By Ramy Eletreby

Protesters from the Eastern Cape Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) were severely injured on July 12 in Queenstown, South Africa, after the South African Police Services assaulted and shot rubber bullets at the peaceful, unarmed crowd of about 700 people. Forty people were injured and 10 more were treated for gunshot wounds in what is believed to be the first police shooting ever of AIDS protesters worldwide in the 25-year fight against AIDS. The protest's aim was to ensure that HIV/AIDS patients receive antiretroviral treatment from hospitals throughout the Eastern Cape region in South Africa. Protesters marched to Frontier Hospital, a Queenstown hospital that has treated fewer than 200 HIV/AIDS patients (of an estimated 2,000) in the last 18 months, to pressure the facility into treating more HIV-positive patients. More than 50 patients have died since the hospital established a waiting list for treatment. The Eastern Cape TAC and other activists had organized the demonstration after months of unsuccessful negotiations on several treatment access issues with the local health authorities. In November 2003, the government committed to providing 53,000 patients with free antiretroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS by March 2004. According to TAC, only about half those numbers were receiving treatment by March 2005. Human rights organizations have criticized the slow progress of the provision of treatment and the South African government's lack of commitment to HIV/AIDS treatment programs.

TAC released a press statement to relate some of the details of the incident. According to TAC, "Forty people were injured and 10 were treated for gunshot wounds. One person, Pumla Xesha had to be admitted to hospital. At least 10 of the injured people were people who live openly with HIV/AIDS. The majority of the protesters were women. At no stage was there violence, threat of violence or any form of provocation. No warning to disperse was issued as is required by law. After the assault, as people ran away, the police opened fire with firearms and then used tear gas."

TAC spokesperson Sipho Mthathi added, "The police used excessive force against people who were (exercising) their legal right to peaceful protest. There was no provocation, no insults, or injury from their side." Police spokesperson Gcinikaya Taleni said the protesters had entered the hospital wards and were keeping medical staff from continuing with their duties so the hospital management had to call the police to stop them. "The police used minimum force -- rubber bullets -- to scare them off," Taleni said, admitting that protesters might have been injured in the resulting stampede.

According to the Human Rights Watch (HRW), there is no indication that the actions by the South African Police adhered to international standards for the appropriate use of force by police. The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials provides that police shall, as far as possible, use nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. Whenever the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, police must exercise restraint in such use and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense and the legitimate objective to be achieved, and also minimize damage and injury. TAC said it will press charges against police for excessive force, and HRW has urged the South African government to investigate the incident. "It's a shocking irony that people demonstrating for essential medicines should be met with rubber bullets and tear gas," said Jonathan Cohen, a researcher with HRW's HIV/AIDS Program. "South Africa should be easing the suffering of people with AIDS, not violently dispersing peaceful demonstrations."

Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has expressed outrage at the unprovoked display of brutality, suggestive of tactics previously used by the police during the apartheid era in South Africa. AHF President Michael Weinstein released the following statement from London: "We completely condemn this unprecedented and violent police action against the people of South Africa who were simply asking for life-saving AIDS treatment. As the only American anti-retroviral treatment provider operating in South Africa for nearly four years, we know firsthand that treatment equals life and treatment successes are indeed possible. We also know and believe that the voices of the people must be heard, and that treatment, not bullets, will stop AIDS in South Africa."

AHF is the largest U.S. AIDS organization which operates AIDS treatment clinics throughout the United States, Central America, India, and Africa. Weinstein added, "AHF stands in solidarity with TAC and all treatment activists in South Africa in the fight for access to AIDS care and antiretroviral treatment as a basic human right. More than 21 percent of all South African adults are now infected with HIV. AHF is ready and willing to work together to expand access to life-saving treatment and to help in any way we can." Specifically, in South Africa, the AHF operates and serves more than 1,000 people with life-saving treatment at its Ithembalabantu Clinic in Umlazi Township, Durban, and KwaZulu Natal South Africa. Ithembalabantu is a Zulu term meaning "people's hope."

According to a new study recently released by South Africa's Department of Health, there is new data estimating that at least 6.29 million people in the country are HIV-positive, a significantly higher number than previously reported. As compared to an estimated 5.6 million people in December 20003, the new study shows that between 6.29 million and 6.57 million people in South Africa are likely to be HIV-positive. The health department's new figures differ from a May study by Statistics South Africa that put the number at an estimated 4.5 million. According to a recent Business Day editorial, the difference between the health department and Statistics SA figures "is less significant than the fact that both numbers are showing marked increases, despite almost a decade of intense public information campaigns." The editorial goes on to say that promoting HIV testing "has to have a collective grassroots feel about it" and "must be firmly felt in the home and on the factory floor, not at the level of political discussion." The editorial also says that small businesses should find ways to encourage their employees to get tested for HIV because "it is in their own interests to tap into the campaign."

Gay Man to Receive Death by Stoning in Nigeria

A 50-year-old man in Nigeria has been sentenced to death by stoning because of having had gay sex. The man, who remains unidentified, had been acquitted of having sex with a younger man, but was given the sentence after admitting to previous gay sexual encounters. The man's punishment is in accordance with what is known as Sharia law, a traditional Islamic law based on the Quran and the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. In certain countries, Sharia law exists in addition to or in place of civil law. In 2000, 12 northern states in Nigeria imposed the extreme law, which has been criticized for its advocating of stoning as a punishment. Philip Alston, an official with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, has called for "an immediate review of the entire process that led to the man's death sentence under Islamic Sharia law." Alston has suggested that sexuality should not be a reason for execution, even if religious leaders condemn it. "Sodomy cannot be considered one of the most serious crimes for which, under international law, the death penalty can be prescribed," Alston said. "The punishment is wholly disproportionate." Ten women in Nigeria recently received death sentences for having sex outside of marriage, but their sentences were overturned on appeal after an international outcry.

