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Myanmar Bans "For the Lady" Album Before Release
WASHINGTON (AFP) - One week before its release, Myanmar's military junta has banned an album by some of the world's top artistes demanding the freedom of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, activists said.
"According to a radio station that beams news inside Burma, we just learned that 'For the Lady' was banned by the ruling dictators," said Jeremy Woodrum, founder of non-profit group US Campaign For Burma, comprising activists seeking an end to the military dictatorship in the impoverished nation.
Myanmar was previously known as Burma before the name change by the junta's leaders, who have detained Aung San Suu Kyi for more than a year and clamped down on her National League for Democracy party.
Bands U2, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, Sting, R.E.M., Travis, Indigo Girls and Matchbox Twenty and several top artists including Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton plan to launch "For the Lady" on October 26 dedicated to the political leader.
"The fact that Burma's dictators are threatened by songs from Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Sting, and others shows how weak they truly are," Woodrum said.
"Just as rock 'n roll helped tear down the Iron Curtain, it can help bring freedom to Burma," he said.
The border guards of Myanmar's junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), have been ordered by its military intelligence to carry out thorough searches on people coming into the country and confiscate the album, Woodrum said.
Proceeds from the sale of the double CD featuring 27 tracks is to benefit the US Campaign For Burma.
Singing a freedom-seeking song in Myanmar can result in a minimum seven-year prison sentence, according to the group.
Myanmar has been run by the military since a 1962 coup. The NLD won overwhelmingly in 1990 elections, considered free and fair by the international community, but was not allowed to govern.
Last week, the European Union ramped up sanctions against Myanmar for failing to meet key demands on human rights, including Aung San Suu Kyi's release.
They included widening a visa blacklist and clamping down on investment despite criticism, notably, from Japan that the new measures will not help.
The United States has wideranging trade and investment sanctions against Myanmar.
Myanmar Bans "For the Lady" Album Before Release
WASHINGTON (AFP) - One week before its release, Myanmar's military junta has banned an album by some of the world's top artistes demanding the freedom of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, activists said.
"According to a radio station that beams news inside Burma, we just learned that 'For the Lady' was banned by the ruling dictators," said Jeremy Woodrum, founder of non-profit group US Campaign For Burma, comprising activists seeking an end to the military dictatorship in the impoverished nation.
Myanmar was previously known as Burma before the name change by the junta's leaders, who have detained Aung San Suu Kyi for more than a year and clamped down on her National League for Democracy party.
Bands U2, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, Sting, R.E.M., Travis, Indigo Girls and Matchbox Twenty and several top artists including Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton plan to launch "For the Lady" on October 26 dedicated to the political leader.
"The fact that Burma's dictators are threatened by songs from Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Sting, and others shows how weak they truly are," Woodrum said.
"Just as rock 'n roll helped tear down the Iron Curtain, it can help bring freedom to Burma," he said.
The border guards of Myanmar's junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), have been ordered by its military intelligence to carry out thorough searches on people coming into the country and confiscate the album, Woodrum said.
Proceeds from the sale of the double CD featuring 27 tracks is to benefit the US Campaign For Burma.
Singing a freedom-seeking song in Myanmar can result in a minimum seven-year prison sentence, according to the group.
Myanmar has been run by the military since a 1962 coup. The NLD won overwhelmingly in 1990 elections, considered free and fair by the international community, but was not allowed to govern.
Last week, the European Union ramped up sanctions against Myanmar for failing to meet key demands on human rights, including Aung San Suu Kyi's release.
They included widening a visa blacklist and clamping down on investment despite criticism, notably, from Japan that the new measures will not help.
The United States has wideranging trade and investment sanctions against Myanmar.
