Amnesty International: 1200 Activists Descend on NYC to Demand Freedom for Libyan Political Prisoner, Protection of Journalists in Sri Lanka
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2008
12:32 PM
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CONTACT: Amnesty International
Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337
Bob Jackson (641) 874-5794
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1200 Activists Descend on NYC to Demand Freedom for Libyan Political Prisoner,
Protection of Journalists in Sri Lanka
Human Rights Demonstrations Planned on Myanmar and Outside Government Offices of Libya, Sudan, India and Sri Lanka
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NEW YORK - April 7 - More than 1000 Amnesty International activists, primarily students, from more than 10 states will converge in New York City on April 11 for a series of demonstrations at foreign consulates and United Nations (UN) missions to protest human rights abuses in Myanmar, Darfur (Sudan), Bhopal (India), Sri Lanka and Libya. The demonstrations are part of the 13th annual "Get on the Bus" (GOTB), organized by Amnesty International USA Group 133, of Somerville, MA.
Activists demonstrating outside the Libyan Mission to the UN will call for the release of political prisoner Fathi El-Jahmi, who was arrested in 2004 after calling for political reforms in Libya and criticizing Colonel Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi; he has been detained without trial ever since. El-Jahmi's brother, Mohamed, will participate in the demonstration and give a morning talk on his work to free Fathi.
At the Sri Lankan Mission, activists will call for the country's government to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the 2006 murder of journalist Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan. At least 10 media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka since the beginning of 2006. Outside the Sudanese Mission, demonstrators will call on Sudan to bring individuals responsible for the rapes, killing and displacement in Darfur to justice.
A demonstration at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza will call on Myanmar (Burma) to stop the crackdown on pro-democracy activists, monks, students and others, and demand the release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. A smaller group will demonstrate outside the Indian Consulate, demanding justice for the survivors of the 1984 Bhopal chemical disaster. Union Carbide (now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical) has evaded accountability for the disaster; the demonstrators will call on India to compel Dow Chemical to appear before the Indian courts.
Get on the Bus is the largest volunteer-organized Amnesty International event in the country. The first event, in 1996, had 30 people; this year's demonstrations are expected to be the largest ever. For more information about Get On The Bus, please see: www.gotb.org
WHO: Amnesty International activists from across the Northeast
WHEN: Friday, April 11, 2008
WHAT: Speakers Panel: St. Bartholomew's Church, 109 E. 50th St, 11:00am-12:45pm
Demonstrations at:
The Indian Consulate: 64th St and 5th Ave, 1:05pm-1:40pm (smaller demonstration)
The Libyan Mission to the UN: 48th St and 2nd Ave, 2:00pm-2:35pm
The Sudanese Mission to the UN: 47th St and 2nd Ave, 2:40pm-3:15pm
Dag Hammarskjold Plaza (Myanmar protest): 47th St and 1st Ave, 3:20pm-3:55pm
The Sri Lankan Mission to the UN: 41st St and 3rd Ave, 4:25pm-5:00pm
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