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On Monday, March 24th, more than 500
activists from the AIDS Coalition to
Unleash Power (ACT-UP) converged on Wall
Street for an early morning "Crash the
Market" demonstration. They protested
price gouging by pharmaceutical
corporations selling essential AIDS drugs
and cutbacks in Medicaid funding, and
demanded broader research toward usable
AIDS treatments and access to AIDS
treatments for all, as well as a cure for
AIDS.
Funding of the federal AIDS Drug
Assistance Program (ADAP) falls far short
of the need to cover existing AIDS
treatments in many parts of the country.
President Clinton has proposed $22 billion
in Medicaid cuts over the next five years,
and Congressional republicans are calling
for similar reductions.
The demonstration coincided with the
tenth anniversary of the founding of
ACT-UP. Eric Sawyer, a long time survivor
with AIDS who was one of the founders of
ACT-UP, says: "At a time when expensive
drugs are prolonging the lives of many
with this disease, it's outrageous that
Clinton would call for Medicaid cuts
and per-person caps--which
will force many states to slash or even
eliminate prescription coverage. This says
to poor people with any seri-ous illness,
`It's only worth keeping you alive if it
doesn't cost too much.'"
Demonstrators began marching at 7:30
am, chanting: "We Die, They Make Money"
and "Wall Street trades on peo-ple with
AIDS." Demonstrators carried out civil
disobedience actions, including the
blocking of entrance points set up by the
police for employees working in the area
and rushing the doors of the New York
Stock Exchange.
Numerous police assaults took place,
including the banging of heads on the
pavement, tackling people from behind,
restraining demonstrators with feet and
body weight on necks, legs, and arms,
kicking and punching demonstrators, and
dragging arrestees across the pave-ment
face down, by their hair and by handcuffs.
In addition, police used drogatory
epithets against demonstrators. There were
a total of 73 arrests. Two of the arrested
activists were hospitalized with head
injuries.
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