BANGKOK, June 29 (AFP) - Activists railed Tuesday over the 1,000-dollar registration fee for next month's largest-ever AIDS conference, claiming thousands of key voices on the pandemic would not be heard.
The 15th International AIDS Conference expects up to 20,000 delegates in Bangkok for the July 11 to 16 event, which this year has the theme of "Access for All".
"It's access for all except if you're a poor person," said advocacy coordinator Karyn Kaplan of the Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group, one of hundreds of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) expected to attend.
"It's one of the most expensive AIDS conferences to date, which is ironic given that this is in a developing country," she told AFP. "The reality is that access is still very limited."
She said activists could protest by printing fake passes and to gather in large numbers to force their way in. She also urged delegates to place stickers over their own badges.
Organisers have slapped a 1,000-dollar price tag on registration after May 1, while Thai taxation pushes it to 1,250 dollars. Early registration had been 800 dollars and standard had been 900 dollars.
The fee covers access to all conference sessions and copies of the related documents and reports. Accommodation and meals are not included.
Nimit Tien-udom, director of Thailand's ACCESS Foundation, said NGOs had been at loggerheads with organisers for months over the cost.
"We have tried many times to raise this point in committee meetings. If the registration price is lowered, we can have many more attendees... but they have not made any changes," he said.
Conference director Mats Ahnlund, of the International AIDS Society (IAS), acknowledged that the cost was high but said it was 50 dollars cheaper than the previous gathering in Barcelona, Spain, and it was no different from other medical conferences.
"The IAS is small and we have to cover our costs. This is a not-for-profit event but we cannot subsidise it all," he told AFP.
"I am sure they are concerned," he said of the activists.
IAS has allocated some 2,300 scholarships for people to attend, half of them from outside Thailand, while 3,000 Thai students have been invited at no charge, Ahnlund added.
IAS is promoting a "global village" area on the fringes of the conference that will be free and open to the public, but Kaplan believes it is a ploy to sideline HIV-AIDS activists who are demanding greater accountability from their governments in the fight against AIDS.
"It is hailed as a set-up where the community can gather, when in reality the important conversations are happening inside," she said.
The 15 million-dollar conference will bring together world leaders, scientists, activists and people living with HIV-AIDS.
040629
AF0406A9
©AFP 2004.. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2004 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
