Drop the case! They are fighting a law, that was passed by the South African parlia ment and approved by Netson Mandela, which would allow life-saving medicines to be imported from countries where they are cheaper.

But this Government to court.

increased many times over in regard to their response to the spread of AIDS where the their greed has become even NO OUS broader layers.

At the same rise of mass protests against drugs industry is one of the most graphic symbols of what i rong with the neo-liberal Below we print the letter stay alive. which will be appearing in papers across the word which demonstrates the way They claim that the law Infringes intellectual property rights.

Nearty five million South Africans are living with HIV. But few can afford the drugs which have enabled richer countries to transform the disease from a killer into a managoable itiness. These companies, with the support of some Western governments, are protecting their monopolies at the expense of millions of lives.

This legal action shows that the pharmaceutical industry is more concerned with staving off competition and protecting their high profit margins than with genulnety increasing access to medicines.

sable. We call on the companies involved to drop the case and on Nestern governments to provide clear support to the South African goverment as it strives to tackle the urgent HIV/AIDS epidemic.* world's largest drug corporadrug companies are putting tion which lesding the fight to enforce patent rights and their greed for profit before price foing for anti-HIV the right of thousands of people in the Third World to drugsIn Britain action will be focused through sickets aars GaoSmokine. te info @tac.org.za. Activities are taking place in London, Birmingham and Manchester and will involve activists from Globalise Resistance, Action for South Africa and various HIV/AIDS groups.

*The outcome of this court HIV sufferers in poorer countries, who cannot afford these exorbitantpriced drug therapies" acoording to gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who is backing the protest.

*GSK says that under its Accelerated Access scheme it has cut the price of HIV drugs by 85 per cent. But For further information visit the TAC web site at http: www.tac.org.za. or e-mail

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