Korean and international AIDS activists who participated in a peaceful protest against the Free Trade Agreement and for access to AIDS treatment at the International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) were shoved and dragged by the police while trying to prevent the arrest of AIDS lawyer Jang Seo-yeon. Two activists, including a staff person of the ICAAP Local Organizing Committee, were hospitalized. Below is the joint statement from Korean activists and supporters about the incident.
[COMMENTARY] Protest: An Honorable Tradition at the AIDS Conference 抗议：艾滋病大会上的光荣传统
Sex worker protest at the conference to demand decriminalization (Photo by Zhao Gang)
At the Vienna conference, thousands took to the streets to call for human rights to be integrated into AIDS policies and programs. They gathered in the Heldenplatz, a historic square in front of the Austrian Parliament building, to cheer the heads of UNAIDS, the Global Fund, and international AIDS activists such as Mark Heywood, and to dance and sing with pop singer Annie Lennox.
在维也纳的会议期间，成千上万的人上街集会，要求把人权列入到艾滋病的各项政策和项目中去。集会的地点是位于奥地利国会大楼前的英雄广场，一个具有历史意义的地方。人们相聚一起，为联合国艾滋病规划署署长、全球基金会会长和国际艾滋病活动家如马克·西伍德欢呼，和流行歌手安妮·列克斯一起载歌载舞。
[REPORT] Simmering Anger Sparks Fiery Outburst in Bangkok
By Pipob Udomittipong
The following is an eyewitness account of the
demonstrations in downtown Bangkok over the past several days. In the wake of
lost lives and massive damage done to infrastructure and buildings in the area,
the government has claimed success in “taking back the area” from the Red Shirt
demonstrators. Much media attention has focused on the property damages, often
overshadowing the human cost of the clearing operation. Images of sabotaged
infrastructure have been featured extensively and repeatedly to vilify the Red
Shirts and justify one of the most brutal suppressions in Thailand’s history. This piece
outlines the gulf that still exists between the government and the
demonstrators, and the unresolved anger on both sides, fueled by an incomplete
narrative in the media. The lingering anger and questions in the minds of many
Thais must be addressed if the country is to move beyond this current tragedy.
[REPORT] The Thai Protest Zone
By Karyn Kaplan
Note from Asia Catalyst: On May 20-22, Asia Catalyst will join with Thai AIDS
Treatment Action Group and Korekata AIDS Law Center to hold a training for
Chinese and Thai AIDS NGOs in Bangkok. We’ve been communicating with Karyn
Kaplan of TTAG to figure out if the training could still go forward, given the
protests. Karyn wrote us an email describing the situation on May 4. Since
then, the New York Times reports that divisions
are emerging between protest leaders as the state again threatens to use
force to end the protests. Karyn gave us permission to reprint her email to us –
a picture of the scene in the protest zone.
