Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - July 12, 2004
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, Preeyanat Phanayanggoor and Anucha Charoernpo
The prime minister also promised to do more than give cheap anti-retroviral drugs, GPOVIR, to patients. He said the government was considering returning them to live among healthy people in society.
International agencies should provide greater assistance to countries plagued by Aids and "donor countries should work harder and pledge such funds for the fight against HIV/Aids", he said in the opening speech, which cited several success cases in Thailand, including a campaign on condom use and education for sex workers.
He was joined at the opening by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Joep Lange, president of the International Aids Society, the co-organiser with Thailand.
The UN chief called for countries to fight the disease by increasing infrastructure to support both treatment and prevention.
Access to anti-retroviral treatment was also required, as was education especially among women and children who are at risk of infection, he said.
He also urged donor countries to provide more support to the global fund to eradicate HIV/Aids. It is a worldwide problem, Mr Annan said, but a greater burden to the people in most developing countries.
"The fight against Aids requires leadership from all parts of governments right from the top. Aids is far more than a health crisis. It is a threat to development itself," he said.
But Mr Thaksin was the only speaker who drew heckles from about 100 activists attending the ceremony. They waved placards saying "Clean Needles, No More Lies" when he said that the government was implementing a campaign to reduce the risk of HIV infection among injecting drug users.
Security guards tried to seize a large black banner which read: "The Thai Government's Drug Policy = Drop Death" (sic) from protesters.
His government's war on drugs campaign which was blamed for causing the death of more than 2,000 people was under criticism due to its lack of clear and intensified distinction between traffickers and users.
Pisarn Sawannawong, a member of the Thai Drugs User Network, said drug users were unfairly treated as criminals and their human rights were abused.
Mr Pisarn was one of at least three people infected with HIV/Aids who declined the invitation to lunch with the prime minister today, claiming that it was a purely image-building function.
He said before the ceremony that he and two of his colleagues, including Kamol Upakaew of the Network of Thai People Living with Aids, decided not to attend the lunch because he did not believe the prime minister was truly committed to the fight.
"He has never shown his commitment or interest in the issue of HIV/Aids before the conference," said Mr Pisarn, adding he did not believe the lunch would turn the prime minister around to pay more attention to the issue.
Phra Khru Udom Prachathorn, the abbot of Wat Phrabat Namphu in Lop Buri which offers care for 500 Aids patients, however, remained optimistic about the conference, which has drawn almost 20,000 participants. It would send out a message about Aids, he said, and provide a place to exchange information and experience.
Organisers will get credit for the conference "but my concern is they must continue working after it is over", the abbot said.
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