THAILAND: A war of words on the right approach to fighting the AIDS pandemic heated up yesterday as AIDS activists heckled President Bush's Global AIDS co-ordinator, Ambassador Randall Tobias, in an orchestrated protest in front of the world's media at the International AIDS Conference in Bangkok.
Mr Tobias was visibly shaken as about 50 activists moved towards the platform chanting "Bush lies, people die" and then attempted to return him a giant cheque made out for $15 billion to "Big Pharma and Right Wing Extremists".
The $15 billion refers to how much the US administration has committed to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which the activists feel has too many strings attached regarding the purchase of condoms, generic drugs and clean needles for injecting drug users.
The protest will have done nothing to improve relations between the US and the rest of the world, following earlier sharp criticism of the US's bilateral approach to the AIDS crisis from the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan.
A succession of speakers poured scorn on the US-supported ABC (Abstain, Be Faithful, Condoms) approach to AIDS.
Ms Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, executive director of the UN Population Fund, said abstinence was not a choice for women and girls coerced into early marriages and often infected by unfaithful husbands.
"Resource poor countries need an estimated 12 billion condoms each year and many rely on external assistance. But donors provide only enough funding for 2.5 billion condoms," she said.
Mr Tobias, the former chairman of the pharmaceutical giant, Eilly Lilly, was able to deliver his presentation once the activists were reminded of the conference's freedom of expression policy.
He said the US was keeping HIV positive people alive by providing "not just any drugs but safe and effective drugs". In a reference to the generic AIDS drugs approved by WHO, he said "the Bush administration has taken action to allow any drug company in the world to seek accelerated review of AIDS drugs".
Responding to Mr Annan's remarks that the US should do more to support the Global Fund, he said America was the world's largest contributor to the Global Fund, making 36 per cent of all pledges to date, and was spending nearly twice as much to fight global AIDS as the rest of the world combined.
The heckling from the activists resumed again towards the end of his speech, but he received polite applause from the bulk of the audience.
At the last AIDS conference in Barcelona in 2002, the US secretary for health and human services, Mr Tommy Thompson, was unable to speak because of demonstrators. Following yesterday's protests, Mr Tobias cancelled other scheduled appearances.