[Marxism] In raid on GOP meet, AIDS activists demand cancellation of Third World debt

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Leaving aside whatever their position may be on the elections, ACT-UP's
linking of the fight against AIDS to the cancellation of the debt of the
semi-colonial countries to the imperialists is EXCELLENT. I am sure I
must be very behind on the development of the anti-AIDS fight, but this
linkup was news to me.
Fred Feldman


www.thenation.com
Bringing the protests to the Republicans
09/02/2004 @ 12:19am
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NEW YORK - During a week of protests against President Bush and the
Republican National Convention that he will address tonight,
demonstrations have taken many different forms - from singing Johnny
Cash songs to waving pink slips to a mass flashing of bikini underwear
featuring anti-Bush slogans.

But only one demonstration has actually taken place so far on the floor
of Madison Square Garden, where Republicans - including White House
Chief-of-Staff Andy Card - were confronted Wednesday with the reality
that they are not exactly welcome in this overwhelmingly Democratic
city.

The Republicans did not take well to the challenge.

Roughly a dozen AIDS activists infiltrated a mid-day gathering of Young
Republicans on the floor of the Garden. The activists sat quietly amid
the Wisconsin and Nevada delegations as the Youth Convention got
underway.

Then, moments after First Daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush introduced
Card to a hundreds of Young Republicans, the activists peeled off their
street clothes to reveal t-shirts that read "Bush Lies" and they held
aloft signs that read, "Bush: Stop Aids. Drop Global Debt Now."

They jumped on their chairs and began blowing whistles and chanting
"Bush kills" and "Bush lies."

Instantly, the activists were surrounded by jeering Young Republicans,
some of whom pushed and shoved the demonstrators while others tried to
drown out the message of the AIDS activists by chanting the convention's
ubiquitous "Four more years" slogan. The Republicans held signs up to
prevent television cameras from capturing images of the signs held aloft
by the demonstrations.

It was a raucous scene. Card attempted to go ahead with his speech but
was forced to stop briefly because of the noise. The demonstrators were
quickly dragged from the hall by Secret Service agents and police
officers, and police later said there was at least one arrest.

The point of the demonstration, according to Sharonann Lynch of ACT UP,
was to demand that the Bush Administration support cancellation of the
global debt owed by poor countries to donor countries and international
banks.

"Right now, sub-Saharan African nations are pouring $15 billion a year
into repaying debt to wealthy nations," explained Lynch. "That money
could and should be used to provide treatment to the millions of people
on the continent living with HIV/AIDS. The Bush Administration must move
to save the lives of people in the world's poorest countries by
supporting 100 percent debt cancellation now."

Specifically, the activists want the United States to join other
industrialized nations in supporting debt forgiveness for the planet's
poorest nations, so that those nations can direct more resources to
fighting AIDs.

ACT-UP activists also want the U.S. to meet its commitments to the
Global Fund for fighting AIDS. "While the Fund requested a contribution
of $1.2 billion," explained ACT-UP's Lynch, "the Bush White House only
asked Congress for $200 million."



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