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International activists rally for TAC protest
Jo-Anne Smetherham. Cape Times. 17 March 2003. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd
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The Treatment Action Campaign's programme of civil disobedience, set to begin this week, is to be supported by protests in the United Kingdom, Latin America, Jamaica, the Philippines and several African countries.
These protests are to include demonstrations at many South African embassies.
This was the promise made by HIV/AIDS activists from countries around the world at a press briefing at the Ritz Hotel in Sea Point, where more than 130 activists convened on Sunday for the last day of a three-day summit on improving access to treatment for HIV/AIDS.
The TAC hopes 600 of its supporters will be arrested during the first leg of its campaign to place pressure on the government to set up pilot anti-retroviral programmes for people with HIV/AIDS. The first leg of the campaign is to begin on Thursday and is to last a week.
International protests are to take place during the second leg, from April 20 to 27.
"We strongly support TAC's civil disobedience campaign and will organise protests in our countries and cities," said Hope Mhereza, of the United Kingdom. She said she represented HIV/AIDS activists in European countries as well as the United Kingdom.
Said Gina Davis, from the Philippines: "We will be supporting the TAC by demonstrations in the Asian-Pacific region."
Pervaiz Tufail, of Pakistan, said: "We're very much with our South African friends."
Marie Mendene, of Cameroon, said "The African region has decided to support all the actions that will be implemented by the TAC - and any member of this new activists' coalition".
Although the TAC had hinted that the campaign could include the occupation of government offices and hunger strikes, its chairperson, Zackie Achmat, would not disclose details of its plans at the press briefing on Sunday.
"We support this government - it is the most democratic government this country has had," he said. "But we reject its policy that results in the deaths of 600 people with AIDS every day. We are putting our government on trial for these deaths."
The TAC has held more than 20 workshops on civil disobedience. A workshop is to take place on Monday at the University of Cape Town and another on Wednesday at St George's Cathedral in central Cape Town.
A third, "more extensive" civil disobedience campaign was planned for June, Achmat said.
The TAC also intended to take the state to court for failing to set up anti-retroviral programmes.
Achmat said that the activist group would call off its plans for civil disobedience, even at the last minute, if the government committed itself to setting up pilot programmes.
"We hope the government will take the opportunity not to force us down this road."
Delegates at the conference had learned that Uganda was preparing to give anti-retrovirals to 10 000 people this year and to treat 150 000 people by 2005, Achmat said.
They also heard the drugs were being given to almost 10 000 people in Nigeria and that although they were available to people in Botswana, the population was so ill-educated about HIV/AIDS that the country's programme was developing slowly.
The conference was attended by people from 62 countries. It was paid for by the World Bank, UNAids, World Health Organisation and the Catholic Medical Mission Board, among others.
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