Aids conference disrupted
2004-07-12 13:24
Special Report
An Mpumalanga clinic that serves a population of less than 40 000 people has reported that 70% of its patients are HIV positive.
Bangkok - Several dozen protestors stormed the global Aids summit on Monday and threw mock blood over posters of world leaders in protest over a shortfall in funding to tackle the epidemic.
The protesters held a mock trial of the heads of the industrialised nations in the foyer of a conference centre in the Thai capital where some 17 000 delegates have gathered to discuss the Aids crisis and latest medical research.
A young South African Aids activist shouted out a list of charges against leaders such as US President George W Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Defaced large portraits
Demonstrators shouted "shame" and defaced the large portraits of the leaders with wanted banners and red paint saying they had reneged on promises to contribute $10bn to the fight.
"The countries ... collectively share responsibility for the needless deaths of countless thousands because of their inaction," one of the protest organisers, Kamon Uppakaew, told reporters during the demonstration at the 15th International Aids Conference.
Thai security guards kept a low profile during the protest and a handful of delegates heckled the demonstrators, accusing them of ignoring the role of governments of some poorer nations who have refused to acknowledge the full scale of the Aids crisis.
Almost 3 500 Thai police have been assigned to provide security for the global Aids summit attended by the delegates including high-profile politicians and celebrities.
- AFP