Lennox slams South Africa over Aids crisis

Published on Saturday 19 July 2008 11:21

ROCK star Annie Lennox has launched a scathing attack on the South African government for the way it is dealing with the AIDS crisis.

The former Eurythmics singer, who is due to appear at the Scottish Parliament next month as part of the Festival of Politics, said the South African administration's response to the pandemic was a debacle and the crisis was similar to the concentration camps of the Second World War.

Following some mercy work the 53-year-old undertook recently, she said she was appalled by the situation in the area.

The singer said the issue of HIV/Aids in southern Africa was a question of human rights. She reportedly said: "When it comes to the pandemic, it is on such a scale that unless you have a direct experience and have visited the country and seen for yourself, it's almost beyond imagination."