About me: Get on the Bus (GOTB) is a full day of human rights activism and education in New York City. The 13th annual GOTB will be held on April 11, 2008. Amnesty International Group 133 (www.amnesty133.org) of Somerville, MA and hundreds of activists from all over the Northeast will take their voices to the streets of NYC to speak out against human rights abuses.
THE ACTIONS FOR GOTB 2008 ARE:
Main Action: Darfur – International Justice and Accountability (IJA)
The human rights crisis occurring in and around Darfur, Sudan continues. On April 27, 2007, after a 20-month investigation, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against government minister Ahmad Muhammad Harun (Ahmad Harun) and Janjawid leader and Ali Muhammad Al Abd-Al-Rahman (Ali Kushayb). The two are suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur, Sudan, including murder, rape, and torture. The Sudanese authorities have refused so far to allow them to be tried by the ICC.
This year, GOTB activists have decided to focus on the need to lobby the government of Sudan to bring individuals responsible for human rights violations in Darfur to justice.
Main Action: Sri Lanka – Journalists at Risk
Since the resumption of fighting in 2006 in Sri Lanka between the security forces and the opposition Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, journalists and other media workers have been prime targets for attack. At least 10 media workers have been the victims of unlawful killings since the beginning of 2006; one has allegedly disappeared in the custody of the security forces, while others have been tortured and arbitrarily detained under emergency regulations. Despite demands by media associations in Sri Lanka for investigations into these crimes, there has been little or no progress. One example of the increased risk for journalists in covering human rights violations is the unlawful killing of Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan, the Trincomalee correspondent for the newspaper Sudar Oli. Mr. Sugirdharajan had published photographs and news reports critical of the army. He was shot and killed by unidentified men riding motorcycles on January 24, 2006, as he waited for a bus to go to work. To date, no one has been prosecuted for his murder.
GOTB activists will lobby the Sri Lankan government to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the murder of Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan and the other Sri Lankan media workers.
Main Action: Burma (Myanmar)
This year’s Get on the Bus will feature an action in support of the Burmese people, and their struggle for democracy and justice. Twenty years after the 1988 student uprisings for democracy in Burma, in which thousands of students, Buddhist monks, and other activists were imprisoned, tortured, or killed by the Burmese military, the people of Burma still risk their lives in pursuit of democracy. Amnesty International estimates that 700 Burmese people remain jailed since the start of last summer’s “Saffron Revolution”, joining the more than 1,100 political prisoners who had already been imprisoned by the military government.
While the crisis in Burma continues, media attention has faded. The military junta in Burma, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), will not back down without a strong collaboration between the Burmese people and international allies. Get on the Bus participants will stand with the people of Burma to call on the SPDC to stop the crackdown on pro-democracy activists, monks, students, and others, and to demand the release of all prisoners of conscience, including Nobel Laureate and National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, and activists Ma Khin Khin Leh and U Win Tin.
Main Action: Special Focus Case – Fathi el-Jahmi (Libya)
Political activist Fathi el-Jahmi has been detained without trial since March 2004, when he was arrested after he criticized the Leader of the Revolution, Colonel Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi, and called for political reform in international media interviews. He is currently held at an undisclosed location understood to be a special facility of the Internal Security Agency on the outskirts of Tripoli, and there are serious concerns about the conditions and his treatment in detention. Since Jun 2005, authorities have reportedly denied the 66-year-old adequate treatment for a range of medical conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, and heart ailments.
Fathi el-Jahmi is believed now to be awaiting trial under Articles 166 and 167 of the Penal Code, charged with seeking to overthrow the government, slandering the Leader of the Revolution and contacting foreign authorities. However, Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience, who has been detained solely for the peaceful expression of his political views.
We will be calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Fathi el-Jahmi.
Side Action: Bhopal
Amnesty International has been calling on Dow Chemicals to address the continuing health, social and environmental damage suffered by the people of Bhopal, India as a consequence of the ongoing contamination from the toxic gas leak of December 3, 1984. Efforts by survivors' organizations to use the US and Indian court systems to see justice done and gain adequate redress have so far been unsuccessful. The transnational corporations involved – Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and Dow Chemicals (which took over UCC in 2001) – have publicly stated that they have no responsibility for the leak and its consequences or for the pollution from the plant. UCC continues to refuse to appear before the court in Bhopal to face trial and the Indian Supreme Court-endorsed final settlement has left survivors living in penury.
To show our continued commitment to the survivors of the 1984 chemical disaster in Bhopal, a small group of GOTB activists will gather at the Indian Consulate to demand the Government of India compel Dow Chemicals to appear before the Indian courts.
Thanks to everyone for making Get on the Bus 2007 a huge success. Visit www.gotb.org for pictures of last year's event.
We demonstrated for the people of Darfur, for the victims of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, and to bring the former Guatemalan dictator, General Efrain Rios Montt to justice. We also be collected signatures for the “America I Believe In” campaign to protest the U.S. government's use of torture and other human rights violations during the so-called "War on Terror."
Please visit www.gotb.org for more information and to get involved.
Check out some clips from last year's GOTB:
Stop The Genocide In Darfur:
"This is what dempcracy looks like" protesting at the Chinese Consulate:
Get on the Bus is organized by Amnesty International Group 133 in Somerville, MA. Our group holds monthly meetings the 2nd Tuesday of every month at the Northeast Regional Office in Davis Square, 58 Day St., 4th Floor. Hope to see you there on February 12 at 7pm!
Who I'd like to meet: Activists from all over the Northeast.
