Unsung hero in Burmese prison gets celebrity petition to UN for release

By Juontel White

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HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/8/07 — Celebrities Jennifer Aniston, Dustin Hoffman, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams and Anjelica Huston were among 28 hot shots to sign their name in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday for the release of a Burmese activist. “We urge you to take action to secure her immediate release,� the letter said, referring to Aung San Suu Kyi, 62-year-old woman who has been under house arrest in Myanmar for about 11 years.

Aung was recently championed by actor Jim Carrey in a YouTube video he made calling for the heretofore obscure political prisoner’s release.

The world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Aung was first placed under house arrest after her party National League for Democracy won elections in 1990.

The Myanmar government, however, never recognized Aung’s victory as the country’s elected leader even after the party won 82 percent of the seats in parliament.

“The military regime cruelly locked her up along with many members of her party,� the letter explained to Ban. “This courageous, brave woman whom many call ‘Burma’s Nelson Mandela’ should be released and the military regime should end its attacks on civilians.�

According to the UN, Myanmar’s military junta burned down or destroyed more than 3,000 villages in the eastern part of the country; forcing more than one million people to leave their homes.

The country is currently holding about 1,200 political prisoners, Aung included. Founder of the Human Rights Action Center, Jack Healey describes Aung as “a woman that is taking on a brutal military dictatorship with nothing more than the truth in her heart and the support of her people.�

“The situation inside Burma is grave, similar to that in Darfur. The silence of the world on Aung San Suu Kyi is unconscionable,� said Jeremy Woodrum, co-founder of the U.S. Campaign for Burma.

Aung’s story has gained more publicity after actor/comedian, Jim Carey posted a you-tube video calling for American support of his “unsung hero� as he calls her.

The Human Rights Action Center and the U.S. Campaign for Burma are two organizations Carey mentions in his video for people to join and donate to in order to help bring about Aung’s release and end Myanmar’s military regime.

Daily protests against the government have been taking place in Myanmar as the most sustained demonstrations against the military regime in at least nine years.

Signatories. Eric Szmanda from the television show “Crime Scene Investigation� and Walter Koenig from “Star Trek,� recently traveled to refugee camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border to urge for more help from the UN.

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