The controversial Thai Lies website, which launched yesterday, was inaccessible in Thailand last night. Today, as former US President Bill Clinton endorsed Thailand’s move to override patents of life saving drugs, trying to access the website brought up a username/password box. Yongyuth Mayalap, a Thai government spokesman, today “said the government would continue to closely monitor websites that posted strong criticism of the coup-appointed administration.” (Bangkok Post)

‘’What we can do now is check the backgrounds of these website operators and give correct information about the government’s work to the audience, both inside and outside the country,’’ Mr Yongyuth said. He believed the international community would better understand Bangkok’s decision to issue compulsory licenses and break drug patents after the public health minister talks with concerned parties in Washington on May 21 and 22.

Health activists have been siding with Thailand, while Washington reacted by giving Thailand a prime spot in the list of “worst intellectual property offenders” in 2007. Thailand has been accused, by a US report, of acting without “transparency”, which could mean anything. From Irrawaddy:

“With respect to compulsory licenses, we urge the Thai Government to engage in an open and transparent process with all interested stakeholders, including the patent holders.”

This is a representative from the US Trade Representative speaking. What he doesn’t say is whether Thailand acted illegally or not. Perhaps Thailand did act a little inappropriately, but the fact remains that life saving drugs are now cheaper. That should be a good thing, right? Not for the pharmaceutical companies, however, who I don’t recall made much of a song and dance about the multi-million baht industry of pirated movies, CDs and clothes in Thailand. Ken Adelman certainly wasn’t parading his “Ten Thai Lies” before life saving drugs were made cheaper. The big fear in Washington now is that more countries will follow Thailand’s example.

Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla met with Bill Clinton on Tuesday. The Clinton foundation then joined the cause:

The Clinton Foundation announced an agreement with drug companies Tuesday to lower “second-line” AIDS drug prices for people in the developing world, and to make a once-a-day AIDS pill available for less than US$1 (74 euro cents) a day. (IHT)

Clinton himself said: “No company will live or die because of high price premiums for AIDS drugs in middle-income countries, but patients may.” This is a valid point, and you have to feel that the battle between big businesses and the individual is intensifying. Whether the US will impose sanctions on Thailand remains to be seen, but the silent threat is hanging in the air.

Addendum: The Thai Lies site is up and accessible for all today.

Techno’ tags: Bangkok, Thailand, Generic medicine, Bill Clinton