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Legendary soccer star Diego Maradona, one of the greatest footballer in history, will release a video online this Friday that calls for the release of the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi. 

"I am Diego Maradona, and the world knows that I always rebel against injustice.  And what outrages me today is what is happening to Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi.  Does a Nobel Peace Prize recipient deserve to be imprisoned?  Set her free!" he said in the video.

 

The video from Maradona is part of a 30-day video campaign by 30 leading Hollywood celebrities, athletes, and musicians.  The major campaign is designed to draw attention to human rights in the Southeast Asian country of Burma.

The videos are released every day at www.uscampaignforburma.org and http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=uscampaignforburma    

Participants include Will Ferrell, Jennifer Aniston, Sheryl Crow, Woody Harrelson, Sylvester Stallone, Steven Seagal, Ellen Page, Jackson Browne, Eva Longoria, and more.

Some of the spots are also directed by well-known directors and actors, including Judd Apatow (Talladega Nights, 40 Year Old Virgin, etc.) and Oscar-winning actress Anjelica Huston.

The campaign is timed to lead up to May 27th - the day that Burma's military regime will either release Suu Kyi or extend her detention.

Aung San Suu Kyi, dubbed "Burma's Nelson Mandela" by the international media, leads Burma's struggle for human rights and an end to decades of military rule.

The campaign said Burma burst into international headlines last fall when hundreds of thousands of peaceful Buddhist monks marched on the streets calling for the country's military regime to step aside and permit democracy in the country.

The Burmese military regime carries out brutal human rights abuses against its own people, including:

- Recruiting more child soldiers than any other country in the world: 70,000

- Locking up Suu Kyi for 12 of the past 18 years, along with up to 2,000 other political prisoners

- Carrying out a Darfur-style scorched earth military campaign against ethnic minority civilians, purposely targeting medical clinics, schools, food supplies, and homes.  An astonishing 3,200 ethnic minority villages

in eastern Burma have been destroyed by the military regime (to put this in context, it is twice as many villages as have been destroyed in the Darfur area of Sudan).

The effort is much different than standards public service announcements.  Instead most of the spots are short scripts or vignettes, intended to be accessible and compelling for everyday viewers.  They use drama, suspense, and evey comedy to tell the story of the struggle for human rights in Burma. 

"Every now and again, a single person or event captures the imagination and inspiration of the world," said Will Ferrell in his video, which kicked off the campaign.

"This moment belongs to Burma, and to Aung San Suu Kyi. Please, honor her courage, honor your compassion and let this be the month you join an effort to change the world."