Pubdate: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 Source: New York Daily News (NY) Copyright: 2006 Daily News, L.P. Contact: http://www.nydailynews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/295 Authors: Rich Shapiro and Paul H. B. Shin, Daily News Staff Writers Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/United+Nations Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) UN RAPPED ON AIDS East Side Rally Demands Funding to Fight Scourge Hundreds of protesters took to the streets near the United Nations yesterday to chastise world leaders for failing to do more to combat the AIDS pandemic, which has killed 25 million people. Earlier, police arrested 21 AIDS activists after they chained themselves together in the lobby of a building on E. 45th St. that houses the U.S. Mission to the UN. The activists carried a placard demanding the U.S. delegation to this week's General Assembly special session on AIDS commit to more funding for AIDS research and "HIV prevention based on science, not ideology." As the eight women and 13 men were led out of the building in plastic cuffs, supporters outside chanted, "End AIDS now." A handful had to be carried out. Sean Barry, 24, of Annapolis, Md., said he felt getting the message out - that the Bush administration has spent over $1 billion on abstinence-only programs - was worth getting arrested over. "There is no evidence they work, and there's evidence that they are actually harmful," Barry said. World leaders are meeting at the UN this week to hash out new plans to combat AIDS, which kills 8,000 people every day worldwide. But protesters - and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan - said the world has fallen far short of fulfilling the pledges made at a similar gathering five years ago. "A lot of people are very, very angry at the UN for not holding up to their promises," said Brooklyn-born actress and AIDS activist Rosie Perez, who led a rally near the UN in Manhattan. A U.S. Mission spokesman defended the U.S. contribution to fighting AIDS, noting the Bush administration is on track to exceed the $15 billion pledged in 2002 to fight HIV/AIDS. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake