The actor-comedian Jim Carrey has joined the campaign in support of the Burmese pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate has spent 11 of the past 16 years in jail. She was jailed shortly after her National League for Democracy party won 82 percent of the vote in a general election.

Jim Carrey: “Even though she’s compared to a modern-day Gandhi or Nelson Mandela, most people in America still don’t know about Aung San. And let’s face it: The name’s a little difficult to remember. Here’s how I did it: Aung San sounds like 'unsung,' as in unsung hero. Aung San Suu Kyi is truly an unsung hero.”

The Burmese military junta is said to have destroyed more than 3,000 villages and forced over a million people to flee their homes.