REM Burma protest is broadcast

American rockers REM protested against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's incarceration on Sunday by broadcasting a concert dedicated to her into military-ruled Burma via satellite.

Losing My Religion singer Michael Stipe dedicated three songs to Suu Kyi, who recently celebrated her 60th birthday, as he performed in front of 25,000 fans at Dublin’s Ardgillan Castle.

The show was beamed to a Burmese radio station, run by the National League For Democracy Party.

Stipe said: "We pray with our hearts that by your 61st birthday, you will walk free among your people.

"To Aung San Suu Kyi, we are gathered here tonight to join in solidarity with your vision of democracy in Burma."

The political activist was detained by Burmese authorities during a tour of northern Burma in 2003.

She had endured house arrest on several previous occasions with the longest incarceration lasting six years between 1989 and 1995. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.