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FRIDAY February 13, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels January 21, 2004 Bono urges leaders to keep AIDS promises By Steve Zimmerman Ashland Daily Tidings The voice on the other end of the line was instantly recognizable. It was the voice of a generation of young people that has followed his lead musically and politically for over a decade. Bono, best known as the leader of the Irish rock band U2, was not on the phone to talk music. He was on the phone to talk about an organization he has co-founded, DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa). The organization wants the U.S. and foreign governments to help stop the uncontrolled spread of AIDS in Africa, forgive debt owed by the poorest African nations and revoke unfair trade regulations that are keeping African nations poor. He was calling to talk about President George Bush's commitment to fighting AIDS and how Americans can and should become involved in helping keep America's promise to Africa. Among the promises made to Africa by President Bush was $15 billion over five years for the Global AIDS Project, $10 billion over three years for the Millennium Challenge Account, opening better trade relations with African nations and no cuts to key humanitarian programs. Bono said that while the promises have been made, only the spending of the money promised would be satisfactory. "I would like to be throwing a party because what is being offered is real history," he said. "But I can't right now because in Congress at the moment, the House is putting forth a cut of the president's budget of nearly $2 billion. And this threatens all of the above and renders meaningless the president's attempt to make history." Bono said he blames Congress and not Bush for the attempt to cut money from the budget. "I believe the President is sincere in his conviction to put America out front in a way that hasn't been done before on these issues," he explained. "But we have to make sure that his intentions are not undone and point out that all involved in these issues are watching. We are not fooled by photo ops. The only thing that impresses us is getting the check cashed, not the check signing." He said others in his organization and the world have to be prepared to give credit where credit is due, especially if the Millennium Account and the AIDS initiative go through. "We have to be prepared to stand up and applaud this president and his leadership," Bono noted. "Because what he is doing is potentially life changing and life saving for millions of people." Bono noted that he has no political aspirations and that his job is making people aware of the crisis in Africa, not becoming involved in the political process. "I don't think my job is politics. My job is to break the ground for politicians and to allow our activists to sow seeds, ideas and change," he said. "In a healthy democracy and society, there should always be an exchange between the arts, economics and politics. It shouldn't be extraordinary what we are doing now. I have come away with a lot of respect for politicians actually having met them. "The hard thing to do sometime is to get politicians to look up from the numbers. Sometimes the real evil is business and bureaucracy rather than any badness. And it is an extraordinary thing that 7,000 Africans can die every day and it is not considered an emergency. "Whilst I did not support the U.S. and U.K. acting around the United Nations in Iraq, this is the kind of America I am a fan of. And this is the kind of America my father was proud of, the America that liberated Europe and rebuilt Europe and invested in Europe." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: A new improved archive search is coming! Look for it in mid-February! .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams