PRESS-RELEASE

Moscow, December 1, 2000

Today, the day which on the initiative of the UN is marked as the World Day of actions against the AIDS, the Radical Party has conducted a manifestation near the Ministry for Health of the Russian Federation, under the slogan "Medicinal heroin against mafia and death". The manifestants addressed to the Ministry for Health of the Russian Federation the following demands: 1) to adopt immediately the state program of harm reduction providing in particular the program of replacement of syringes; 2) to implement immediately in Russia the Suiss experiment on controlled distribution of medicinal heroin to the addicts in the health institutions.

For an hour (from 15.00 to 16.00) about 25 activists of the Radical Party have conducted a manifestation with flags of the RP, a big transparency "Medicinal heroin against mafia and death", slogans in Russian and English: "State program of harm reduction - immediately!", "Suiss experiment on the medicinal heroin - immediately!", "Yes - to the therapeutical freedom!", "Right for life and dignity, including drug addicts", "No - to the prohibitionism", "Why should Soros do the state's work?".

The adversaries of the antiprohibitionists also have come to the Ministry. Several people from Moscow church of scientology and someone "Civil commission for human rights" have organized an alternative picket under slogans "Say "no" to the drugs", "Heroin program is insanity", "Radicals, one isn't to be treated by drugs", "To replace syringes is to encourage the drug addiction" and "If it were not for psychiatres, there wouldn't be drugs in the world!".

The participants of the RP manifestation have signed and passed to the reception of the Ministry the appeal addressed to the Minister for Health Yury Shevchenko (the text of the appeal see in the appendix).

The photos of the manifestation are available on the web site www.radicalparty.org.

For further information:

tel. (095) 208-1805, 208-4902 - Alyona Asayeva

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