The military-backed government of Burma has deported Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh, who stars as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming movie
The military-backed government of Burma has deported Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh, who stars as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming movie.
The Malaysian actress arrived in the country's main city, Rangoon, on June 22 and was deported the same day because she was on a blacklist, a government official said.u00a0
u00a0
Michelle Yeoh stars as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyiu00a0in an upcoming movie, The Lady
But Burma's repressive government has routinely rejected visa requests of journalists and perceived critics for years.
The Luc Besson movie about Suu Kyi's life, The Lady, is due for release this year, and Yeoh has said she hopes her portrayal of Suu Kyi will raise awareness about the Nobel Peace Prize winner's story.
Suu Kyi (66) spent most of the last two decades detained by the former military junta. She was released last year, just days after an election that her party boycotted and in which she was barred from being a candidate.
The vote was the nation's first in 20 years, and in March, the junta handed power to a civilian government.
u00a0
But critics say little has changed and the new government is merely a front for continued rule by the army, which has been in power here since 1962.
Yeoh visited Burma in December and spent time with Suu Kyi for the movie, which was filmed in Thailand.
Yeoh, a former Miss Malaysia, shot to international fame when she costarred with Pierce Brosnan in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies as a tough but beautiful Chinese spy.
u00a0
She has also starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha.
15
The years Aung San Suu Kyi spent under house arrest. She was released on November 13, 2010
ADVERTISEMENT
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
