GOTB Celebrates Sweet 16! Part 2

After the morning speaker's panel, we broke for lunch and then reconvened outside of the Chad Mission to the United Nations to call on the Chadian government to protect Darfur refugees and IDPs living within their borders. The energy that students brought to the demonstrations was striking.

Photo: Scott Langley Photography.

From there, we moved to the Sri Lankan Mission to the UN to call for independent investigation of war crimes committed by both sides during the Sri Lankan Civil War. A number of passers-by seemed intrigued by the goings-on, and our student activists handed out flyers and information.

Photo: Kelly Turley.

Our Filep Karma action was an interesting one, as Dag Hammarskjold Plaza is apparently a popular demonstration spot on a Friday afternoon.

From Demotix.com:

New York -- three separate rallies, for three separate causes, came together at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza on Friday afternoon. 

Dozens of supporters showed up at 3pm for the Yemen/Libya rally, to show solidarity with the uprisings in those countries. An hour later, more than a hundred high school and college students marched in, part of Amnesty International's "Get on the Bus For Human Rights" program, supporting Filep Karma, a prisoner of conscience in Indonesia. These younger protesters had been bussed in from New England. 

Mixed in with the crowd, were 4 protesters who comprised a 'flash mob', rallying in support of the Goldstone Report, against Shimon Peres appearance at the UN. 

All three causes stood side by side, shared the space and the microphone and the media attention. There must be something in the air this spring.

The day concluded at the Chinese Mission to the UN, and through the rain, our demonstrators kept up their tireless energy, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen.

This was my first Get On The Bus, I've been looking forward to the event since November when I started working with Group 133. And although I woke up terribly sick on Saturday morning, I can say now (after a few days of antibiotics), that the experience was well worth all the work and even the maladies. The coordination team is an amazing group of people, taking time out of busy personal lives to pull this event together. The students and participants are equally inspiring with their creativity and energy during the event. And of course, the expert speakers and the success stories make the event well worth all the work.

Thanks to everyone who worked and participated to make Get On The Bus's Sweet Sixteen a smashing success!

GOTB Celebrates Sweet 16! Part 1

Last Friday, April 8 students and activists from throughout the Northeast region collected in New York City for Get On The Bus for Human Rights' Sweet 16th. Although the weather was soupy and unpleasant, the energy the activists brought to the day's demonstrations was inspiring.

Photo: Scott Langley Photography.

We began at the Great Hall at the Cooper Union with our speaker's panel. We were delighted to have Josh Rubinstein, director of the AI-USA Northeast Office, discuss recent uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East. We also welcomed Sarah Milburn, AI-USA Chad country specialist, Jim McDonald, Sri Lanka country specialist, Tenzin Dolkar of Students for a Free Tibet, and John M. Miller of the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) to speak on the issues of the day. We also watched a brief video message from Lhamo Tso, wife of imprisoned Tibetan filmmaker, Dhondup Wangchen. (You can watch the full interview, conducted by Group 133 members and interns Lisa and Megan, on YouTube here.)

Tenzin Dolkar speaking in front of Lhamo Tso's image at Get On The Bus 2011. Photo: Kelly Turley.

Get On The Bus 2011

Group 133 and other Get On The Bus supporters have begun planning for next year's Get On The Bus (for human rights) event!

Last night Group 133 members voted for four actions to be included in the April '11 event:

• Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan filmmaker and prisoner of conscience and Group 133's special focus case.
• Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Filep Karma, a West Papuan activist who was arrested by Indonesian authorities in 2004 for raising the outlawed Morning Star flag. Karma is the AI-USA Mid-Atlantic region's special focus case.
  
• Calling on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to establish an independent international investigation into war crimes committed by both the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tigers during the Sri Lankan civil war.
• Urge the government of Chad to protect refugees from Darfur and internally displaced persons from Chad, particularly women and girls.

Of course, these may change or be tweaked as the event draws closer. We're really excited this year because our friends in the Washington DC and Mid-Atlantic region will be holding their own Get On The Bus solidarity actions in the Capital.

Watch here for more information about Get On The Bus '11, the cases mentioned above and other details about the event. For more information visit the Get On The Bus web site at www.gotb.org or the Group 133 web site at www.amnesty133.org.