Thaksin Launches A Second War On Drugs

[george]

Thai PM Thaksin launches a second war on drugs

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, undaunted by an avalanche of criticism after more than 2,500 people were killed in his first war on drugs, launched another one on Monday, vowing to destroy drug bosses.

"We have to take serious actions against them because these wicked diseases never die," Thaksin said.

"We will continue our drastic actions against those I see as destroyers of everything from the future of our nation, our economy and our society. Many families have fallen apart because of them," he told hundreds of law enforcers and volunteers.

Thaksin ordered school principals to keep a close eye on their students and village chiefs to monitor unemployed or uneducated youths, the main targets of drug dealers.

"When we've found out these people have become drug addicts, they need to be treated right away otherwise they would become peddlers, using the money they make to fund their drugs," he said.

Thai and foreign rights groups accuse Thai police of assassinating drug suspects during a 10-month war on drugs last year. The government says most of those killed were victims of warfare between drug gangs or killed in self defence.

The government's own Human Rights Commission said in its annual report in August the anti-drugs war had "destroyed the rights to live of more than 2,500 people without fair trials under the principles of democracy and rule of law".

Krisana Polanan, head of the Narcotics Control Board, implied on Monday some of that was true.

He was asked by journalists if there would be extra-judicial killings this time.

"It depends on the circumstances," he replied. "There won't be many this time because we have done that in the first war and we don't think there will be many left."

The main weapons in the current drive would be to employ legal processes, including anti-money laundering and tax evasion laws, Polanan said.

The targets were to destroy the networks and seize the assets of 1,100 large drug dealers and 28,000 peddlers, and Thaksin had expected them to be 80 percent met, the government said in a statement.

Thaksin describes his leadership style as being like a chief executive but is accused by critics of authoritarian tendencies.

On Monday, he said the war on drugs was the most popular of his campaigns because people feared abuse of drugs -- most commonly these days, amphetamines -- could hit their families at any time.

The war was aimed mainly at dealers of methamphetamines, a synthetic stimulant known in Thai as "ya ba", or crazy medicine. This was made in jungle laboratories in Myanmar which had previously made heroin before it went out of fashion.

Now, other types of narcotics from other countries were flooding Thailand, Thaksin said.

Ketamine, a so-called date-rape drug, was being smuggled from Cambodia because the government there did not consider it a narcotic, he said.

Ecstacy was being smuggled in from Malaysia and Africans brought in cocaine through Bangkok airport, Thaksin said.

--Reuters 2004-10-04

[Goat Roper]

There must be some deep down reason that I can't understand why he would do this at this time since he is still under some fire both domestically and abroad over the last crackdown on drugs and the killing of 2500 souls, I imagine it has something to do(he thinks) with boosting his popularity at the polls, maybe so but my instincts tell me he is off on another of his witch hunts and it will be one more nail in TRT's coffin.

[slappyharry]

i got to admit that lately in the papers they have just been arresting drug dealers, shame the police have to go back to executing them again just cos taskin says so, i feel pretty sure that the police would rather arrest a drug dealer than have to execute them in the street as they had to last time round.

still taskin saw he got away with it last time and im sure he will get away with it this time..

[sriracha john]

Break out the supply of body bags. It's open hunting season once more.

Rule of law? What rule of law?

Human rights? What human rights?

"badges? we don't need no stinkin' badges"

[rod_kalashnikov]

 

[Padkapow Guy]

Thai PM Thaksin launches a second war on drugs

Best news I've heard all week!

He should never have scaled down the first one!

I agree Rod.

kill them all and let god sort them out!

[Crushdepth]

Oh come on. How many of the 2,500 were drug dealers and how many of them were people the police didn't like ? This is just another chance for the cops to settle old scores or rub out competitors.

The justice system may be a laughing stock but its better than giving a bunch of state-sponsored thugs free rein to shoot people.

[slappyharry]

hmmm, with ppl like the last 2 posters who needs enemies, lets for arguements sake that the 2 uk ppl executed in kanchanburi, supposedly executed by a policemen, happened next week, now he has just cold bloodedly executed 2 foreign nationals, but taskin has started his kill the drug dealers campaign, so he dumps an old gun by their dead bodies and half a dozen amphetamines and is declared a national hero, instead of the reality of the situation where as now he is on the run for his life, nope giving the police the power to do street executions is way over the top and will be abused.

oops crushdepth posted too quick, i wasnt refering to u but the 2 above u

[Crushdepth]

Edit: Another overlapping post. Don't worry I'm not having a go at anyone at Taksin. Thai Rug Thai !!!

But maybe a good time *not* to go to full moon parties.

[taxexile]

Best news I've heard all week!

He should never have scaled down the first one!

spot on.

the criminals that run the gangs gain power through putting fear into others and now the tables are turned. its a pity that the pathetic euro human rights regulations dont allow such crackdowns.

drugs and crime rule in euroland, and the police cant do a thing about it. they are fighting it with their hands tied behind their backs and its the victims who suffer.

more power to thailands war on the scummy criminal elements in society. it can only make thailand better.

[slappyharry]

tax excile.

dont u think that some police may also be involved in the drug industry? dont u think that it would be a good time for them in their minds to stop their competitors? and also ppl that they have problems with etcetcetc, where will it end?

i know of a lot of bar owners that take valium or pain killers for various reasons, which are all totally legal, but they joke to the staff that they are taking yaba, the staff then grass them up and they get raided and to be found with the pain killers or valium that they take, with taskin allowing them to execute ppl again, im pretty sure there will be more awful mistakes as im sure there must have been with the previous 2,500 street executions carried out..

