Category:
Shows
Publish date:
08/24/06 @425
Published by:
Comments:
|
Black Eyed Peas Launch Freedom Campaign
BLACK EYED PEAS LAUNCH FREEDOM CAMPAIGN FOR IMPRISONED NOBEL PRIZE RECIPIENT AUNG SAN SUU KYI.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient, had her story of justice and democracy for the Burmese people brought to the international stage when The Freedom Campaign launched with the Grammy award winning Black Eyed Peas concert in Bangkok, Thailand today.
With large images of Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced: Aung Sawn Sue Chee) posted on stage, The Black Eyed Peas dedicated their hit song “Where is the Love” at today’s concert to the imprisoned Burmese leader. The performance will also be simulcast into Burma where she is under house arrest and the government forbids democratic messages to its populous. With the aid of un-censored satellite technology, this will be only the second time the Burmese people will be able to watch part of an international music concert in which musicians speak about Aung San Suu Kyi and the first time ever that this has been done from any of Burma’s bordering nations.
This performance kicks off the global Freedom Campaign; a partnership between the Human Rights Action Center and U.S. Campaign for Burma designed to bring attention to Aung San Suu Kyi and the cause for freedom for the people of Burma. The Freedom Campaign will also release a documentary film narrated by Academy Award winning actress Anjelica Huston later this year and hold a series of ‘Freedom Concerts’ around the world for Aung San Suu Kyi.
“Aung San Suu Kyi stands with the great names of peace and justice such as Steven Biko, Nelson Mandela, and Mohandas Gandhi,” said international human rights activist and founder of Freedom Campaign, Jack Healey. “It’s our responsibility as humans to stand up against tyranny and see to it that voices like hers lead people out of oppression. The Freedom Campaign’s goal is to do just that.”
The dedication portions of this concert will be broadcast inside Burma via satellite through the brand-new Democratic Voice of Burma television station, which is based in Norway. There are an estimated two million satellite dishes inside Burma, reaching up to 10 million of the country's population of 52 million persons. Listening to democracy radio stations or watching such programs on television is illegal under the ruling military regime, a "crime" punishable by up to seven years in prison. In the past, people caught listening to opposition radio stations such as Radio Free Asia have received lengthy prison sentences.
Just as musicians decades ago performed concerts near the Berlin Wall to encourage respect for human rights in the then-Soviet eastern bloc, modern satellite technology today allows musicians playing around the world to share their support directly with people living under repressive governments. Former dissidents in the eastern bloc countries such as Vaclav Havel, who went on to become the President of the Czech Republic after the fall of communism, cite support from musicians such as Lou Reed and others as a key motivating factor in their struggle for human rights.
The Black Eyed Peas dedication follows a previous dedication made by R.E.M. on Aung San Suu Kyi's 60th birthday in June 2005. The Freedom Campaign concerts will be lead by renowned activist Jack Healey; well-known for organizing Amnesty International’s highly successful concerts around the world. The Freedom Campaign is headquartered in Washington, D.C. About Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi leads Burma's vibrant democracy and human rights movement. In stark contrast to the military regime, which rules through brute force, Aung San Suu Kyi is totally committed to nonviolence. Her political party, the National League for Democracy, won an estimated 82 percent of seats in parliament in Burma's last election, but the ruling dictators ignored the results. Her overwhelming popularity among the Burmese people and her commitment to justice and democracy has led her to become known as the "Nelson Mandela of Asia". Aung San Suu Kyi has won over 70 major international awards for her work on behalf of the people of Burma, including the Nobel Peace Prize, Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament, and the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom. She has called on individuals, organizations, and governments around the world to support Burma's democracy movement, stating, "Please, use your liberty to promote ours." She has been jailed since 2003. About Freedom Campaign (www.TheFreedomCampaign.org)
The Freedom Campaign - a joint effort between the Human Rights Action Center and US Campaign for Burma - is focued on raising worldwide attention to the struggles of Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.
Related link
|
552
cool!!! go b.e.p gooo!!!
Go Bep !!
!!!!!!!!!!
08/24/06 @427