Pubdate: Mon, 17 Mar 2003
Source: Nation, The (Thailand)
Copyright: 2003 Nation Multimedia Group
Contact:  http://www.nationmultimedia.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1963

DECLINE IN KILLING RATE 'SUSPICIOUS'

Points To Official Involvement In Deaths, Says Chuan

Opposition leader Chuan Leekpai said yesterday that the slowdown in the 
"silencings" of drug suspects in the past week could be an indication that 
authorities were behind most of the killings, not drug gangs as reported by 
the government.

In his weekly Chuan Online programme, Chuan said the number of reported 
"silencings" of drug dealers, allegedly by nervous drug gangs, had 
decreased dramatically since the government toned down its stand on the 
killings, which it had initially reported as a positive development.

The programme was carried on the Democrat Party's website.

The Thaksin government launched its three-month war on drugs to much 
fanfare last month.

During the first month, the government and police boasted of the high 
number of drug suspects killed, saying most of the slayings were ordered by 
drug bosses in an effort to erase any links with them.

The way the spiralling death toll was announced appeared to show that the 
government and police considered it to be a major achievement of the war on 
drugs, while police apparently showed no interest in investigating the 
murders, Chuan said. This prompted many critics to suspect that authorities 
were behind the killings, he said.

Following this criticism, the government toned down its stand and 
"corrected" the figures, saying most of the murders were unrelated to the 
drug war, he said.

"It is worth noticing here that had the 'silencings' been ordered by the 
drug bosses as claimed by the government, the high rate of killings 
reported over the past month should have continued over the past week," 
Chuan said.

"The criminals [reportedly behind the killings] should not have acted as if 
they were taking orders from the government. But the facts show, as many 
have said, that the silencings - although some really were committed by 
drug gangs - were carried out by police, who were given a green light by 
the government. That green light has resulted in the loss of more than 
1,500 lives in a short period of time," he said.

Chuan also said the government should stop saying that critics of the 
"silencings" are siding with drug traffickers.

The Democrat Party leader said he disagreed with the use of violence, but 
pointed out that it was a Democrat-led government that passed the 
Anti-Money Laundering Act that the current administration was using to 
seize the assets of drug traffickers. "Had we sided with drug traffickers, 
this law would never have been enacted," Chuan said.

In another development, a police source said the police general identified 
by Privy Councillor Phichit Kullayavanijaya as being involved in drug 
trafficking was retired and had been blacklisted by anti-narcotics 
officersand that police were gathering evidence to take action against him. 
The source added that the retired general had close connections to several 
political parties.
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