[Pharm-policy] Unlucky Friday for Bush: Media Advisory

[Paul Davis]

LUCKY FRIDAY FOR BUSH: THIS Friday the 13th.
Transportation:
Philly Area: free buses leave 8 am from Broad and Walnut. Return
by 7 pm. Lunch provided.
WA, DC: First st. between C & D, near Capitol South Metro stop.
NYC: e-mail for info on free transportation: jr273@columbia.edu 

ACT UP * Media Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 10, 2000
CONTACT: Paul Davis, 215.731.1844 o page: 215.212.9050
If you reach our voice mail system, leave a message in box 9.
pdavis@critpath.org

AIDS ACTIVISTS TO TARGET BUSH ON MASS PROTEST FRIDAY THE 13TH
* Bush's ties to drug industry "deadly" for millions in US and
abroad denied affordable generic AIDS drugs
* Activists charge unlucky Candidate Bush with "Texas AIDS
Disaster"; 
* Arrests Expected

Who:  1000 people with AIDS and their friends and families. The
sponsoring group ACT UP Philadelphia is the largest grassroots
AIDS protest group in the U.S.

What: Activists from throughout the East Coast will target
Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush at the
Republican National Committee's Washington, D.C. headquarters in
a powerful, nonviolent protest Friday, October 13, 2000. 

The demonstration will include a stunning image of G. W. Bush as
a puppet controlled by drug industry, as well as visual displays
such as a procession of coffins and an "empty pill bottle drop"
symbolizing the lack of access to affordable AIDS drugs that will
result from a Bush presidency.  A performance by the ACT UP
Gospel Choir is anticipated.  

Protest speakers will include national and international leaders
in the fight against AIDS, united in their condemnation of
Candidate Bush's record on HIV/AIDS during his five years as
Texas’ governor, and outraged that a Bush presidency will
accelerate the AIDS crisis at home and abroad.

When:  Friday, October 13, 2000 at 12 noon.  

Where:  Republican National Committee Headquarters, First St.
between C & D, S.E. Washington, D.C.

Why:  Despite U.S. policy on AIDS in Africa figuring prominently
in domestic debate over the last two years, Bush has refused to
state his plan for confronting the AIDS crisis in the U.S. and in
the developing world.  Bush has refused to respond to criticism
of his record on AIDS in Texas, where more than 10,000 people
with AIDS have died under his watch as governor.

Background:  ACT UP insists that Bush's crushing silence on HIV
speaks volumes to his lack of commitment to confronting the
global killer:  "As Texas governor he can't bring himself to say
HIV in public, but he was happy to slash funding to AIDS
prevention programs for Latinos," said Jose DeMarco of ACT UP. 
"The next president will be faced with a colossal public health
crisis.  Bush will write off the lives of millions of people with
AIDS who are denied access to cheap generic AIDS drugs, just as
he has written off the lives of Texans at highest risk for
getting infected with HIV."

"Bush's record on AIDS in Texas is a dismal failure," said Barry
Busch, ACT UP Philadelphia member.  "He stands in opposition to
sensible, proven effective AIDS prevention programs, like condom
education.  And when it comes to access to AIDS treatment, drug
companies' killer prices on AIDS medication in the third world
keeps his fat cat industry cronies happy - so he's happy, too."  

ACT UP has been at the forefront of a domestic campaign forcing
the Clinton/Gore Administration to change U.S. trade policy on
access to life-extending generic AIDS drugs.  Bush’s strong ties
to drug industry have convinced protesters that Bush will reverse
trade policy reforms achieved by ACT UP and other groups. 
"Bush's 'compassionate conservatism' will mean the deaths of
millions with AIDS if he takes the White House," said Diane Huff
of ACT UP.  "As a woman fighting for the lives of people with
AIDS, I must stop Candidate Bush."

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