Women’s Demonstration In Montreux during Syrian Peace Talks; Demand Ceasefire Immediately and Women at the Peace Table
What: Demonstration to call for immediate ceasefire in Syria
Where: At the media/delegate entrance outside of the Montreux Palace
When: 10:00am-12:00pm, January 22, 201
Montreux, Switzerland –– A global coalition of women’s groups will hold a demonstration outside of the UN Syria peace talks to call for an immediate ceasefire in Syria and for women to have better representation at the peace talks table. Two of the women joining the demonstration are Nobel Peace Laureates, Mairead Maguire and Ann Patterson from Ireland. Activists converged in Geneva earlier this week to meet with Syrian women to hear their analysis of the political situation and their platform for peace
“We were so impressed by the Syrian women we met, but disappointed that the UN has not allowed them to have an official role in the talks representing civil society,” said CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin. “Once again it’s the guys with the guns who will determine the future of Syria,” she added.
Pioneering an international women’s movement to support the women of Syria, the coalition, known as Women Lead to Peace, calls for a ceasefire in Syria, more humanitarian aid, and the active participation of Syrian women in the peace talks
The women will carry large banners with messages such as “Guys, Put Down Your Guns!”, “Ceasefire Now!”, “No Peace Without Women At the Peace Table”, and heart-shaped signs reading “Arms Are For Hugging” and “Aid, Not Weapons.” Some of the women will be dressed in white “death masks” with black shrouds with signs that read “Save Syria.
“After three years of fighting and over 100,000 deaths, it’s time for women to say ‘Enough!’ It is men driving the violence and destruction. It’s time for a ceasefire and there can be no peace without women at the table,” said Jodie Evans, co-founder of CODEPINK, who is a key organizer of the campaign.
The Women Lead to Peace Campaign is led by CODEPINK, Women International League for Peace and Freedom, Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, Karama, MADRE and Nobel Women’s Initiative. It has been endorsed by a growing group of organizations and individuals, including Nobel Peace Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi, The Square Director Jehane Noujaim, V-Day Founder Eve Ensler, Author Alice Walker, Actress Geena Davis, Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire, Bianca Jagger, European Union former Vice President Luisa Morgantini, Global Fund for Women, Women for Women International, Institute for Policy Studies’ Phyllis Bennis, Embrey Foundation President Lauren Embrey, Journalist Chris Hedges and Center for Constitutional Rights’ President emeritus Michael Ratner.
Campaign page: www.codepink.org/WomenLeadtoPeace