HIV-infected brothels seeing RED in Papua

The following story is just unbelievable. Therefore, no picture for today!

I don’t even place a picture of a used condom in reference to (the RED part of) the story onto the blog.

The following story was published in the Jakarta Post, 10 June 2008, p8. I only highlighted a few quotes and still hope that the reason for such nonsense was a dreadful telecom connection between Papua and Jakarta.

JAYAPURA, Papua: In a bid to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS, the National AIDS Commission (KPAD) in Merauke has marked red light districts and entertainment centers employing workers infected with HIV/AIDS with red flags.

"Red light districts and discotheques whose owners send their workers for regular medical checkups are given blue flags to show they're safe," Joseph Rinta, head of the Merauke health office, said Wednesday in a phone interview.

The decision to mark out establishments was reached by owners of the entertainment centers, non-governmental organizations and the KPAD, Rinta said.

The choice of color was purely arbitrary, he said, while the crux of the exercise was to protect the public from the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

"Anyone visiting a brothel and intending to have sex is advised to use a condom if the brothel is marked with a red flag," he said.