Pubdate: Tue, 22 Apr 2003
Source: Bangkok Post (Thailand)
Copyright: The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2003
Contact:  http://www.bangkokpost.co.th/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/39

HAILING A VICTORY IN THE DRUGS WAR

First the good news. With eight days to go, the three-month government 
campaign against illicit and dangerous drugs has accomplished a lot. It is 
clear from numerous reports from experienced observers that illegal drugs 
are no longer freely available on the nation's streets and in factories and 
housing estates. Massive police attention has shut down many neighbourhood 
drug rings. The rise in the price of drugs, particularly methamphetamines, 
shows that the campaign has hit peddlers hard.

There is not much more good news. Police credibly believe they have shut 
down one big ya ba trafficker in Bangkok, but have reneged on their 
promises to track and arrest his suspected confederates high up in the 
police force. An expose{AAC} in this newspaper's Perspective section on 
Sunday showed that a variety of so-called recreational drugs are available 
in the capital's nightclubs. Despite hundreds of murders and thousands of 
arrests, the "drug culture" appears to have survived.

Most troubling of all, close allies of the dictatorship in Burma continue 
to make, smuggle and sell millions of methamphetamine tablets. If police 
seizures of the drug have risen -- and we must await official figures for 
that -- so has the production of speed tablets by the United Wa State Army. 
The government has made no public approach to Burma to help the drug 
crackdown which began on Feb 1. Certainly the Rangoon regime, heavily 
addicted to the money "invested" by drug lords, has made no public effort 
to interrupt the manufacture or smuggling of methamphetamines.

Many would agree that it is a little early to declare victory in the drug 
war and move on to the next problem. Instead of an anti-drug culture, the 
government campaign has introduced an atmosphere of political fear. 
Politicians and civil servants alike are rushing to jump on the victory 
bandwagon being driven by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr Thaksin has 
announced the nation will be free of drugs on Dec 2. Interior Minister Wan 
Muhamad Nor Matha says he will declare 25 of the 76 provinces drug free on 
Aug 12.

The Office of the Narcotics Control Board last week said drug trafficking 
is no longer a threat to national security. Secretary-General Teeraphat 
Santimataneedol apparently believes the first 75 days of the crackdown 
reduced the problem of drugs from the greatest threat to our nation to -- 
in his words -- a small-scale criminal problem. Surely that statement is 
debatable, and certainly premature.

As far as is known, every major drug trafficker except one remains free, 
and therefore in business. The police deserve high praise for arresting 
Suparb Seedaeng, and seizing hundreds of millions in ill-gotten profits. 
But other international and regional traffickers are still at large. When, 
not if, vigilance eases against suspected traffickers so police can move to 
the next wars _ on corruption and piracy, the government says _ the drug 
dealers will emerge from under the rocks where they have hidden.

They will find, because they already know where to look, reliable supplies 
from the Wa drug kingpins in Burma. And they will find a market. The 
government has waged a heavy-handed -- some say brutal -- campaign against 
drug suppliers. It has failed to match it with enlightened and widespread 
campaigns across the whole country to educate young people against drug 
abuse and help addicts to kick their habits and resume productive lives.

The government has taken heavy and deserved criticism for the violence 
unleashed by the campaign against drugs. Still, it has made clear progress 
in tracking and eliminating trafficking networks. What a shame it would be 
if it simply declares victory and walks away now. The revival of the drug 
trade is likely to be bigger and more of a threat.
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