U2

"When Aung San Suu Kyi was released, we punched the air. When she came to Dublin to thank Ireland and Amnesty International, we Irish could not have been more proud. When her party the NLD won a landslide in the elections and she stood her ground to become de-facto head of the country, an impossible journey seemed to be reaching its destination. We wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but instead held our breath. She had built her reputation on her refusal to compromise her beliefs (as well as on the personal sacrifice that entailed), but forming a government requires a certain amount of pragmatism. We feared the military's brutality would be quick to show itself again if she overstepped the mark, and while hopeful for progress, we wondered if we would find ourselves once again campaigning for her release. But what has happened this year, and in particular these past months – this, we never imagined. Who could have predicted that if more than 600,000 people were fleeing from a brutal army for fear of their lives, the woman who many of us believed would have the clearest and loudest voice on the crisis would go quiet. For these atrocities against the Rohingya people to be happening on her watch blows our minds and breaks our hearts. … the violence and terror being visited on the Rohingya people are appalling atrocities and must stop. Aung San Suu Kyi's silence is starting to look a lot like assent. As Martin Luther King said: "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people." The time has long passed for her to stand up and speak out. We know that Aung San Suu Kyi has in front of her real complexities that the outside world cannot understand — but nor should we have to. The complexity of the situation in Myanmar she inherited from her father did not sway her to compromise her ideals back in 1998, nor should it now. At some point, a fragile balancing act becomes a Faustian pact. We also believe we can't direct our anger solely in her direction. That plays right into the hands of those who are carrying out the violence. Min Aung Hlaing is not a widely recognised name outside Myanmar — it should be. This man is the Commander General in Chief of the Defence Services who answers to no-one when a security threat is declared. While this in no way excuses her silence, Aung San Suu Kyi has no control, constitutional or otherwise, over his actions, and it is he who has authorised and overseen the terrorization of the Rohingya people under the guise of protecting Myanmar from terrorism. Condemning her and ignoring him is a mistake. If this horror of human rights abuses is to stop, and if the long-term conditions for resettlement of the Rohingya people are to ever occur, General Min Aung Hlaing and his military must be just as much the focus of international action and pressure as Aung San Suu Kyi and her civilian government."

"The brave people of Ukraine are fighting for their freedom — and for ours — in the face of unspeakable violence and an unjust invasion. More than 4 million people, mostly women and children, have had to flee for their lives — a population nearly the size of Ireland. World leaders must stand up and stand by Ukranians now ... those who are fighting and those who have fled ... and stand with refugees everywhere who have been forced from their homes and their lands. #StandUpForUkraine"

"I was on the outside when you said You said you needed me. I was looking at myself. I was blind, I could not see.A boy tries hard to be a man His mother takes him by the hand If he stops to think, he starts to cry. Oh why?"

"Monday morning, Eighteen years are dawning, I said "how long?""

"Started a landslide in my ego Looked from the outside to the world I left behind. In the world I left behind Wipe their eyes and then let go In the world I left behind Shed a tear and let love go."

"I try to sing this song I, I try to stand up But I can't find my feet. I, I try to speak up But only in you I'm complete."

"I can't change the world But I can change the world in me I rejoice."

"I watched the way it was The way it was when he was with us And I really don't mind Sleeping on the floor But I couldn't sleep after what I saw I wrote this letter to tell you The way I feel."

"I wish you were here I wish you were here To see what I could see To hear And I wish you were here"

"I can't believe the news today I can't close my eyes and make it go away. How long, how long must we sing this song? How long, how long? 'Cos tonight, We can be as one, tonight."

"Broken bottles under children's feet, Bodies strewn across the dead end street. But I won't heed the battle call. It puts my back up, Puts my back up against the wall.Sunday, Bloody Sunday."

"And the battle's just begun There's many lost, but tell me who has won? The trenches dug within our hearts And mothers, children, brothers, sisters Torn apart."

"Under a blood red sky A crowd has gathered in black and white, Arms entwined, the chosen few. The newspapers says, says Say it's true it's true... And we can break through. Though torn in two, We can be one."

"And so we are told this is the golden age And gold is the reason for the wars we wage Though I want to be with you, Be with you night and day. Nothing changes On New Year's Day."

"I don't know, I don't know which side I'm on. I don't know my right from left or my right from wrong. They say I'm a fool, they say I'm nothing But if I'm a fool for you oh, that's something."

"And we live by the side of the road On the side of a hill As the valleys explode Dislocated, suffocated The land grows weary of its own."

"One man come in the name of love One man come and go. One man come, he to justify One man to overthrow."

"Early morning, April four Shot rings out in the Memphis sky Free at last, they took your life They could not take your pride.In the name of love. Once more in the name of love. In the name of love. Once more in the name of love."

"If I could, you know I would. If I could, I would let it go. This desperation. Dislocation. Separation. Condemnation. Revelation. Temptation. Isolation. Desolation.Let it go, And so to fade away."

