Hi all,
Please sign on as organizations to this letter to the International AIDS Society demanding that the Mexican sex worker activist group Brigada Callejera not be sanctioned for their protest directed at Mexico City’s mayor at the closing session. They received an email saying they may be barred for life from entering the conference, and possibly even denied scholarships and the ability to present — all their abstracts would be denied. It seems they are being targeted because they didn’t agree to the terms of their protest with IAS beforehand, which could mean that our movement is facing a bleak future of being forced to choose between more and more narrowly defined “acceptable” and possibly impotent protest vs. making ourselves truly heard and facing the consequences. So we should stand with Brigada now.
As you can see below (the letter is below and attached), we have mostly US groups signed on now. We’re hoping to reach more organizations internationally to sign on before we send the letter. Please ask me or Sam Sitrin (pepperbeet@yahoo.com) if you have any questions, and please forward this to groups that might be interested.
Suzy Subways and Sam Sitrin
Philadelphia, USA
Here is the letter:
We, as groups and individuals representing the international HIV/AIDS activist community, are outraged at the possibility of sanctions targeting a local Mexican activist group by the International AIDS Society following the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. We ask the IAS to correct what could become an embarrassing and painful mistake. The IAS must not sanction Brigada Callejera, a group of sex workers, people living with HIV, transgender people and their allies based in Mexico City.
Historically, the power of people living with HIV and their allies to organize for their rights has transformed the IAC, helping it become a forum for people living with HIV to participate in the decision-making about how AIDS will be fought around the world. For conference organizers, now, to chastise Brigada Callejera for using the same tactics that international groups such as ACT UP have used throughout the years is hypocritical and unjust.
At the IAC closing session, which included a speech by Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, the mayor of Mexico City, local group Brigada Callejera protested to make visible a local reality that we may not have seen otherwise. They were calling attention to their mayor’s “zero tolerance” policy against sex work which has resulted in mass arrests of sex workers and health educators who give out condoms in the streets, as well as forced HIV testing of sex workers. Brigada also highlighted the discrimination against sex workers by the Condesa Clinic, Mexico’s first HIV/AIDS clinic, and demanded better treatment access.
Does the International AIDS Society support the right of people living with HIV and allies to speak up for our specific needs? If the answer is yes, there must be no sanctions against Brigada Callejera.
Sincerely,
ACT UP Philadelphia, USA
CHAMP (Community HIV/AIDS Mobilizing Project), USA
Housing Works, USA
ACT UP Paris, France
NYCAHN (New York City AIDS Housing Network), New York, USA
Health GAP (Global Access Project), New York, USA
AIDS Policy Project, Philadelphia, USA
– – –
From: Suzy Subways
Date: 2008-8-25 4:56
Subject: Please sign on to support right of protest at International AIDS Conferences!
– – – – – – – – – – –
The International AIDS Society (IAS) has at no time considered
sanctions against Brigada Callejera or any other group that
demonstrated or protested at the XVII International AIDS Conference
(AIDS 2008) in Mexico City. Working through the AIDS 2008 Community
Activist Liaison, the IAS met with representatives of Brigada
Callejera prior to the conference, supported their full access to the
conference, helped to ensure their protest at the Opening Session did
not lead to eviction by the local authorities, supported their
demonstrations in Centro Banamex and took no measures to interfere
with their protest at the Closing Session. As such, we regret Brigada
Callejera’s decision to issue a statement condemning the IAS without
first having confirmed whether there is any truth to the claim of an
IAS sanction. In fact, this claim is completely without merit.
The IAS remains committed to supporting activism and the expression of
differing points of view at the International AIDS Conference today
and in the future.
Mats Ahnlund, Conference Director, AIDS 2008
Ron Rosenes, Community Activist Liaison, AIDS 2008
– – –
Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:18:42 -0700 (PDT)
From: Roseyknees
Subject: BAIDS Rights: International AIDS Society (IAS) Statement Regarding Brigada Call _Claim_of_an_IAS_Sanction_for_Demonstrating_at_the_AIDS_2008_Closing_Session