Thailand To Set Up New Probe Of Killings In Thaksin's Drugs War

[LaoPo]

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Thailand to set up new probe of killings in Thaksin's drugs war

07-23-2007

Thailand's army-installed government said Monday it was opening a new investigation into ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's "war on drugs," which rights groups say left 2,500 dead in extrajudicial killings.

The Justice Ministry will appoint a 10-person panel to follow up on the findings of an investigation that Thaksin's government had conducted into the killings, senior ministry official Chanchao Chaiyanukij said.

The panel could recommend compensation for victims and their relatives, he said.

"We want to create a better understanding with the international community regarding human rights and justice in Thailand to address the concerns about the war on drugs cases and to prevent a repetition of such an incident," Chanchao said.

"Another top focus of the committee is to suggest compensation to be given to families of the innocent victims and those who survived the anti-drug campaigns," he told AFP.

Former attorney general Khanit na Nakhon has been asked to lead the investigation. The ministry will ask the Cabinet to sign off on the plan in two weeks, Chanchao said.

Human rights groups say that at least 2,500 people were killed in 2003 and 2004 during Thaksin's get-tough campaign against drugs.

Police and security officers were accused of murdering suspected drug dealers, but the Thaksin government's investigation found that security forces were acting in self-defence.

After the military ousted Thaksin in a bloodless coup last September, the new army-installed government ordered the elite Department of Special Investigations to look into 10 of the drug war deaths.

That probe is still underway, but the new panel will conduct its own investigation into the other killings, Chanchao said.

BANGKOK (AFP)

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