AIDA is a foundation. It supports artists who are persecuted because of their work. AIDA begins where Amnesty ends, or has not even begun. The persecution of artists takes many forms: censorship, isolation, restrictions on artistic expression, limitations in everyday life. Each regime has its own methods. For example: censorship in Iran is completely different to that in Iraq. The reasons for the persecution of artists rarely differ. The recent wars in the Balkans revealed yet again how artists are manipulated: their work has to legitimize the actions of those in power. In the Balkans writers were expected to justify the war. Their words had to be believed. Without belief there could be no war. An artist who refuses to cooperate, will be persecuted...AIDA supports the artists who raise their voices against oppression in their own country.
Translation into English: Simone Veenstra & Klaas Levelt