[Mb-civic] Gere discusses Aids &Tibet

[Barbara Siomos]

From: wtn-editors at TIBET.CA(World Tibet News) Date: Tue, Jul 13,
2004, 9:23pm (EDT+5)  
World Tibet Network News 
Published by: The Canada Tibet Committee
Editorial Board:   Brian Given, Conrad Richter, Nima Dorjee, Tseten
Samdup, Thubten (Sam) Samdup
WTN Editors: wtn-editors at tibet.ca 
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Issue ID: 2004/13/07 
Richard Gere says fighting AIDS more important than Tibet issue (AFP) 
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BANGKOK, 14 July, (AFP) -
 
Hollywood movie star Richard Gere said the AIDS (news - web sites) fight
was more important to him than the Tibet issue, adding he had wept for
the plight of infected youths since arriving here for a global summit.
 
"I found myself in the last few days getting very teary about this and
in the middle of the night I started crying and it all came back to me,"
Gere told reporters at the 15th International AIDS Conference which
began Sunday.
 
"This has been a very emotional time for me, it has kind of snuck up on
me," said Gere, adding that many of his friends in the entertainment
world had been infected by the deadly virus.
 
The Buddhist movie star said that while he remained firmly committed to
his much publicized campaign for an independent Tibet and his support
for its exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, AIDS was the biggest
single threat to the planet. 
"The most important (issue) is this one, to this planet, to this time
and place is AIDS," he said.
 
Gere made the comments during a discussion on AIDS awareness and the
media, taking a swipe at tough media censorship on condom awareness
under the Bush administration. "We may well have hopefully another
administration in about four months in the US and along with that some
sanity on this subject," Gere said. 

The actor is one of a handful of celebrities including US soul singer
Dionne Warwick, British actor Rupert Everett, Australian Miss Universe
(news - web sites) Jennifer Hawkins and Hong Kong singer Coco Lee who
have joined about 17,000 delegates at the AIDS summit, which is entitled
"Access for All".
 
Some 38 million people are currently living with HIV (news - web sites)
and the UN has warned of an explosion in cases in Asia and Eastern
Europe