A Broadway actor leapt over a barricade to the front of the United Nations Assembly and interrupted the proceedings with a demand for peace and world law to protect human rights for all.
“And if you won’t do it, step aside and a Peoples World Assembly will arise from our own ranks to do it,” shouted actor Garry Davis, a war veteran and former bomber pilot.
UN security forces grabbed Davis, but as they tussled with him, war-hero Robert Sarrazac leapt up on the opposite balcony and shouted in French: “In the name of the people of the world not represented here, I interrupt!”
Other protesters scattered among the audience leapt up to continue the speech: “The nations you represent divide us and lead us to the abyss of total war.”
Delegates were shocked–until it became clear this was a coordinated action. Then many applauded and joined in.
On December 9, outside the UN, 20,000 supporters rallied to demand that world law be passed to protect human rights for all.
The December 9th rally was a historic first, in that it occurred seventy years ago today, and was part of the massive people-power movement which helped trigger the unanimous passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) the very next day: December 10th, 1948.
In a clip released to the press at http://vimeo.com/297521680 one of the protesters, Pierre Bergé, said the interruption of the United Nations General Assembly in Paris was planned and executed by “very famous writers” including Albert Camus.
Bergé called the disruption “a political comedy” and said it was designed to give people hope for a better way to run our world. “We have to dream, because the only way to catch the reality is to dream.”
The hidden history of how one man’s bold action helped spark a massive movement on the eve of this great leap forward for humanity is told in a forthcoming film “The World is My Country.”
Here is an excerpt:
Because this 70th anniversary event is so relevant to the hot-button issues in today’s world, the filmmakers are making a special password-protected preview version available online–for one week only. To sign up for this advance preview click on this link and select “Free Preview.”
Los Angeles area media and others are invited to meet the director at a preview screening of the film December 8th at 6:30 PM at 3916 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City 90230.
For more information about Garry and the passage of the UDHR see the article in the German magazine Spiegel.
