Police in the Eastern Cape town of Queenstown opened fire on a peaceful demonstration organised by the Treatment Action Campaign yesterday, after nearly 700 activists gathered to protest at delays in rolling out antiretroviral treatment (ARV) in the province. Ten demonstrators were treated for gunshot wounds, one was admitted to hospital and 40 were injured, a TAC spokesperson said. At least ten of the injured were people living with HIV.
Mziwethu Faku, one of the organisers of the demonstration, said: “We were expressing our anger in a peaceful, dignified and assertive manner. We will continue to use peaceful mass mobilisation but we urge the government to act with speed and compassion.”
A police spokesman said that demonstrators were dispersed at the request of hospital management after they entered wards, and that minimum force was used.
The Treatment Action Campaign says that only ten people have begun treatment this year at the Frontier Hospital in Queenstown, the only clinic allowed to prescribe antiretrovirals in the entire province since the beginning of this year. TAC alleges that at least 51 people on the waiting list for treatment have died already, and that three patients who have begun treatment subsequently died because they had started ARVs too late. TAC estimates that more than 2000 people in the catchment area of Frontiers Hospital need treatment already, but only 200 are getting medication.
However figures released at the 2nd South African AIDS conference in June showed that Eastern Cape province as a whole has done better than many other provinces in South Africa in reaching targets for roll out of antiretroviral therapy, having recruited 5,000 patients to treatment by June 2005.
TAC is now planning a larger demonstration in Queenstown on July 26th, and is asking all civil society organisations to join in.