For the 11th consecutive year, Amnesty International Local Group 133 in Somerville, Mass. is organizing the Get on the Bus (GOTB) trip to New York City for one full day of human rights action and education. We invite you and your group to join other activists in what we anticipate will be the biggest, strongest Get on the Bus ever.
Get on the Bus is a great way to get involved with direct human rights action by meeting other activists, taking our voices to the streets, and learning about specific cases that Amnesty International is working on. Find out about the project’s history.
JOIN US IN 2006!
Friday, April 21, 2006: buses and caravans leaving from select cities all over the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Tentative Schedule for Get on the Bus 2006
Click here to find out what you should know before coming to NYC .
10:30 am – 11:00 pm
Registration at St. Bartholomew’s Church, 109 East 50th Street (between 50th and Park Avenue)
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Speakers’ panel, St. Bartholomew’s Church
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch
1:45-2:15 pm
Demonstration #1 at the Sudan Mission to the U N, 305 East 47th Street
Subject: the ongoing conflict in Darfur
2:30-3:00 pm
Demonstration # 2 at the Ethiopian Mission to the U N, 866 2nd Avenue
Subject: the widespread arbitrary detention, ‘disappearances’ and use of excessive force by police and soldiers against anyone suspected of supporting opposition groups and the prosecution of 131 people, including 40 opposition party leaders and supporters, 10 newly-elected members of parliament, 3 prominent human rights defenders, 15 independent journalists, 30 Ethiopian expatriates (including 5 journalists from Voice of America) and many members of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy for high treason and genocide, which could lead to death sentences for those convicted.
Side action to thank NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for his work to defeat the death penalty in New York at his office at 250 Broadway
**If you’re interested in being part of this delegation, please email us.
3:30-4:00 pm
Demonstration #3 at the Guatemalan consulate, 57 Park Avenue
Subject: the failure of Guatemalan authorities to adequately investigate murders of hundreds of young women or bring their killers to justice
4:00-4:30 pm travel to Chinese consulate by bus
4:30-5:30 pm
Demonstration # 4 at the Chinese consulate, 520 12th Avenue
Subject: internet censorship by the Chinese government, featuring the case of Amnesty prisoner of conscience Shi Tao
possible simultaneous demonstrations at Yahoo! and Google offices in Manhattan to protest US corporations’ complicity and role in helping to prosecute Chinese citizens for exercising their right to freedom of expression
**If you’re interested in organizing protests at Yahoo! and Google offices that day, please email us.
