2007-04-16 18:23:15 -

NEW YORK, April 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 1,000 Amnesty International activists, primarily students, from more than 10 states will converge in New York City on April 20 for a series of demonstrations at foreign consulates and United Nations (U.N.) missions to protest human rights abuses in Sudan, Guatemala, Bhopal, India, and Guantanamo. The demonstrations are part of the 12th annual "Get on the Bus" (GOTB) event, organized by Amnesty International USA Group 133, of Somerville, MA.

At the Chinese mission to the U.N., activists will call for China to

pressure Sudan to protect civilians in Darfur. Sudan represents China's largest overseas investment, worth at least $3 billion, and is the third- largest supplier of oil to China. The demonstration will highlight the failure of the Chinese government to use its influence to pressure the Sudanese government to admit a viable peacekeeping operation into Darfur. A group of students from Columbia University will replicate the 900-mile long pipeline China built in Sudan by placing pipes along the demonstration area.

At the Guatemalan mission, activists will urge authorities to bring General Efrain Rios Montt to justice for his actions during his tenure as dictator, considered genocide by a U.N. Truth Commission. The rally at J.P. Morgan will seek to pressure the investment company, one of Dow Chemical's largest institutional investors, to demonstrate its commitment to social responsibility by supporting a shareholder resolution filed by Amnesty International seeking disclosure about Dow's efforts to address the health, environmental, and social concerns of survivors of a Union Carbide gas leak in Bhopal, India, 22 years ago. Union Carbide has been a fully-owned subsidiary of Dow since 2001.

The day will start with a panel of experts speaking on each of these issues. Visit http://www.gotb.org/ for further details and updates.

WHO: Amnesty International activists from across the Northeast WHEN: Friday, April 20, 2007 WHAT: Speakers' panel, St. Bartholomew's Church, 109 East 50th St., 11:00am-12:30pm Demonstrations at: J.P. Morgan Investor Relations Office, 270 Park Avenue, 2:15pm- 3:00pm Guatemalan mission to the U.N., 57 Park Avenue, 3:20pm-4:00pm Chinese mission to the U.N., 350 E. 35th Street, 4:20pm-5:00pm

Source: Amnesty International