Massive media coverage of protest Rally on EU - INDIA FTA issue

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Dear Friends,

Massive media coverage of 2nd March protest rally on EU-India FTA issue. We need

all of your support please write share all the concerns at all level wherever

possible for you, your advocacy will help to bring change.

Manoj Pardeshi

_______________________

Agence France Presse (AFP)      (reproduced in The International News

Pakistan, The Gulf Today UAE, EU Business, India Times, Khaleej Times, and

others)

HIV protesters tell India to defy EU drug demands

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jHrnJX00rd-uFawjhZV0ycHVnelQ?\

docId=CNG.72baebb483973586ff9863836d430cfa.631

NEW DELHI — Thousands of HIV-positive protesters called on the Indian

government on Wednesday to reject EU trade demands they said would make

lifesaving drugs unaffordable to millions of people with the virus.

......

EuropaPress (reproduced in ep social, - Spanish, translated)

Thousands of people with HIV protest in India on generic medicines

http://www.europapress.es/epsocial/noticia-mas-3000-personas-vih-manifiestan-nue\

va-delhi-india-defensa-medicamentos-genericos-20110303091944.html

More than 3,000 people with HIV from across Asia rallied Wednesday in New

Delhi to claim the Indian Government to resist pressure from the European

Union does not accept provisions restricting access to affordable essential

drugs in their negotiations new Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The march was also attended by the nongovernmental organization Medecins

Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the UN Special rator for the Right to Health,

Anand Grover, said MSF itself in a statement.

Radio France International (in English)

HIV patients demand India rejects EU trade demands

http://www.english.rfi.fr/asia-pacific/20110302-hiv-patients-ask-india-reject-eu\

-trade-demands

Thousands of HIV-positive protesters gathered in New Delhi on Wednesday to

denounce EU trade demands they say would make life-saving drugs too

expensive for millions of people with the virus. The European Union wants

stricter intellectual property rights for pharmaceutical companies, which,

critics say, will hinder Indian drug manufacturers producing cheaper

generics for use across the developing world.

More than 2,000 demonstrators from Indian and other Asian countries marched

through downtown Delhi, in a protest timed to coincide with ongoing

negotiations between Indian and EU officials.

" More than 80 per cent of the Aids drugs our medical practictioners use to

175,000 people in developing countries are affordable generics from India, "

said Cawthorne, a spokesperson for medical charity Doctors Without

Borders.

" We cannot afford to let our patients' life be cut. "

The PharmaLetter

AIDS activists continue campaign to stop EU-India FTA

http://www.thepharmaletter.com/file/102494/aids-activists-continue-campaign-to-s\

top-eu-india-fta.html

The international medical humanitarian organization Medecins Sans

Frontieres (MSF) marched alongside more than two thousand people living

with HIV from across Asia and the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the

Right to Health in New Delhi yesterday, urging the Indian government to

stand strong amid pressure from the European Union to accept provisions in

a free trade agreement (FTA) that would restrict access to affordable

medicines, as sensitive negotiations were taking place in Brussels (The

Pharma Letters passim).

“More than 80% of the AIDS drugs our medical practitioners use to treat

175,000 people in developing countries are affordable generics from India,â€

said Cawthorne, of MSF’s Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines.

“Beyond AIDS, we rely on producers in India for drugs to treat other

illnesses, such as tuberculosis and malaria. We cannot afford to let our

patients’ lifeline be cut,†he added.

The Telegraph (Calcutta, India)                 ***MSF

mention, Leena quoted***

Patients rally against trade pact with EU

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110303/jsp/nation/story_13661337.jsp

New Delhi, March 2: Patients battling cancer, infections and mental illness

joined a rally here today beseeching the government to reject a trade pact

with the European Union that they fear will threaten the availability of

inexpensive generic medicines in India.

.....

“This would virtually mean no more inexpensive generics of new medicines,â€

said Leena Menghaney, a lawyer with Medecins Sans Frontieres, an

organisation that relies on India’s generics to supply anti-HIV and anti-TB

drugs to Asian and African countries.

The National (UAE)                                        

     ***MSF mention***

EU-India deal to ban generic drugs angers the HIV-positive

http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/south-asia/eu-india-deal-to-ban-generic\

-drugs-angers-the-hiv-positive

NEW DELHI // At a rally that culminated outside the houses of parliament,

more than a thousand HIV-positive people demonstrated against trade

negotiations between India and the European Union that could result in

cutting their access to affordable drugs.

" Don't trade away our lives, " read some of the placards. " We want to live "

went the loudly chanted slogans.

....

One estimate by Médecins Sans Frontières surmises that nearly 80 per cent

of the AIDS drugs treating 5 million people across the developing world

come from India. Generic drugs from India can cost as little as a few cents

per dose.

PharmTech.com                   ***MSF mention***

EU–India FTA Dispute Continues

http://pharmtech.findpharma.com/pharmtech/News/EUndashIndia-FTA-Dispute-Continue\

s/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/709944?contextCategoryId=35097

Ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between the EU and India

have hit a hurdle as some stakeholders urge the Indian government to fight

against certain provisions in the FTA amid fears that access to generic

drugs may be affected. According to a statement from Doctors Without

Borders, the EU is “pushing for harmful intellectual property provisionsâ€

to be included in the FTA that will “hinder access to quality, affordable

generic medicines produced in India.â€

India produces an enormous number of generic products, many of which are

particularly popular in developing countries as cheaper alternatives to

branded medicines. The country has been able to produce so many affordable

versions of medicines patented elsewhere because it did not grant patents

on medicines until 2005.

