Interesting article from the BBC web site, seems the ridiculously heavy-handed drugs crackdown will be sparked up again:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7260127.stm

Very worrying quote from Samak: "I will not set a target for how many people should die. We will pursue a suppression campaign rigorously. There will be consequences."

Let's hope it isn't as bad as the last time...

[Edit - spelling]

This is the TRT/PPP's idea of democracy.

"When we implement a policy that may bring 3,000 to 4,000 bodies, we will do it," said Mr Chalerm, himself a former police captain.

Scary isn't it?

"When we implement a policy that may bring 3,000 to 4,000 bodies, we will do it," said Mr Chalerm, himself a former police captain.

Scary isn't it?

And in the same time protecting his own part of the business by getting rid of other drug lords.......

I thought the War on Drugs was already won? At least that was the government's declaration!

Common sense would indicate that capturing these drug offenders and extracting information would aid the fight against drugs more than just gunning them down.

Or is it a case of dead men tell no tales.

I thought the War on Drugs was already won? At least that was the government's declaration!

You're quite correct. It was very definitively declared won and the entire country was drug-free....

I'm a bit confused by this news article in the OP.

Thailand has been drug-free for well over three years now.

What on Earth happened???

Thaksin declares the country 'drug free area'

The Nation / Published on Apr 13, 2003

"The government is pleased to announce that the country is now a drug-free area and will proclaim victory in its war on drugs," said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

by the by... that was from another thread:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=78961

Royal Thai Police: Narcotics Are Spreading Violently

which is one of several related threads on thaivisa, beginning with the biggest of them all:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=92482

Bringing Thaksin To Account, Extra-judicial killings

and also including:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=69696

Thaksin To Revitalise War On Drugs

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=49770

Government Has Clear Policy On War On Drugs: Thaksin

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6906

Thaksin To Lead New War On Drugs

Didn't drugs only come back after Thaksin was removed?

frightening as these statements are , dont be surprised if the majority of the electorate are right behind him.

Hmm, let's see... Samak is probably lying about his involvement in the murder of students in Thailand's dark past and now he's apparently willing to go out on another killing spree. I'm certainly impressed. Ah, democracy is wonderful innit.

frightening as these statements are , dont be surprised if the majority of the electorate are right behind him.

Which, if true, is probably even more worrying...

Sad thing is that it won't just be 'drug dealers' getting the bullet. More like 'anyone the police doesn't like' and I'm sure a few 'political problems' will also have nasty accidents. Anyway, they voted for these peanuts, let them have them.

Can't feel sorry about dead drug dealers ,. if i found a dealer trying to push drugs to my kids , i would also shoot first and ask questions latter,.

Can't feel sorry about dead drug dealers ,. if i found a dealer trying to push drugs to my kids , i would also shoot first and ask questions latter,.

Ha ha ha, I wondered how long it would be before this thread brought out one of these nutcases!!!

Can't feel sorry about dead drug dealers ,. if i found a dealer trying to push drugs to my kids , i would also shoot first and ask questions latter,.

Ha ha ha, I wondered how long it would be before this thread brought out one of these nutcases!!!

I,m with Ray08 on this one. They can drop dealers off the 24th floor of a condo unit for all I care.

Ok I'm probably gonna get shot down for this, I will prepare my fire retardant suit.

But surely a stance like this is going to have some sort of positive impact. We all complain about our governments in our home countries being too soft on crime, so why not take the hardline and hopefully scare the <deleted> out of some of these scumbags.

Every crime we read about from murders to rapes to petty thefts all seem to be linked somehow to drugs. It seems so rife here that a visible, tangible deterrant maybe the only way to combat it.

I am sure that during the last 'crackdown' the police were not going around shooting people at random, and that most of the victims had some connection to the drugs scene, otherwise they wouldn't have been in the same places the police were raiding.

I am trying to write this without sounding like a fascist, because I am not, but sometimes when enough is enough only a firm hand will do. No I don't condone killing innocent people, but when the message gets out that if you even associate with these people then bad things might happen, surely it can only have a positive impact?

How many innocent people have lost their lives at the hands of drug crazed lunatics in the last few years, how many beaten up and left for dead, how many violent rapes - and the 'excuse' is always that the perpatrator was on Yaba or Ice or some other sh1t.

I don't know if it's THE answer, but sure as eggs is eggs if the authorities don't do something soon then it will get worse and worse until Thailand becomes pretty much a no-go zone.

Can't feel sorry about dead drug dealers ,. if i found a dealer trying to push drugs to my kids , i would also shoot first and ask questions latter,.

Ha ha ha, I wondered how long it would be before this thread brought out one of these nutcases!!!

Oh well , some of us are anti drugs and i see some are pro drugs , them again i am sure you can tell us all the great deeds that drug dealers contribute to society ,

Can't feel sorry about dead drug dealers ,. if i found a dealer trying to push drugs to my kids , i would also shoot first and ask questions latter,.

Ha ha ha, I wondered how long it would be before this thread brought out one of these nutcases!!!

