| September 3, 2003 | Wednesday | Rajab 5, 1424 |
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Concern over Suu Kyi
Adulteration courts
MEMBERS of the World Trade Organization (WTO) approved over the weekend changes in the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement to allow poor countries to import cheap generic drugs. This decision will enable these countries, particularly those in Africa, to import cheaper medicines in their fight against a variety of epidemics which include HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria, to name a few. The principle of allowing developing countries access to cheaper versions of key drugs was decided two years back, but talks had dragged on since then on implementing a deal. Keeping this in mind, the weekend’s announcement has been described as one of the most important decisions ever taken by the organization’s executive committee. The news will also come as a boost for the image of the WTO which has suffered as a result of delays in reaching an agreement on what is seen as a purely humanitarian issue. Existing world trade rules allow countries, both developed and developing, with their own domestic drugs industries to waive patents and issue compulsory licences to generic manufacturers when they face health emergencies. However, the regulations say nothing about states without their own drug industry. This vacuum will now be filled.
The main opponent of the agreement was the United States government, whose was the sole voice of dissent. America had objected on the grounds that there were fears that generic companies in developing countries, such as Brazil and India, would copy lifestyle drugs like Viagra for export under the guise of this agreement. The US government also said that it would allow too many drug patents to be ignored and that the deal would mean that illnesses that were not in epidemic form or infectious, such as diabetes and asthma, could also be treated with cheap, generic drugs. The final objection of the United States was to the possibility that these cheap drugs would be smuggled back to the developed countries. It is quite obvious that the US had the interests of the all-powerful American pharmaceutical lobby in mind when making these objections since all these are issues that will cut into the profits of the multinationals. That is why it was only after some additional conditions were imposed in the agreement that the US agreed to the deal going through. It is now understood that the WTO has pledged not to abuse the system and to only waive patents in “good faith.”
What is now feared is that the system of checks and balances to be put in place to ensure that the US conditions are met will defeat the very purpose for which the initiative has been taken. Some governments have warned that the barriers that will be put in place will make generic drugs more expensive. This is a situation the WTO should do well to avoid. Otherwise it would be back to square one for all the parties involved. This is also a lesson for developing countries to promote their own generic medicine production capabilities which in the long term is the only solution to the issue of high pharmaceutical prices.
ACCORDING to a report emanating from the US State Department, the detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has gone on a hunger strike in protest against her detention. Myanmar’s military rulers have denied the report, calling it “odd”, if not baseless. Ms Kyi’s party sources in Yangon have neither validated nor denied the report. The Nobel laureate has been kept in detention for three months now during the latest bout of persecution; for the past five weeks, she has been held incommunicado. The military junta’s tight-lipped policy on Ms Kyi’s detention and her well-being has rightly been a cause of concern for the international community. The US, EU and Japan have responded with tough sanctions and suspension of economic aid to Myanmar.
Ms Kyi’s 13-year-long struggle to restore democracy in her country has earned her and her cause international respect. To deflect criticism of its callous incarceration of Ms Kyi and its political oppression, the junta on Saturday announced plans to draft a new constitution and to hold fresh elections, but it gave no dates or details, making the whole thing sound fake and unconvincing. Earlier this year, there were signs of a rift within the ruling military, with the top generals disagreeing on whether to restart negotiations with the main opposition party headed by Ms Kyi. The internal rift, however, seems to have been resolved for the present with the appointment of General Khin Nyunt as prime minister. The general is second in command, next only to General Than Shwe, who vehemently opposes handing over power to an elected government. Long dictatorial spells and rampant corruption among the ruling junta’s ranks have made Myanmar one of the most impoverished and isolated nations in Asia today. It is time the generals gave up their rigid stance and learnt to entrust power to an elected government to lead the country towards democracy. This will not be possible without the immediate release of Suu Kyi and the regime’s acceptance of her as a partner in a meaningful dialogue on the country’s political future.
THE test of the federal cabinet’s decision on Monday to draft a new law for checking adulteration in medicines, food and pesticides and set up a special court or special courts to award sentences of up to 25 years to offenders will lie in the law’s enforcement. Grand plans to check adulteration have been launched with fanfare several times in the past, but with little effect. There are laws already in place, as are provisions for fines and punishment. These have existed since pre-partition days, and from the municipal to the central level. There is also a government machinery which comprises an army of food, drug and health inspectors whose main job is to check adulteration and profiteering that have flourished over the decades. It is obvious that these officials have failed to perform their duties. If there is a problem, therefore, it is with the implementation of laws meant to control adulteration. The enforcement system is riddled with corruption, and it is often the retailer or the small vendor who bears the brunt of the food inspectors while the big wholesalers and stockists go unchecked.
The proposals floated in Monday’s meeting can yield only half-baked results. By handing over charge of checking adulteration to the FIA, the government on the one hand makes its existing staff redundant and on the other gives the FIA powers to check a crime for which it lacks the expertise. By raising the punishment without addressing the problem as a whole, the government has given some officials the opportunity to use it as a stick with which they can extort money from various quarters. Deterrence is useful, but only if it is backed by an organized and effective system of inspection and investigation. Some clear thinking is needed on this issue so that we are rid of the menace of adulteration that makes us unsure of the quality of the food we eat and the efficacy of the medicines we use.