Drag Queen Breaches G8 to Protest Unkept AIDS Promises
A bearded drag queen in a sequin dress and pink boa made a surprise appearance at the G8 summit on Thursday to slam leaders' unkept promises to provide AIDS treatment around the world.
A small group of protesters handed out flyers announcing "Miss Promise -- guest of honour at the G8" and "Unkept promises are promises that kill" inside the tightly secured press room in the France's northern resort of Deauville.
Group of Eight leaders at the 2005 summit in Scotland made the solemn promise that by 2010 everyone in the world would have access to HIV antiretroviral drugs, AIDS pressure group Act Up said in a statement.
"But in 2011, 70 percent of the world's sick do not have access to antiretrovirals," it said.
"The time for promises has passed, the world's biggest health catastrophe AIDS is no longer on the agenda" at the G8, it said, calling for each state to dedicate 0.5 percent of GDP to providing universal access to treatment.
All demonstrations are banned at the summit in Deauville where over 12,000 police and security forces have been deployed and only accredited delegates, journalists, inhabitants and workers from non-governmental organisations are allowed in.
Source: Agence France Presse
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