IMPRISONED BURMESE opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to be the new Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience, U2 lead singer Bono announced last night during the last of the band’s three concerts at Croke Park in Dublin.
The Nobel peace prize winner leads the National League for Democracy and has been detained for 13 of the past 20 years in Burma because of her political beliefs. This month marks the 20th anniversary of her detention.
Last night, Bono said he was proud to deliver the message as Suu Kyi was a “strong leader” like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. “Her crime is that if she were free to participate in elections she’d win,” Bono said.
Her situation has been frequently highlighted by U2 on this tour, and during a rendition of Walk On last night scores of people bearing Suu Kyi masks came on stage as footage of her played on the giant video screens.
Irene Khan, Amnesty International’s secretary general, said yesterday that the imprisoned leader was an inspiration to the world.
“In those long and often dark years, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has remained a symbol of hope, courage and the undying defence of human rights, not only to the people of Myanmar but to people around the world,” she said.
U2’s 360° Tour, featuring a giant claw-like stage, will now move on to Gothenburg in Sweden for two sold-out concerts having been watched by a total of more than 200,000 people at the three concerts in Dublin.
Last night’s gig was a mixture of the polished performance and political activism U2 have become renowned for. Taking the stage shortly before 9pm to rapturous applause, Bono, The Edge, Larry and Adam, in a pun on the title of their recent album, promised that there was “plenty of craic on the horizon”.
Their set opened with a series of songs from No Line On The Horizonincluding Breatheand Get On Your Boots, before touching on hits from their back catalogue such as Beautiful Day, Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking Forand New Year's Day.
Bono paid tribute to the Dublin crowd for the “overwhelming” reception the band received over the three nights and said that, in spite of the current economic difficulties, Ireland had a “special spirit that won’t be easily broken”.
Meanwhile, local residents near Croke Park began a series of protests last night following the gig over what they say is the contempt shown to them by Dublin City Council, the GAA and the U2 concert promoters.
Protests were planned for 1am, 7am and 6pm today.
One of the demonstrations will involve a slow-moving convoy of residents in their cars, designed to disrupt the work of dismantling the stage used for the concerts and putting down a new pitch.
The residents are particularly incensed that the works will take place continuously over a 44-hour period to get the stadium ready in time for the All-Ireland football quarter-finals next weekend.
Patrick Gates, chairman of the Croke Park Area Residents Alliance, said the dismantling works being carried out over two nights were the “salt in the wound” to follow the massive disruption caused by the three concerts.
