U2‘s Bono is to present Burmese freedom fighter and politician Aung San Suu Kyi with Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience honour in Dublin next month.
Suu Kyi was awarded the honour in 2009, but was unable to collect it as she was under longstanding house arrest. She will now receive the honour on June 18, after picking up the Nobel Piece Prize in Oslo, which she was awarded in 1991.
Bono is long-standing supporter of Suu Kyi – who is the leader of the Burmese opposition party, the National League for Democracy – and has in the past dedicated concerts to the activist. In a statement, via AP, the U2 frontman said: “It’s so rare to see grace trump military might, and when it happens we should make the most joyful noise we can. Aung San Suu Kyi’s grace and courage have tilted a wobbly world further in the direction of democracy. We all feel we know her, but it will be such a thrill to meet her in person.”
In Dublin, she will be the guest of honor at a concert called Electric Burma. Damien Rice will be performing, as well as the Riverdance dance troupe.
Earlier this month, Bono rubbished reports which stated he was to become the richest musician in the world, overtaking Paul McCartney.
It was thought that when Facebook was floated on the stock exchange its early investors would earn huge amounts of money, including the U2 singer, who owns 2.3 per cent of the shares in the social media site through his private equity firm, Elevation Partners, which they bought for $90 million (£57 million) in 2009.
However, Bono has denied that his share is now worth over $1.5 billion (£940 million), putting him well above Paul McCartney in the financial stakes, who is currently the world’s richest rock star with a fortune of £665 million. Speaking to MSNBC, Bono said: “Contrary to reports, I’m not a billionaire or going to be richer than any Beatle – and not just in the sense of money, by the way, The Beatles are untouchable – those billionaire reports are a joke.”