International AIDS Conference: Prime Minister Heckled at Opening

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.