Damien Rice Offers Tribute to Burma's Symbol of Freedom,
Aung San Suu Kyi, During Los Angeles Concert
Damien Rice and Lisa Harrington performing 'Unplayed Piano'
photo by Christina M. Felice/felicephotography.com
December 12, 2006
For Immediate Release:
Los Angeles, CA – On the eve of International Human Rights Day, Aung
San Suu Kyi (pronounced: Aung Sawn Sue Chee), the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient, had her story of justice and democracy brought to center stage as Damien Rice, critically acclaimed Irish musician, offered her a tribute during his December 9th sold out concert at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.
Playing before a video sequence of large images of Aung San Suu Kyi on stage, Rice dedicated his song entitled "Unplayed Piano," which he wrote for her and previously released in honor of her 60th birthday on June 19, 2005. The theatre erupted with applause from thousands of supporters as Rice powerfully belted out the lyrics and encouraged the crowd to fight for the people in Burma that do not enjoy the same freedoms as the rest of the world. After the show, The Freedom Campaign collected hundreds of signatures for an International Petition to the UN calling for UN Security Council action on Burma.
In summer of 2004, Rice secretly crossed inside Eastern Burma where over the past ten years more than 3,000 villages have been destroyed and forcibly relocated by Burma's ruling military regime. Witnessing this extreme humanitarian crisis first hand and meeting with former political prisoners of the regime became his inspiration for writing "Unplayed Piano."
Rice said, "I prefer not to interfere too much with what is going on in the world, but when someone has been thrown into a hole and they ask you to throw down a rope, I am happy to look for a rope, especially for a woman of such grace."
Rice's dedication this past weekend will be broadcast inside Burma via satellite through the brand-new Democratic Voice of Burma television station, which is based in Norway. There are an estimated two million satellite dishes inside Burma, reaching up to 10 million of the country's population of 52 million persons. Listening to democracy radio stations or watching such programs on television is illegal under the ruling military regime, a "crime" punishable by up to seven years in prison. In the past, people caught listening to opposition radio stations such as Radio Free Asia have received lengthy prison sentences.
Just as musicians decades ago performed concerts near the Berlin Wall to encourage respect for human rights in the then-Soviet eastern bloc, modern satellite technology today allows musicians playing around the world to share their support directly with people living under repressive governments. Former dissidents in the eastern bloc countries such as Vaclav Havel, who went on to become the President of the Czech Republic after the fall of communism, cite support from musicians such as Lou Reed and others as a key motivating factor in their struggle for human rights.
This performance is in support of the global Freedom Campaign; a partnership between the Human Rights Action Center and US Campaign for Burma designed to bring attention to Aung San Suu Kyi and the cause for freedom in Burma.
The Freedom Campaign will also release a documentary film, Freedom from Fear, narrated by Academy Award winning Actress Anjelica Huston in Spring 2007 and launch a series of 'Freedom Concerts' around the world to raise awareness of the situation in Burma beginning with the first in Sydney, Australia next June 2007.
For more information please contact:
Rebekah Iliff
XA, The Experiential Agency
C: 323-317-5367
O: 323-937-8000
rebekah@expagency.com