Kabir Bedi’s voice for Burma’s Mandela

The actor will be part of a special birthday celebration in honour of Aung San Suu Kyi at the British House of Commons on June 19

In many ways she’s the Nelson Mandela of Burma. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has spent over 11 years under detention in the very country she would have been Prime Minister.

Just last month, more than 50 world leaders including George Bush Sr and Margaret Thatcher released a letter to Burma’s (now called Myanmar) military dictatorship demanding her release; even the United Nations recently condemned the indefinite extension of her house arrest.

But it’s now clear that Suu Kyi, who turns 62 on Tuesday, will be spending her birthday in isolated detention on June 19 – the 11th time she’s enduring this. But this time, the world is getting ready to stage a ‘birthday reception’ for this exceptional lady.
On that day, London will witness a special reading from a new play ‘The Lady of Burma’ written and directed by Richard Shannon and based on Suu Kyi’s struggle. Kabir Bedi will be joining actress Liana Mau Tan Gould to read an extract from the play in the British House of Commons on June 19. The reading will simultaneously take place in various other theatres and venues all over the world.

“I have known Burma since I was a child and care deeply about it. I’m attending this event to show my support for the restoration of democracy in Burma and for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi,” Kabir Bedi told After Hours from London .

Incidentally, Kabir himself has spent many years in Burma when it was still a democracy. The ‘Lady of Burma’ will premiere at the Edinburgh fringe festival this summer. It is being presented by the Burma Campaign UK, which is part of a global movement to re-establish democracy and human rights in Burma.

 s_saumit@dnaindia.net