Canada Officially Legalizes Gay Marriage

With a vote by the Canadian Senate on July 19, Canada officially joined the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium to become the fourth nation in the world to grant same-sex couples the same legal rights as traditional couples. Eight Canadian provinces and two of its territories had already legalized same-sex unions, but this bill would now include the remaining two provinces and sole territory. This comes just three weeks after the House of Commons in Ottawa approved a measure to allow gay couples to marry on June 28. This new legislation, drafted by Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority Liberal Party government, solidifies the measure passed by the House of Commons. The Senate easily passed the measure and Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin signed the legislation hours later on July 20, though it was strongly opposed by Conservatives and religious leaders. Martin, a Roman Catholic, insists that all Canadians should be granted the same marriage rights whatever their personal beliefs suggest. National spokesman for Canadians for Equal Marriage Alex Munter was thrilled with the passing of the legislation: "It is a signal to the world that Canada is an open and inclusive society that believes in the notion of full citizenship for all."

Two Boys Executed in Iran for Sexual Crimes

On July 19, Iran executed two young boys by hanging them for the crime of homosexuality. Ironically, the public execution took place in Edalat (Justice) Square in the northeastern city of Mashad. The boys, an 18-year-old and an underage minor, who are only identified by the initials A.M. and M.A., were reportedly executed for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy, which has not been proven and may simply be an exaggerated charge to weaken sympathy for the youths, a frequent tactic used by the Islamic regime. Prior to their execution, the teenagers were held in prison for 14 months and severely beaten with 228 lashes. Their length of detention suggests that they committed the offences more than a year earlier, when they were around the age of 16. Under the Iranian penal code, which enforces Islamic Sharia law, the dictated penalty for gay sex is execution. "This is just the latest barbarity by the Islamo-fascists in Iran," said Peter Tatchell of the London-based gay human rights group OutRage! "The entire country is a gigantic prison, with Islamic rule sustained by detention without trial, torture, and state-sanctioned murder." An Iranian blogger, known as Mr. Behi, witnessed the execution and wrote the following: "It seems that Iranian judiciary is doing it's best to show the world that Iran is transforming into a Taliban-like Islamic system. Our culture of joy and happiness, ceremonies and poems, celebration and dancing is blocked by those who think their destiny is to cry and beg for mercy from God and hate and punish others who do not want this way of ascending to the heavens."

Brazilian Judge Allows Gay Adoption

On July 8, Judge Julio Cesar Spoladore Domingos of Sao Paolo, Brazil, ruled that gay couple Vasco Pereira de Gama and Dorival Pereira de Carvalho may jointly adopt a child. The couple, who have been together for 13 years, is seeking to adopt a girl between the ages of 2 and 4. The judge cited a policy of the nation's Psychological Council that says, "homosexuality was not a disease, a disturbance or a perversion." Brazilian lesbians and gays had been able to adopt as single parents in the past, but never as same-sex couples. The lawyer for the two men called the decision "a victory for citizenship."

Abbott Laboratories Lowers Price of HIV Drug in Brazil

Pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories has reached an agreement with the Brazilian government to allow significant price cuts to its HIV drug Kaletra. Brazil threatened to start making a generic version of the drug, which would violate international patent laws. Brazil would sell the generic drug at 68 cents per pill, which is nearly half of Abbott's price of $1.17, if Abbott did not agree to a price cut by July 6. Specific prices negotiated between Abbott and Brazil have not been released. Kaletra is the most widely used protease inhibitor and currently 23,400 Brazilians take the drug; that number is expected to reach 60,000 by 2011. USA for Innovation, a lobbying group that defends U.S. intellectual property rights, was not happy with the decision. "While we are relieved that Brazil chose not to violate a lawful patent, its threat to steal U.S. intellectual property remains objectionable. We hope Brazil will not feel emboldened by this outcome to use this tactic of industrial blackmail against other U.S. companies," said a representative of the group.

UK's Methodist Church to Begin Endorsing Gay Marriage in December

Leaders of the Methodist Church have agreed to allow ministers to perform blessing ceremonies for gay couples beginning in December, becoming the first major denomination in the UK to endorse same-sex unions. Speakers at the church's annual meeting almost unanimously voiced their approval of the plan. The delegates to the meeting voted to authorize the Faith and Order Committee to develop a liturgy and advise ministers on how to conduct the ceremony. Rev. Jonathan Kerry, the chairman of the committee, said that the service would begin in the fall, leaving plenty of time for the first civil unions. There are 300,000 Methodists in Britain, making it the country's third largest denomination. The United Methodist Church, the largest Methodist denomination in the United States, still opposes same-sex unions and forbids non-celibate gay clergy.

Poland Might Face EU Censure Over Gay Rights

Gay rights campaigners and members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have called for a review of Poland's membership in the European Union due to its recent actions on gay issues. Last month, a pride-style parade for gay rights was refused permission by Warsaw's Mayor Lech Kaczynski for the second year in a row. Instead, Kaczynski allowed a "normality parade" to march through the city in response to the gay demonstration and recent reports suggest he is planning to sue the organizers of the pride event, intending to bankrupt the organization. Green MEP Caroline Lucas says that because human rights are a key aspect of EU membership, Poland must launch an investigation into the issue or have their membership reviewed.