KAMPALA, June 4, 2008 (AFP) - Ugandan police on Wednesday detained 13 people protesting over discrimination against gays during a global HIV/AIDS conference, a spokesman said.
"We are demonstrating because we are not involved in the HIV/AIDS programme. We are discriminated against," shouted the group leader, 28-year-old Julian Pepe Onziema, who was forcefully led out of the conference hall.
Police said they arrested 13 demonstrators, all members of the Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG) group, on charges of promoting homosexuality and "unnatural conduct".
"We have detained them for promoting homosexuality, which is a serious offence in our laws," Kampala police spokesman Simeo Nsubuga told AFP.
"Depending on the investigation and evidence available, these people may be imprisoned for life," Nsubuga added.
"They government does not give us money and other services given to other groups for fighting HIV/AIDS," Onziema shouted at the conference.
The group carried posters denouncing conference organisers for not involving them and asked the meeting to pressure the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni into accepting them as a minority group.
"Health is our human right," the banners read. Police immediately deployed heavily around the venue to avoid further demonstrations.
The 2008 HIV/AIDS meeting hosts some 1,700 delegates from more than 70 countries.
US President George W. Bush' Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank and several UN agencies are among the conference co-sponsors.
080604
AF080603
Copyright ©AFP 2008. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP photos or materials. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP stories, photos or graphics. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Gill Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Quest Diagnostics, Roche and Trimeris, and donations from users like you.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. This article first appeared in 2008. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2008. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.