Oh well , some of us are anti drugs and i see some are pro drugs , them again i am sure you can tell us all the great deeds that drug dealers contribute to society

It's got nothing to do with being anti-drugs or pro-drugs. It's to do with being anti-on-the-spot-executions-without-trial. You'd have to be barking mad to suggest that introducing a policy of shooting thousands of people on sight is a sensible way to run a country's law enforcement.

I am sure that during the last 'crackdown' the police were not going around shooting people at random, and that most of the victims had some connection to the drugs scene, otherwise they wouldn't have been in the same places the police were raiding.

I am also sure the police were not shooting people at random. They were shooting people who they wanted dead. Whether they were drug dealers is by no means certain. One was a young child for example.

Can't feel sorry about dead drug dealers ,. if i found a dealer trying to push drugs to my kids , i would also shoot first and ask questions latter,.

Ha ha ha, I wondered how long it would be before this thread brought out one of these nutcases!!!

Oh well , some of us are anti drugs and i see some are pro drugs , them again i am sure you can tell us all the great deeds that drug dealers contribute to society ,

There's nothing wrong with law enforcement...but what we're talking about here is a military style assault on anyone perceived to be connected with the drug world. Trials, prison sentences, witnesses, proof...do these things go out the window when we're talking about drug dealers?

Just because you want to see criminals dealt with in a just and balanced way..does not mean you are 'pro-drugs'. Once you say it's ok to kill in the name of law enforcement..innocent people will die...this is never ok.

Which, if true, is probably even more worrying...

exactly.

when people sell their votes , either willingly , or due to coercion from local headmen and election agents , then they will get the government that they deserve.

true democracy can only work with a well educated electorate who vote responsibly in open elections.

if the voters can be corrupted to vote , then it goes without saying that the leaders will be even more corrupt.

it is endemic in this country , and everybody who happily pays 100b to the police when they are stopped in a car or without a helmet are just validating the system here. i've done it myself because i was lazy and its easier than going to the station or court.

endemic corruption has destroyed countries in the past , and it certainly is preventing any real development in this countries political systems , it may yet destroy this country when leaders can make statements like samak , and the only outcry likely to be heard is from foreigners.

the fact that people here are so accepting of this system and dont organise themselves and rise up against the reviled police and corrupt officials at every level here , shows that they are basically content to live easily under a system that takes all empowerment away from them and gives all that power to those who continually abuse them.

the corruption is so long standing and endemic here that there probably is no solution to it.

Alternatively the government could act strongly to reduce the levels of poverty, job discrimination, and greed from top echelons of society, while simultaneously improving education and tripling the minimum wage, in order to address some of the root causes of drug use.

In the village, people speak nostalgically of the old killing days. There was a dramatic return of drugs after the last regime "left". They seem to have a karmic view of things. Do bad things and bad things happen to you. The west will no doubt get upset but the locals won't give it a second thought.

Didn't drugs only come back after Thaksin was removed?

No, not at all... simply more costlier for a time during his repeated purges of humanity...

Thaksin declaring Thailand drug-free was one of his all-time worst speaking gaffs..

In the village, people speak nostalgically of the old killing days. There was a dramatic return of drugs after the last regime "left". They seem to have a karmic view of things. Do bad things and bad things happen to you. The west will no doubt get upset but the locals won't give it a second thought.

Sadly, what you say is very true. The people believe all that is written in their newspapers, just as do an awful lot of westerners, judging by some of the previous postings " the police were shooting legitimate targets" etc..etc.. you can give people a brain but you can't make them use it.

Can't feel sorry about dead drug dealers ,. if i found a dealer trying to push drugs to my kids , i would also shoot first and ask questions latter,.

Ha ha ha, I wondered how long it would be before this thread brought out one of these nutcases!!!

I,m with Ray08 on this one. They can drop dealers off the 24th floor of a condo unit for all I care.

Can't feel sorry about dead drug dealers ,. if i found a dealer trying to push drugs to my kids , i would also shoot first and ask questions latter,.

Not sure if they're hiring foreigners for the death squads, but if they do, please ensure you get them to process the work permit for you. Wouldn't want anything illegal to occur for the operation.

Alternatively the government could act strongly to reduce the levels of poverty, job discrimination, and greed from top echelons of society, while simultaneously improving education and tripling the minimum wage, in order to address some of the root causes of drug use.

Precisely--but this is much more expensive than blaming everything on the dregs of society.

Can't feel sorry about dead drug dealers ,. if i found a dealer trying to push drugs to my kids , i would also shoot first and ask questions latter,.

Not sure if they're hiring foreigners for the death squads, but if they do, please ensure you get them to process the work permit for you. Wouldn't want anything illegal to occur for the operation.

Hah, hah,hah!! I like it.

frightening as these statements are , dont be surprised if the majority of the electorate are right behind him.

Drugs, and YaBa in particular do cause problems for many ordinary people

Singapore and Malaysia do seem to have the upper hand in this situation.

So it's pretty simple ... don't sell drugs and you won't get blown away (hopefully)

Naka.