INTL AIDS CONFERENCE: PM HECKLED AT OPENING

Thaksin Accused Of Being A Liar While Pledging Equal Medical Access For All

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's controversial war on drugs, in which
more than 2,500 people were killed, came back to haunt him yesterday on his
biggest international stage yet.

Opening the 15th International Aids Conference at the Impact Arena attended
by thousands of delegates, Thaksin's pledges to give equal medical access
to all poor Thais living with the disease were soured when sections of the
audience heckled him and unfurled a banner saying "Thaksin lies".

To add to the host's embarrassment, the last speaker of the opening
ceremony, Paisan Suwannawong, head of the Thai Drug Users Network and
chairman of the Thai Treatment Action Group, slammed the government for the
lack of harm-reduction intervention to protect intravenous drug users from
HIV/Aids.

Paisan said drug users were seen as criminals and faced stigmatisation and
discrimination in society and in healthcare settings, as well as police
harassment. Tears running down his face, Paisan recalled difficult times
during the country's war on drugs in which over 2,500 were killed, a
campaign that drove many drug users underground.

Paisan demanded more clean needles and the legalisation of methadone. "We
need these means of prevention put in place now. And we need access to
treatment now," he said, amid cheering and applause from the Aids activists.

His heart-felt statements and catcalls and whistles from activists during
Thaksin's speech highlighted accusations of intolerance towards intravenous
drug users, charges that Thaksin tried to counter yesterday in his opening
speech.

"In the past, drug use was treated like a crime which warranted severe
punishment," Thaksin said. "At present, our mindsets have changed and we
now see drug users as patients who require our support and treatment."

Along with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Thaksin affirmed the pivotal
role of people living with HIV/Aids, and called on the international
community to do more to curb the spread of the deadly epidemic.

The inauguration was followed by a candle-lighting ceremony for the
estimated 20 million people around the world who have died from
Aids-related illnesses. The epidemic has reportedly infected another 40
million people worldwide.

About 15,000 delegates and journalists from about 160 countries have
converged on Bangkok for the weeklong conference.

The conference kicked off yesterday morning with conferences, seminars and
noisy protests from various organisations claiming to speak on behalf of a
wide range of people, from those infected with the deadly virus to poor
farmers who are likely to be affected by free trade.

"Access for all! Access for all!" screamed a protest leader, whose chant
was echoed by hundreds of demonstrators marching in front of the conference
venue, which has brought together groups as disparate as sales reps from
the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, the international media,
politicians, sex-workers, religious leaders, children orphaned by the
disease, and HIV patients insisting that they are "living with Aids", not
dying from it.

One of the first organisations to hit the pavement yesterday was the Thai
Drug Users Network, whose members handed out buttons that read "Stop the
War on Drug Users" to everybody from delegates to police officers, who
awkwardly thanked them for the gifts.

More than 2,500 suspected drug users were killed under questionable
circumstances during the controversial three-month all-out war on drugs
launched by the government last year. The campaign effectively drove
intravenous drug users, who reportedly make up about 40 per cent of
Thailand's Aids patients, underground.

Criticism from UN officials led to Thaksin's infamous "the UN is not my
father" response.

When Thaksin insisted in his speech in the opening ceremony that his
government no longer treated drug users as criminals but as patients,
demonstrators and hecklers reminded him of the controversial campaign that
was condemned by the international community, including the United Nations.

"Thai Government's Drug Policy = Drop Dead" read one sign that went up in
the jammed-packed auditorium.

Meanwhile, about a dozen demonstrators took to the floor with placards
reading "Thaksin Lies". They were escorted out of the auditorium moments later.

The weeklong conference brings together non-governmental organisations and
charity groups from all over the world, as well as Hollywood actors
including Richard Gere, Rupert Everett and Ashley Judd, and the singer
Dionne Warwick.

A locally elected Miss Condom will have the home-turf advantage against
Miss Universe, 20-year-old Australian surfer Jennifer Hawkins, whose busy
schedule over the past three days has given her a head-start in the media
spotlight stakes.

Other famous and powerful figures to join this week's meeting include
India's Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi, Ugandan President Yoweri
Museveni, South African statesman Nelson Mandela and his wife, Graca
Machel, who is one of the world's leading figures in the fight against
HIV/Aids.

Machel will be chairing a discussion on the social impact of the deadly
epidemic in southern Africa.

In line with other major international events, the Thai government has gone
the extra mile in trying to show the world that it really cares.

Young ladies are handing out condoms with ego-enhancing sizes (big and
bigger) at the Bangkok International Airport arrivals lounge and highway
tollbooths.

Phermsak Lilakul, Don Pathan