Kyi is about public relations, not democratic reform,” said Zoya Phan, International Coordinator at Burma Campaign UK. “I am thrilled to see our democracy leader free at last, but the release is not part of any political process, instead it is designed to get positive publicity for the dictatorship after the blatant rigging of elections on 7th November. We must not forget the thousands of other political prisoners still suffering in Burma’s jails.”

It is the third time Aung San Suu Kyi has been released from house arrest.  The last time she was released, in 2002, it was part of a UN-led initiative to try to persuade Burma’s dictatorship to enter into dialogue leading to a transition to democracy. However, when the time came for substantive discussions the dictatorship refused to continue the dialogue. At the current time there is no such UN effort.  The focus of the international community has instead been on a failed effort to ensure elections were free and fair.

The international community should use the release of Aung San Suu Kyi as an opportunity to apply pressure on the dictatorship to enter into genuine dialogue.

For many years the United Nations Security Council, United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Human Rights Council, United Nations Secretary General, European Union, ASEAN, USA and even China has stated that the way to bring genuine change in Burma is for dialogue between the democracy movement, including the NLD, genuine ethnic representatives, and the dictatorship. The jargon used to describe this dialogue is tri-partite dialogue. This dialogue should lead to national reconciliation and a transition to democracy.

A revived UN-led effort to secure such dialogue, with strong backing from world leaders and the United Nations Security Council, must be the top priority. This must not be delegated to a new low-level UN envoy. The UN must learn from the failures of previous UN envoys, such as Razali Ismail, who did not have the strong international backing he needed, and Ibrahim Gambari, who tried a ‘hug a General’ approach of befriending the Generals, which failed miserably.

“The international community must seize the opportunity of Aung San Suu Kyi’s release to increase pressure on the dictatorship to enter into dialogue,” said Zoya Phan. “Ban Ki-Moon must personally take the lead in persuading the dictatorship to start genuine negotiations with Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic groups.”

Burma Campaign UK has produced a detailed briefing paper on Aung San Suu Kyi, which provides a basic history, as well as analysis and information on past actions and future options for the international community. The briefing is available here.


A video of her release, here:




U2´s Tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi, FedEx Field Washington DC,2009




Unfortunately Aung San Suu Kyi is not the only political prisoner in the world, Amnesty International invites you to write for rights, here



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