Jim Carrey Makes Surprise Humanitarian Video

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

Actor Carrey stands in support of a jailed Burmese human rights activist

By Juontel White

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 8/29/07 – Jim Carrey is the latest Hollywood actor to use his fame to shed a little light on some very dark corners of the world, calling for a jailed rights activist in Asia to be freed.

In a YouTube video released Tuesday, actor Jim Carrey rallies support for his “unsung” hero, Aung San Suu Kyi, a Burmese Nobel laureate and human rights activist held for 11 years in house arrest by Myanmar’s military regime.

The candid video is not the typical hysterically comedic spoof most likely to star the always energetic Carrey. Rather, he is composed and very serious about his to-be-commended hero. “She is a champion of human rights and decency in Asia and of similar hope to all struggling people,” Carey said.

Aung San called for her government to establish multi-party elections and ran for election, addressing thousands about her plan to form a democratic government, according to CNN.

Although she won the majority vote as leader of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy, Suu Kyi has yet to be recognized by the Burmese government for her victory – in fact she was jailed for it.

“Even though she won 82 percent of the parliamentary seats in the country, she was locked away by the military regime and has been held for 11 years under house arrest,” said Carrey. “Even though she’s compared to a modern-day Ghandi or Nelson Mandela, most people in America still don’t know about Aung San,” he continued.

Carrey’s video encourages Americans to join the U.S. Campaign for Burma as well as the Human Rights Action Center.

Always remembering the audience, Carrey even gives viewers an easy way to remember his plea.

“Let’s face it: the name’s a little difficult to remember,” he said. “Here’s how I did it: Aung San sounds a lot like ‘unsung’, as in unsung hero. Aung San Suu Kyi is truly an unsung hero.”