CODEPINK Demonstration In Geneva at Syrian Peace Talks Calls for Immediate Ceasefire and Women at the Peace Table


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2014

Contact: Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK Co-founder, +1 415-235-6517, Medea@codepink.org
Jodie Evans, CODEPINK Co-founder, +1 310-621-5635, Jodie@codepink.org

CODEPINK Demonstration In Geneva at Syrian Peace Talks Calls for Immediate Ceasefire and Women at the Peace Table

Where: At the Broken Chair Sculpture outside of the United Nations
When: 8:00am-10:00am, January 24, 2014

Geneva, Switzerland –– The women’s group CODEPINK will hold a demonstration outside of the United Nations during the Syria peace talks to call for an immediate ceasefire in Syria and for women to have official representation at the peace talks table. 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. The group of women demonstrated outside of the talks on January 22 in Montreux; among them was Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire from Ireland.

“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. “The guys with the guns should not be the only ones to determine the future of Syria,” she added.

The women will be dressed in white “death masks” with black shrouds with signs that read “Save Syria” and carry banners with messages such as “Guys, Put Down Your Guns!”, “Ceasefire Now!”

“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.

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