Hecklers Accuse U.S. AIDS Czar Of Lying

by Ma Guihua

(IPS) BANGKOK -- Two years ago at the last International AIDS Conference in Barcelona, U.S. health and welfare secretary Tommy Thompson was booed so loudly his speech was barely audible.

This time, it was U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Randall Tobias's turn to feel the heat from protesters who stood Wednesday and held up placards saying 'He's Lying'.

The protest by 60 or so people at a session at the 15th International AIDS Conference was but the latest symptom of the hostile reception the U.S. government has been getting at the AIDS conference here this week. Critics also say the small delegation of 50 people that the U.S. government sent to the conference is a sign of its lack of commitment

Though the protest was pre-planned and expected, the audience and speakers at the IMPACT arena hall were still taken by surprise and left the keynote speaker, Tobias, standing silently at the speaker's podium for about five minutes.

"Bush Lies, People Die. Generic AIDS Drugs Now!" cried the Thai and international protesters mostly from non-organised organizations such as Info for Youth, Thai Drug Users' Network. Some even interrupted with short sentences to protest during Tobias's 12-page speech.

The protesters demanded generic drugs for people with HIV and condoms for all, not just sex workers who have been the traditional focus of such campaigns.

They were also opposing the five-year $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief initiated by President W Bush, which favours the so-called 'ABC approach' -- Abstain, Be faithful, or Use Condoms -- for safer sex.

In a piece of dark cloth stretched out in front of their audience, the activists attacked the assistance plan as one with "Deadly Strings Attached."

It was only after requests by the organisers that activists sat down right beneath the speakers' podium, but still held up their placards saying 'He's Lying'.

Tobias -- a former chairman and chief executive of the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly known for steering it through its most successful periods -- then started to speak.

"HIV/AIDS is the real enemy. The denial, stigma, and complacency that fuel HIV/AIDS -- these too are real enemies. It's a moral imperative that we direct our energies at these enemies, not at one another," he appealed to the audience.

Tobias defended Bush's AIDS plan, saying the emergency plan itself cannot be reduced to simplistic descriptions given by critics. It was designed to adapt to the needs of different nations, the trend of the epidemic in each nation and the needs of individuals within those nations, he explained.

But he did say that the U.S. government has defined how it wants to address the behavioural aspects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

This is an approach that many critics at the conference have attacked as conservatism by the Bush Administration that ignores real needs and adopts an ideological position -- including that of the religious right -- when the critics say science, pragmatism and resources are needed to fight the disease.

Many delegates have been saying at different discussions that it has become hard to even use the word 'condom' -- the C part of the ABC approach -- in health and advocacy proposals relating to HIV/ AIDS..

Steven Sinding, director general of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, said the Bush administration faced "enormous pressure" to play down the importance of condoms from its "own right wing."

The current U.S. administration has a stipulation that 30 percent of United States' anti-AIDS funds go through faith-based organizations.

"That means that upwards of 30 percent of money will go to organizations which actively denigrate condoms, or that don't advocate them," Sinding said.

UN officials are as incensed. The ABC approach offers no option for girls coerced into sex, said Thoraya Obaid, executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), during a panel discussion on sexual health policies that are best for young girls and women.

"Faithfulness is no protection either," she added. "There is a need to rethink the ABC approach."

But Tobias, who holds the rank of ambassador, said that while "the U.S. government is opposed to prostitution and related activities...It's important to note that U.S. law and the President's Emergency Plan -- do allow the provision of HIV/AIDS prevention treatment and care services to the victims of prostitution or sex trafficking."

Tobias praised Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni who has backed the abstinence approach.

"We must learn from his leadership in the fight against AIDS. Abstinence works... being faithful works... condoms work. Each has its place," he said. "There is no one right answer to preventing the spread of this pandemic."

Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, launched in early 2003, pledges to provide anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment to two million people with HIV, prevent seven million new HIV infections and offer care to 10 million people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children in 15 focus countries.

The U.S. plan is a clear indication that Washington has "decisively turned the corner from the era of apathy and empathy to a new era of compassionate action," Tobias maintained. He said that his country is showing leadership in fighting HIV/AIDS by providing "safe and effective" anti-retroviral drugs at the lowest possible cost. Major pharmaceutical companies, mindful of the bottom line, have opposed the sale of generic AIDS drugs in the developing world.

These include brand-name products, generics, or copies of brand name products, he explains, adding that in this regard, the Unites States will have no double standards. He urged manufacturers of these drugs to file their applications soon for early funding from the U.S. plan.

"The Bush administration has taken action to allow any drug company in the world to seek an accelerated review of AIDS drugs from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," he said.

Earlier, critics such as Paul Zeitz of the Global AIDS Alliance had said this policy would actually set up the FDA as a "global, supra- national health authority" and set "a very dangerous precedent."