不要抵制南非世界艾滋病大会

(作者或来源) UNAIDS根据4月14日美联社报道,联合国呼吁专家们不要抵制南非世界艾滋病大会,不要因为南非总统姆贝基(Thabo Mbeki)引起争议的言论而放弃大会.本次会议将于7月在南非DURBAN举行.联合国认为抵制的影响是负面的.
姆贝基会见一名艾滋病研究人员时说,艾滋病病毒是无害的,今天南非诊断出的艾滋病其实都是古老的小毛病,像持续的咳嗽,腹泻,寄生虫病和肺结核.姆贝基想向世人解释他的见解,并担心艾滋病药物带来的危害比艾滋病大.姆贝基的办公室指责西方药物公司发艾滋病流行的不义之财,但是否认总统说艾滋病不是艾滋病病毒引起.

Associated Press   14 April 00
U.N. calls on AIDS specialists not to boycott S. Africa conference

GENEVA: The United Nations program on HIV and AIDS on Thursday called on scientists not to boycott a major conference because of controversy over South African President Thabo Mbeki's reported views on AIDS.

UNAIDS was reacting to British and South African press reports that said
some scientists might refuse to go to the AIDS 2000 conference, due to take place in Durban in July.

In a statement, the agency noted that it is the first international AIDS
conference to take place in Africa, ``where its impact is being felt the
most by individuals, communities and countries.''

``A boycott of the AIDS 2000 Conference would be counterproductive and would only serve to deviate attention from the seriousness of the issue at hand,'' UNAIDS said.

Scientists have been alarmed by Mbeki's contact with California researcher David Rasnick, who claims that HIV is a harmless retrovirus and what is diagnosed as AIDS in Africa is really old ailments such as persistent coughs, diarrhea, parasitic diseases and tuberculosis.

``President Mbeki asked me for my personal support in his efforts to explore
all things related to AIDS. And he wanted to know if (anti-AIDS) drugs do
more harm than good," said Rasnick recently.

Mbeki's office has also accused Western drug companies of enriching
themselves from the AIDS epidemic, but insists that the president has never doubted that HIV causes AIDS.

In a separate statement, the president of the International Aids Vaccine
Initiative, Seth Berkley, also called for scientists not to stay away from
the Durban meeting.

``Such calls are irresponsible and wrong. Indeed, the conference provides an unparalleled opportunity to share information and shed light on the critical questions that confront us,'' said Berkley.