An image of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is displayed on the European Parliament's building at Place du Luxembourg in Brussels.
World leaders, Nobel laureates and celebrities join voices to call for release of Myanmar opposition leader
Rangoon, Myanmar — Associated Press, Friday, Jun. 19, 2009 04:27AM EDT
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi spent her 64th birthday locked in prison Friday as global condemnation over her trial and demands for her freedom erupted across Twitter, Facebook and other websites, and at rallies worldwide.
Hollywood stars like Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, celebrities Madonna and David Beckham, Nobel laureates and world leaders joined voices to call for the military government to release Ms. Suu Kyi, who has now spent 14 birthdays in detention.
Many posted online messages on social networking sites and videos on YouTube in what human rights groups called an unprecedented and enormously powerful tool to harness support for Ms. Suu Kyi and highlight her struggle.
Ms. Suu Kyi planned to mark the day by sharing food with her prison guards.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will celebrate her birthday by treating the people around her to rice and chocolate cake,” said lawyer Nyan Win, who left several gifts for her at the prison Friday including a chocolate cake, an apple cake, three bouquets of orchids and 50 lunch boxes of Indian-style biryani rice. He said lawyers have informed her of the worldwide campaign. “Daw” is a term of respect in Myanmar.
“She really appreciates the efforts and said she was sorry she wasn't able to thank everyone individually,” he said.
At a ceremony outside her party's headquarters in Rangoon, supporters released 64 sparrows and 10 doves into the sky with an array of coloured balloons. They sang Happy Birthday and cut a cake in her honour.
“We must not stand by as she is silenced again. Now is the time for the international community to speak with one voice,” says part of a 64-word message on a new website signed by dozens of dignitaries and celebrities. Among them were George Clooney, Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert De Niro, Nicole Kidman, director Steven Spielberg and fellow Nobel Peace laureates Elie Wiesel and Desmond Tutu.
“Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration to her country and to the rest of the world,” Paul McCartney said in his own message on the site, while Yoko Ono tweeted: “FREE Daw Aung San Suu Kyi NOW”
The website is the online hub for a campaign — “64 words for Aung San Suu Kyi” — that was organized by a coalition of human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Burma Campaign UK and Not On Our Watch, a charity founded by Mr. Clooney, Mr. Pitt and other actors.
The site is blocked in Myanmar, where the junta typically bans politically sensitive websites, but is being avidly read by Net-savvy citizens who use proxy Internet servers to get around censorship.
For the first time, Suu Kyi campaigners have teamed up with Twitter.
“So, if you tweet on Suu Kyi it's automatically integrated on the site,” said Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign UK. “Sites like Facebook and Twitter enable us to reach millions of people.”
More than 10,000 postings have poured onto the site, which was launched May 27 and allows anyone to upload video, text, image or tweets of support for Ms. Suu Kyi.
A Facebook page set up for Ms. Suu Kyi has attracted some 93,000 supporters, up from 40,000 in mid-May. Messages posted from around the world call Suu Kyi an “icon,” “a hero,” “an inspiration” and wish her “Happy Birthday” in a variety of languages. Many replaced their profile photos with one of Ms. Suu Kyi.
YouTube videos uploaded to the site include 64-word messages from billionaire Richard Branson and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. “For too long, the world has failed to act in the face of this intolerable injustice,” Mr. Brown says in his video. “We must do all we can to make this birthday the last you spend without your freedom.”
