Cyberabad police picked up HIV AIDS positive persons who took out a protest at Hyderabad International Convention Centre against Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) meet. While organisers said 24 persons were detained, the police maintained that only 15 were picked up.
The protestors had gathered under the banner of Delhi Network of People Living with HIV and Positive Women Network.
The preventive arrests took place in front of a heavily guarded HICC entrance, located in the heart of Hi-Tech city.
The RCEP meet in which officials of 16 participating countries including India, China, Japan and South Korea took part was kept out of bounds for public including civil society organisations and media.
Cyberabad police told The Hindu that protestors were detained “to prevent untoward disturbance at the meeting venue”.
Most protestors were women. The agitators expressed concern over the RCEP’s impact on HIV AIDS testing and treatment. Their banners demanded the right to access affordable medicine. Madhapur police said that the detainees were let off after 6 p.m. No cases were booked.
Slogan-sssshouting
Dozens of protestors from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Goa, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh marched along Necklace Road shouting anti-RCEP slogans even as traffic remained mostly unaffected in the morning hours of Monday. The protestors were led by Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj Abhiyan and M. Kodandaram, Chairman of Telangana Joint Action Committee.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Yadav demanded the Union Government of maintaining transparency during the RCEP talks. Mr. Kodandaram asked the State not “to loot people to satisfy the interests of corporates”. The protest march from People’s Plaza to Indira Gandhi Statue lingered for close to three hours.
Later, at People’s Summit against Free Trade Agreement and SCEP organised at Baghlingampalli, they discussed expected effects of the RCEP on Indian labour force.
“India does not have an accountable national industrial policy which safeguards interests and rights of labourers.
When the RCEP facilitates cuts on import tariffs, manufacturing sector in the country will suffer.
This affects economic growth,” said K. Gopakumar of New Delhi-based Third World Network.
Under the RCEP 90% of goods could be exempted from import tariffs, experts at the meet predicted. Resourcepersons also stressed that the RCEP would have impact on public sector employment. People’s Summit will continue till July 26.
New Delhi will witness an anti-RCEP protest during the current (Monsoon) session of Parliament to pressure legislators to debate concerns of stakeholders, delegates at the people’s summit decided.
The workshop attendees also agreed to raise concerns about the big-FTA at Indian Labour Conference scheduled to be held in October.
