We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE BURMESE PRO-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will receive an Amnesty International award from U2 frontman Bono on her visit to Ireland next month.
The ‘Ambassador of Conscience’ award from Amnesty International will be presented to Suu Kyi at an ‘Electric Burma’ concert being held for the Nobel Peace Prize winner at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin on the evening of 18 June.
Suu Kyi will visit Ireland for a day, an event which will not be a state visit as she is not a head of state but is likely to include meetings with political leaders here.
The concert will see artists from the worlds of drama, music, cinema and dance perform and give readings with Damien Rice, Angelique Kidjo, Vanessa Redgrave, Bob Geldof, Riverdance, Jack Gleeson and others involved.
The concert is the brainchild of of Bill Shipsey, the founder of Art for Amnesty, who explained the reasons behind the decision to hold the concert.
He said: “Samuel Beckett was once asked why we produced so many musicians and writers and dancers. He said that ‘when you live on the last ditch (of Europe) all you can do is sing.’
“‘Electric Burma’ will give a charge to the people of Burma. But the electricity for this concert will be provided by the star who will be seated in the stalls for most of the show.
“Everybody else who performs, no matter how celebrated or gifted, is a support act. Walk on Aung San Suu Kyi to the Dublin stage. A free woman of Dublin since 2001 and now a free woman of the world.”
Suu Kyi is travelling to Ireland directly from Oslo where she will deliver the acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize she was awarded in 1991 while under house arrest by the Burmese military junta.
She was released in 2010 and was elected to a reformed Burmese parliament recently for her party, the National League for Democracy which gained over 40 seats in a by-election.
Having recently been granted a passport to allow her to travel abroad she left her country for the first time in 24 years yesterday and will be doing so again next month.
“Aung San Suu Kyi’s visit is a truly momentous occasion for everyone in Ireland, and throughout the world, who campaigned tirelessly for her release for more than twenty years,” Amnesty International Ireland executive director Colm O’Gorman said.
Suu Kyi is expected to attend the concert and make a brief address to the assembled crowd at a public celebration outside the theatre on the Grand Canal Dock.
Suu Kyi’s receipt of the Ambassador of Conscience award come three years after it was originally announced by U2 during a concert at Croke Park.
Bono said today that it will be a “thrill” to meet her: “It’s so rare to see grace trump military might and when it happens we should make the most joyful noise we can. 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.”
Wow this really Is old news. But I’m glad your revisiting it. So all the people who think America is the land of the free can see just what damage they are doing around the globe.
Hi Niall, the reason it is back in the news again is that there is a new report by Obama’s bioethics committee due out next month, which contains new information. We should have even more information once it is released.
Thanks for reading,
Aoife
Thanks for that. I’m delighted you guys cover these stories
Good to hear, thanks a million!
In case you didn’t realise the US empire are akin to the third reich.
"To the victor comes the spoils" it’s well known if the US had been defeated in the second world war they would have been up in front of a world court answering to crimes against humanity.And what’s worse is that the continue to carry out these crimes under a new name of " war against terror".
Sadly, this type of goings on, is nothing new. The Americans did it to their own soldiers on numerous occasions without the individuals permissions.
I suspect they have done it too to small groups of populations also.
But Russia still asked to apologise for Stalin. Go clean up your own skeletons in the wardrobes first!
Interesting story Aoife.
Thanks!
Were any of the “scientists” involved in the study people who had relocated to America during Operation Paperclip?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip
The experiments are reminiscent of things that were done during WWII.
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say