Zackie Achmat, one of South Africa’s top Aids activists, appeared in court on Tuesday on trespassing charges after leading a protest against government policies to fight the disease.
Achmat and dozens of Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) activists were arrested last week for demonstrating in a government building in Cape Town.
The court appearances came barely a week after the South African government’s Aids policies came under renewed attack at a global conference in Canada, with campaigners venting their anger against Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
The activists in Cape Town were demanding Aids drugs be made available to HIV infected prisoners and that Tshabalala-Msimang be sacked.
A judge ruled that the trial will open formally on September 7. In the meantime, the group vowed to step up its protests.
”They postponed the case … [but] after the court appearance we launched a national civil disobedience programme. We are going to occupy more buildings illegally,” TAC spokesperson Nomfundo Eland said.
At the Toronto conference, activists protested against Tshabalala-Msimang’s recommended recipe of garlic, beetroot, lemon and African potatoes to fight one of the biggest Aids epidemics in the world. One in nine of South Africa’s 45-million people is estimated to be infected with HIV.
Activists say the minister is causing deadly confusion by underplaying the role of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs. The government says it has one of the biggest treatment programmes in the world and insists nutrition must be an integral part of that plan.
The TAC, which fought a long battle for a state-funded ARV programme, wants the government to implement an earlier court ruling that HIV infected prisoners receive immediate medication. The Department of Correctional Services has appealed against the ruling. — Reuters