Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1999. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The Bay Area Reporter - August 13, 1999
Liz Highleyman
On July 23, ACT UP/San Francisco members were among some 30 activists who demonstrated at the AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta (ARCA) to protest the testing of an anti-HIV vaccine in the U.S., Thailand, and Africa.
ARCA is the Atlanta site for the clinical trial of AIDSVax, an experimental genetically engineered anti-HIV vaccine manufactured by VaxGen, Inc. of South San Francisco. The vaccine is currently be tested in Thailand and at several sites in the U.S.; future testing is planned for several countries in Africa. In San Francisco, AIDSVax trials are being conducted under the auspices of the Department of Public Health. The protesters claim that the vaccine tests are "unsafe, unnecessary, and unethical."
Two demonstrators, Tate Swindell and Josh Trenter of ACT UP/SF, climbed the scaffolding of a commercial billboard near the building that houses ARCA to hang a 40-foot banner reading, "U.S. AID$ Vaccine is Global Murder." Protesters also demonstrated in front of the Ponce de Leon Avenue building, calling for an end to all AIDS research and for a congressional investigation of corruption in government agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and AIDS service organizations.
Several protesters entered ARCA's offices, which they vandalized with stickers and graffiti reading "AIDS is Over" and "HIV is a Lie." Six of the demonstrators - including Gerard Livernois, best known as a member of the Biotic Baking Brigade who "pied" Mayor Willie Brown last November - locked themselves together in ARCA's reception area with bicycle locks around their necks, a method pioneered by environmental activists to make it difficult for police to remove them. The protesters remained in the agency's lobby for three hours before leaving voluntarily; no arrests were made. ARCA closed its offices early and chose not to press charges.
According to ACT UP/SF member Dave Pasquarelli, "We came to Atlanta, home of the Centers for Disease Control, to tell America that HIV is a tragic biotechnological mistake, and to warn the black and gay communities of this city not to risk their health by participating in any AIDS vaccine experiments. à Our action today is a mild prelude to what we have planned for San Francisco when we get back to town."
Continuing on their East Coast tour, ACT UP/SF members were among those who protested at a National Institute of Mental Health conference in Washington, D.C. on July 30. At the conference, entitled "Early Detection of HIV: Emerging Issues in Prevention and Care," Pasquarelli and Ronnie Burk of ACT UP/SF and Michael Petrelis of the AIDS Accountability Project turned their backs, booed, and hissed during an opening address by Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). The three demanded that Pelosi support a planned audit of AIDS service organizations by the federal General Accounting Office (GAO). A week earlier, a counterfeit "Dear Colleague" letter bearing Pelosi's letterhead and signature was sent to fellow representatives stating that she supported such an audit; Pelosi turned the forged letter over to authorities for investigation.
Pelosi issued a response to the fake letter stating that it falsely characterized her GAO request as being motivated by concerns over use of AIDS funds, when the request actually focuses on identifying the critical role of AIDS programming. "I am absolutely convinced that any objective and thorough review of federally funded AIDS programs will find that the overwhelming majority of these services are high quality, cost effective, and essential to the appropriate care of thousands of people with AIDS," Pelosi stated.
The protesters also confronted conference panelists regarding what they claim is the unreliability of HIV antibody tests and stated their opposition to any type of HIV reporting. In recent years the federal government has pressured states to report HIV infections in addition to AIDS cases by name, in an effort to better track the epidemic; many AIDS service providers and patients' rights advocates oppose such a measure.
After several more disruptions throughout the day, Pasquarelli was removed by D.C. police officers during the final plenary panel session featuring University of California, San Francisco AIDS Research Institute director Dr. Thomas Coates. Pasquarelli was arrested for disorderly conduct, fined $50, and released.
For more information about ACT UP/SF, see the website at http://www.actupsf.com.
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