[sriracha john]

Thai PM Thaksin launches a second war on drugs

Best news I've heard all week!

He should never have scaled down the first one!

and if a member of your family had been gunned down without any subsequent investigation, would you still say the same?

[sriracha john]

Thai PM Thaksin launches a second war on drugs

Best news I've heard all week!

He should never have scaled down the first one!

...and if a member of your family had been innocently gunned down without any subsequent investigation, would you still say the same?

[sriracha john]

Thai PM Thaksin launches a second war on drugs

Best news I've heard all week!

He should never have scaled down the first one!

I agree Rod.

kill them all and let god sort them out!

does that extend to innocent members of your family or circle of friends?.... or is just ok as long as it's someone else?

[taxexile]

fair points from sriracha and slappy , but you cant make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

sometimes ,to clear up a problem that has got out of hand , a strong brutal solution may be the only way.

if a member of my family had been gunned down, then sure i would feel aggrieved, but then i would also feel aggrieved if a member of my family died after becoming addicted to narcotics or out of control on amphetamines.

i suppose there is no way that is fair to everybody.

[sriracha john]

Edit: Another overlapping post. Don't worry I'm not having a go at anyone at Taksin. Thai Rug Thai !!!

But maybe a good time *not* to go to full moon parties.

If last year's killing spree was any indication, it also maybe not a good time to go to the fresh market for shopping, or drive home from work, or walk to school. How many of the killings were in situations totally unremoved from drug activity (eg full moon parties), but instead were of victims carrying on normal everyday tasks. Sorry, we'll never know how many were...as none of them were investigated.

[sriracha john]

Best news I've heard all week!

He should never have scaled down the first one!

spot on.

the criminals that run the gangs gain power through putting fear into others and now the tables are turned. its a pity that the pathetic euro human rights regulations dont allow such crackdowns.

drugs and crime rule in euroland, and the police cant do a thing about it. they are fighting it with their hands tied behind their backs and its the victims who suffer.

more power to thailands war on the scummy criminal elements in society. it can only make thailand better.

If he was alive today, could you explain all of that to the innocent 9 year old child killed by a policeman's bullet during the crackdown?

If you think the crackdown only involved killing drug dealers, you have much to learn about the situation.

If you like places that completely abandon the concept of due process, I'm sorry you missed out on Taliban's Afghanistan... you'd have loved it there.

[Crushdepth]

I wish Taksin would launch a war on stupidity. YOU - OUT OF THE GENE POOL !!

[slappyharry]

lets hope u aint one of the eggs then taxexile..

[taxexile]

If he was alive today, could you explain all of that to the innocent 9 year old child killed by a policeman's bullet during the crackdown?

If you think the crackdown only involved killing drug dealers, you have much to learn about the situation.

If you like places that completely abandon the concept of due process, I'm sorry you missed out on Taliban's Afghanistan... you'd have loved it there. 

sriracha john Posted on Mon 2004-10-04, 15:39:58

this is thailand , the concept of due process has not yet reached the "sophistication" that it has in the west.

to mention the taliban in the same sentence as thailand indicates either a failed sense of irony or a lack of knowledge of how things operate in a developing democracy such as thailand.

i would be interested in hearing your solution to the problem , bearing in mind the state of play in thailand.(court system,evidence gathering capabilities,corruption and damage to society due to drug abuse)

[slappyharry]

it was only becos of taskin that the street executions started, before they used to arrest drug dealers, taskin gave the order to execute, u dont think that the police suddenly decided over a couple of months period to execute ppl they caught dealing?2500 of them.at least the taliban didnt execute 1250 ppl per month on the streets.

[Heng]

Thai PM Thaksin launches a second war on drugs

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, undaunted by an avalanche of criticism after more than 2,500 people were killed in his first war on drugs

After the avalanche of criticism from who? A handful of foreigners and local academics on internet web forums? A few dozen form letter memo's from a few human rights groups?

If a few thousand innocents can die in the 'war on terrorism' for the greater good, then a few dozen may have to die in the 'war on drugs' (perhaps they can be honored as heroes or whatever)

[slappyharry]

actually as much as i love to hate heng he is quite right, the americans have killed loads of innocent ppl in iraq, so it does come down to how can ppl from a 1st world country that is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent ppl complain about taskins police executioners offing a few undesirables and a few innocents, maybe taskin should put in a complaint about bush and blair and their war attrocities..

[slappyharry]

WMDs erm wot are they said blair and bush last week lol

[Nam Kao]

Heng if i die in the war on drugs, do I get 72 virgins?

[Nam Kao]

I applaud Thailand for killing these scumbags, I wish Bush would do it in the US

Stay out of the cross-fire though guys

[britmaveric]

Well- if I were a drug dealer I think it would be time to say out. They must know what happened last time, so if that isnt enough faire warning I don't know what is.

[Nam Kao]

Britmaverick, I remember last time the government made a "Hit List"

and gave time for people listed to turn themselves in - or get a visit

by Mr Pop Pop

[Heng]

Anyone here want to say 'well the death penalty has never been proven to be a deterent to crime?'

[Pattayaguy1999]

He should never have scaled down the first one!

I agree Rod.

kill them all and let god sort them out!

The Thai police get away with murder now, they don't need any more encouragement from top officials. The rights and safety of farangs are precarious enough without trigger happy police given the green light. This would be a good time to keep a very low profile.