Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - Monday, July 12, 2004
Preeyanat Phanayanggoor
The demonstrators, many of whom are activists and delegates participating in the conference, marched from Muang Thong Thani's market, 1km away, chanting "free medication for every nation" and "access for all".
They also called for an end to Thai-United States free-trade talks, particularly the issue of protection of drug patents by US pharmaceutical companies, which they said would raise the price of HIV/Aids drugs.
They carried banners such as "Bush's free trade deals kill generic Aids drugs now" and "You talk, we die" and "FTA was an executive's fool".
Kamol Upakaew of the Network of Thai People Living with Aids said production of all HIV/Aids drugs could come under the FTA, limiting access.
The demonstrators handed a letter to the government, World Health Organisation and UNAids representatives as well as to the president of the International Aids Society, Joep Lange.
The letter demanded the Thai government ensure sustainable coverage for anti-retroviral therapy and refrain from signing FTAs, especially the one with the US.
It also called for HIV prevention policies as well as an end to the drug suppression policies that promote human rights abuses.
The government, it said, should give injecting drug users access to methadone, a substitute for heroin.
The letter also called on the WHO to include methadone on its essential drug list to make it accessible to all hospitals, so drug users would have easier access.
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