Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
Rangoon, June 8, 2003

Burmese military intelligence have prevented one of the most popular
rock bands in Burma, Iron Cross, from departing on a month long music
tour in the United States.

Iron Cross was forced to cancel the US tour without prior notice. "They
were surprised", said a director from Barr Street who requested not to
be named. "I think it is politics", he added.

Many suggest that the travel ban would be related to the tense
political situation in Burma as the military junta moves further to crack down
on opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party. This situation
has been further exacerbated following the May 30 Ye Oo massacre of Suu
Kyi's political tour.

Lay Phyu, the lead singer of Iron Cross, is very well-known by Burmese
youth both inside and outside the country. The fans follow his
political message as much as his music. One of his albums released in the
1990's was banned because its title "Power 54" was alleged by censorship
authorities to be a thinly veiled reference to Aung San Suu Kyi's
residence number 54 on Inya Lake in Rangoon.

The repression of music in Burma is similar to the military control
over so many individual pursuits and liberties. Lay Phyu has resisted
singing the propaganda songs that all musicians in Burma are pressured to
perform. Authorities keep Lay Phyu under close scrutiny as they view
Iron Cross as a destructive and potential subversive force in the country.

The Press Scrutiny Board (PSB) carefully screen all the band's lyrics,
checking each song carefully line by line before granting permission
for it to be recorded. If they find a particular band guilty of including
an anti-government message in their songs, they ban not only the album
but any live performances by the offending group as well.

In United State, fans of Iron Cross, including dissidents from the
military junta, were waiting to hear Lay Phyu perform in Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Washington DC, New York City, and Phoenix from June 7 to July
12 respectively. Fans waiting to buy tickets for Iron Cross shows in
Los Angeles have already registered their disappointment with the news.