U2 Encourage Mask-Wearing Protest

06/26/09 5:16pm
by Jason MacNeil (CHARTattack)

U2 are on the cusp of their 360 Tour, and are asking fans to remember Burmese democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi by wearing a mask featuring her face.

"U2 believe the world must not be allowed to forget Aung San Suu Kyi and every night on the 360 Tour fans are being invited to wear the mask when the band play 'Walk On,' which was written for her," the band's website said today. "Put it on with thousands of others when Larry [Mullen, Jr., drums] and Edge [guitar] strike up the opening bars of 'Walk On.'"

A downloadable mask is on the site with directions, but you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to print the file.

"Wear it to work or college," the post on the website reads. "Wear it on the bus or the train. Wear it in the pub or at the shops. And don't forget. Bring it to a U2 show."

Suu Kyi is a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and won elections in Burma in 1990, but the military junta refused to accept the results. She has spent most of the last 19 years under house arrest.

Suu Kyi was recently tried for violating the terms of her house arrest after an uninvited visitor swam across Inya Lake in Yangon, Burma to visit her house twice. The trial was widely condemned as a sham by the United Nations and western nations.

U2 start their world tour in Barcelona on Tuesday. The tour, which is in support of the recently released No Line On The Horizon, hits Toronto in mid-September.

You can see U2 here:

June 30, July 2 Barcelona, Spain @ Nou Camp
July 7-8 Milan, Italy @ San Siro
July 11-12 Paris, France @ Stade De France
July 15 Nice, France @ Parc Charles Ehrmann
July 18 Berlin, Germany @ Olympic Stadium
July 20-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Arena
July 24-25, 27 Dublin, Ireland @ Croke Park
July 31-Aug. 1 Gothenburg, Sweden @ Ullevi
Aug. 3 Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Veltins-Arena
Aug. 6 Chorzow, Poland @ Slaski Stadium
Aug. 9-10 Zagreb, Croatia @ Maksimir Stadium
Aug. 14-15 London, England @ Wembley Stadium
Aug. 18 Glasgow, Scotland @ Hampden Park
Aug. 20 Sheffield, England @ Don Valley Stadium
Aug. 22 Cardiff, Wales @ Millennium Stadium
Sept. 12-13 Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
Sept. 16-17 Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
Sept. 20-21 Boston, MA @ Gillette Stadium
Sept. 24-25 New York, NY @ Giants Stadium
Sept. 29 Hyattsville, MD @ FedEx Field
Oct. 1 Charlottesville, VA @ Scott Stadium
Oct. 6 Atlanta, GA @ Georgia Dome
Oct. 9 Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
Oct. 25 Pasadena, CA @ Rose Bowl
Oct. 28 Vancouver, BC @ BC Place Stadium


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