"Sleep Sleep tonight And may your dreams Be realised."

"Love don't need to find a way You find your own way I forget that I can't stay And so I say that All roads lead to where you are."

"I want to run. I want to hide. I want to tear down the walls That hold me inside. I want to reach out And touch the flame Where the streets have no name."

"The city's aflood And our love turns to rust. We're beaten and blown by the wind, Trampled in dust. I'll show you a place High on a desert plain Where the streets have no name."

"I have climbed highest mountain; I have run through the fields. Only to be with you; Only to be with you.I have run; I have crawled. I have scaled these city walls, These city walls. Only to be with you."

"You broke the bonds and you Loosed the chains, Carried the cross Of my shame. Of my shame. You know I believed it.But I still haven't found what I'm looking for."

"See the stone set in your eyes See the thorn twist in your side. I'll wait for you.Sleight of hand and twist of fate On a bed of nails she makes me wait And I wait – without you.With or without you, With or without you."

"See across the field See the sky ripped open See the rain comin' through the gapin' wound Howlin' the women and children Who run into the arms Of America."

"Sweet the sin, bitter the taste in my mouth. I see seven towers, but I only see one way out. You gotta cry without weeping, talk without speaking Scream without raising your voice."

"Sleep comes like a drug in God's country Sad eyes, crooked crosses, in God's country."

"And in the world, a heart of darkness, a fire-zone Where poets speak their heart then bleed for it."

"She's the candle burnin' in my room Yeah, I'm like the needle The needle and spoon Over the counter, with a shotgun Pretty soon, everybody's got one I'm in a fever, when I'm beside her Desire Desire."

"All I got is a red guitar Three chords and the Truth All I got is a red guitar The rest is up to you"

"Blinded, you lost your way In the side streets and the alleyways Like a star exploding in the night Filling up the city with broad daylight."

"Many strangers have I met On the road to my regret Many lost who seek to find themselves in me. They ask me to reveal The very thoughts they would conceal. Love, rescue me."

"I've conquered my past The future is here at last I stand at the entrance to a new world I can see. The ruins to the right of me Will soon have lost sight of me. Love, rescue me."

"I was there when they crucified my Lord I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword. I threw the dice when they pierced his side But I've seen love conquer the great divide."

"When love comes to town I'm gonna jump that train When love comes to town I'm gonna catch that flame. Maybe I was wrong to ever let you down But I did what I did before love came to town."

"Don't believe the devil I don't believe his book But the truth is not the same Without the lies he made up. Don't believe in excess Success is to give Don't believe in riches But you should see where I live. I, I believe in love."

"You say you want diamonds on a ring of gold You say you want your story to remain untold. All the promises we make From the cradle to the grave When all I want is you."

"Give me one more chance, and you'll be satisfied. Give me two more chances, you won't be denied. Well my heart is where it's always been My head is somewhere in between Give me one more chance, let me be your lover tonight."

"Did I disappoint you? Or leave a bad taste in your mouth? You act like you never had love And you want me to go without. Well it'sToo late Tonight To drag the past out into the light. We're one, but we're not the same. We get to Carry each other, Carry each other. One."

"Have you come here for forgiveness? Have you come to raise the dead? Have you come here to play Jesus to the lepers in your head? Did I ask too much? More than a lot. You gave me nothing. Now it's all I got. We're one, But we're not the same. Well, we hurt each other, Then we do it again."

"You say love is a temple, love a higher law Love is a temple, love the higher law. You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl And I can't be holding on to what you got, when all you got is hurt.One love, one blood One life, you got to do what you should One life, with each other Sisters, brothers One life, but we're not the same We get to carry each other, carry each other"

"In my dream, I was drowning my sorrows But my sorrows they'd learned to swim Surrounding me, going down on me Spilling over the brim Waves of regret and waves of joy. I reached out for the one I tried to destroy. You, you said you'd wait till the end of the world."

"Who's gonna ride your wild horses? Who's gonna drown in your blue sea?... Took a drive in the dirty rain To a place where the wind calls your name Under the trees, the river laughing at you and me Hallelujah, heaven's white rose The doors you open, I just can't close... Don't turn around Don't turn around again... Come on now love Don't you look back"

"It's alright, it's alright, it's alright She moves in mysterious ways."

"Johnny, take a dive with your sister in the rain Let her talk about the things you can't explain To touch is to heal, to hurt is to steal If you want to kiss the sky, better learn how to kneel. On your knees, boy."

"How far you gonna go before you lose your way back home? You been tryin' to throw your arms around the world."

"And a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle When you're tryin' to throw your arms around the world."

"You bury your treasure where it can't be found But your love is a secret that's been passed around. There is a silence that comes to a house Where no-one can sleep. I guess it's the price of love; I know it's not cheap."