From: rastern@sol.racsa.co.cr Date: Sun, 3 May 1998 09:45:46 -0600 (CST) Subject: OPEN LETTER TO PETER PIOT An Open Letter to Peter Piot: 3 May, 1998 Dr. Peter Piot Director UNAIDS Geneva Fax #4122-791-4187 Dear Dr. Piot. This letter is to protest the fact that Guillermo Murillo of Costa Rica has apparently not been selected to receive a scholarship to go to the XII International AIDS Conference in Geneva. We understand that there are more deserving individuals than scholarships spaces available, but we also know that Guillermo has been one of the few individuals here in Central America who has been critical of yourself and UNAIDS for the lack of an effective program in our region. We hope that the fact that Guillermo was not selected for a scholarship was not an attempt to censor him or our region. Several other Costa Rican recipients who received scholarship awards were notified around April 3rd of receiving their award, but Guillermo and several others have received no communication whatsoever at this point about their applications. We don't pretend to know who is in the scholarship committee or on what basis awards are made, but Guillermo lives at home and has an income of less than $200 monthly, so he cannot afford to go to Geneva on his own. Guillermo's accomplishments are many: 1) He is the first person Living with AIDS to come out publicly in Costa Rica, and for that matter in all of Central America. He has appeared in numerous magazine and newspaper articles here and has been on television here and in Nicaragua. He publicly came out in April of 1997. 2) He is President of the Costarican Association for People with Living with AIDS. (ASOVIH/SIDA), elected late in 1997. 3) He has been selected by POZ magazine to be in their International "Hall of Fame," this announcement to appear in the next edition of POZ. 4) He organized a group of patients that signed an appeal to the Costa Rican Supreme Court, which has resulted in more than 300 people with AIDS in Costa Rica receiving the triple therapy cocktail. The Supreme Court's decision was made in September of 1997. 5) He has written numerous articles for People Living with AIDS about such as issues as empowerment, advocacy, and rights to adequate medical treatment. 6) As President of ASOVIH/SIDA, he helped to organize the first national weekend workshop of People Living with AIDS in Central America which was held January 18 and 19 of 1998 and attended by more than 50 persons, included ten women, and representatives from Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. 7) He has recently traveled to Nicaragua (March, 1998) and Guatemala (February, 1998) to meet with People Living with AIDS and encourage and support them in the process of forming effective advocacy groups to seek better medical attention and struggle against human rights abuses that they face. 8) He has co-authored a series of faxes sent to you (March/April, 1998) and Louis Loures (UNAIDS team leader for Central America) which criticized the inadequate response of UNAIDS in our Central American region, and offered alternative solutions. Guillermo is an activist in the truest sense of the word and we feel that he should be in Geneva helping to represent our Central American region and we hope that you will consider this request very seriously. If one of the purposes of the XII World Conference is to facilitate a dialogue and exchange of information between regional leaders, than it seems self-evident that Guillermo should be present. Guillermo can be reached by phone at 506-433-8522 or by fax at 506-258-0635. Association Triangulo Rosa Apartado 1619-4050 Alajuela, Costa Rica 506-258-0214 e-mail: atrirosa@sol.racsa.co.cr rastern@sol.racsa.co.cr