South Africa Lawsuit: March 5 Worldwide Protest Information

On March 5 many of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies go to court in South Africa, against the South African government's post-Apartheid reform of its medicines law. For three years this lawsuit has kept South Africa from implementing its reforms. The March 5 protest, organized on short notice after the trial date was scheduled, now includes actions in Australia, Brazil, Canada (Toronto and Vancouver), France, Germany, Italy, Philippines, South Africa (Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria), Thailand, United Kingdom (Birmingham, Crawley, Kent, London, Manchester, and other cities, see http://www.resist.org.uk ), and the United States (Berkeley, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington).

The Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa maintains the latest list on its Web site: http://www.tac.org.za

The TAC site also has a background paper on the South African law and the industry lawsuit.

Also see:

* Washington Post February 24 editorial, "Patent Wrongs," available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/

* The New York Times February 25 editorial, "Fighting AIDS in Africa."

* The People (Kenya) February 26 editorial, "AIDS Generic: Patent Laws Killing Kenyans."