“The EU is pushing for intellectual property provisions in the FTA that

exceed what international trade rules require. The most damaging measure is

so-called ‘data exclusivity,’ which would act like a patent and block more

affordable generic medicines from the market, even for drugs that are

already off patent, or do not merit a patent to begin with,†explained

Doctors Without Borders.

Doctissimo (Swiss, French, translated)

***MSF mention***

The India / Europe Free Trade Agreement: a danger for thousands of

patients?

http://news.doctissimo.fr/l-accord-de-libre-echange-inde-europe-un-peril-pour-de\

s-milliers-de-patients-_article7768.html

Negotiations on free trade agreement between India and Europe could have

important implications for access to medicines for thousands of patients

living in developing countries. Yet these important discussions for global

health are not the subject of public discussion in Europe. Faced with this

situation, associations are mobilizing in Europe but also in India.

.....

The European Commission and India could finalize an agreement on free trade

in spring 2011. A new step is to take place at the end of March.

Associations (Act-Up and Medecins Sans Frontieres) and patients in

developing countries fear is that this text contains measures that could

make it more difficult or even impossible, production and export of generic

drugs.

Associated Press (reproduced in The Independent, Los Angeles Times, CNBC,

Arab News, The Canadian Press, Washington Examiner, Forbes, Buffalo News,

USA Today, Connecticut Post and others)

Thousands of people with HIV protest India-EU trade deal restricting access

to cheap drugs

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-bc-as--india-eu-drugs,0,\

6773632.story

NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of people with HIV and cancer marched through

the streets of India's capital Wednesday to protest a planned trade deal

with the European Union that they claim would restrict access to affordable

medicines.

The protesters say that under the terms of the new free trade agreement

being negotiated by India and the EU, generic versions of lifesaving drugs

would no longer be cheaply available.

EU Observer

Thousands march in India against EU trade deal

http://euobserver.com/9/31911

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Thousands of HIV-positive protesters took to the

streets in downtown New Delhi on Wednesday (2 March), concerned that an

imminent EU-India free trade agreement (FTA) will end the production of

affordable life-prolonging drugs.

The rally of more than 2,000 demonstrators from India and other Asian

countries coincided with the re-start of sensitive trade negotiations in

Brussels, with officials suggesting an end to the 2007-initiated talks is

in sight.

Times of India

HIV+ patients protest against controversial EU-India FTA

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/HIV-patients-protest-\

against-controversial-EU-India-FTA/articleshow/7615868.cms

NEW DELHI: Thousands of HIV positive people from India and across Asia

marched from Ramlila ground to Jantar Mantar on Wednesday to protest

against the free trade agreement (FTA) between European Union (EU) and

India, which has provisions that would restrict access to affordable

medicines.

Jakarta Globe

HIV Drug Supply Threatened by Indian Trade Pact

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/health/hiv-drug-supply-threatened-by-indian-trade\

-pact/426056

Despite government assurances that a Europe-India free trade agreement will

not disrupt supplies of cheap antiretroviral drugs, Indonesian HIV/AIDS

activists are joining a mass rally in New Delhi to protest the pact.

ABC (Spanish - translated)

Ask not stop the production of generic agreement between India and EU

http://www.abc.es/agencias/noticia.asp?noticia=710868

New Delhi, March 2 (EFE) .- Patients suffering from HIV / AIDS in India and

other countries in Asia demonstrated today in Delhi to ask the Indian

government not to allow the free trade agreement negotiations with the EU

restricts global market access for generic drugs South Asian country.

The Hindu

HIV patients say 'no' to IP provision on generic drugs

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article1503867.ece

The EU is pushing for harmful IP provisions to be included in the trade

agreement that will hinder access to quality, affordable generic medicines

produced in India, the " pharmacy of the developing world "

People living with HIV in Asia, who depend on affordable generic AIDS

medicines to stay alive, have impressed upon the Indian government to stand

strong against European Union demands on the sensitive Intellectual

Property (IP) chapter in ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.

PharmaBiz

Thousands of HIV+ People organise protest march in Delhi against India-EU

free trade agreement

http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=61671 & sid=2

A large number of people living with HIV from across India and Asia marched

to Parliament Street in New Delhi today, urging the Indian government to

stand strong amid pressure from the European Union (EU) to accept

provisions in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that would restrict access to

affordable medicines. The sensitive negotiations are taking place in

Brussels today.

PharmPro

http://www.pharmpro.com/news/2011/03/government-and-regulatory-Over-2000-HIV-Pos\

itive-People-Rally-Against-India-EU-Fair-Trade-Agreement/

Over 2,000 HIV-Positive People Rally Against India-EU Fair Trade Agreement

More than 2,000 HIV-positive people from India and other Asian nations

marched in New Delhi on Wednesday to demand the Indian government reject

provisions on pharmaceuticals in the India-European Union free trade

agreement.

They asked the Indian government, which is in FTA holding in Brussels, to

stand against pressure from the European Union to accept provisions that

would restrict access to affordable medicine.

--

In Solidarity

Manoj Pardeshi

National Coordinator, 

International Treatment Preparedness Coalition-India  (ITPC-India)

Board Member, 

Network Of Maharashtra By People Living With HIV (NMP+)

401 Ganga Prestige Arcade, Laxmi Road, 612 - A, Nana Peth, 

Pune, Maharashtra , India, Pin 411 002

Phone - +91 20 2633 6083 or 84 or 87

Cell - + 91 9923 797 326

Skype ID - manoj.pardesi1

www.nmpplus.net

www.itpcglobal.org