ipsnews.net: In the Christmas of 2001, rock icon Bono of the hugely popular Irish band U2 wrote 'Walk On' for Burma's top dissident Aung San Suu Kyi. ''You could have flown away - a singing bird in an open cage who will only fly, only fly for freedom,'' he sang.

Three years later, Suu Kyi is still a prisoner in Burma - under house detention by the junta that ironically calls itself the State Peace and Development Council or SPDC. And this Christmas, which falls on Saturday, will see her still trapped in that not so-gilded cage.

''Suu Kyi, with an idea too big for any jail and a spirit too strong for any army, changes our view - as only real heroes can - of what we believe to be possible,'' said Bono recently. ''She needs unwavering, uncompromising international support - as tough and determined as she herself is.''

But Suu Kyi's strong spirit will be put to the test in 2005 with grave concerns for her safety under house detention that was extended by the Burmese junta, last month, by a year.

Late last week, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was ''seriously concerned'' to hear the junta had cut Suu Kyi's personal security and placed restrictions on access to her doctor. [ more]