Pubdate: Sat, 13 Mar 2004 Source: Bangkok Post (Thailand) Copyright: The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2004 Contact: http://www.bangkokpost.co.th/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/39 Author: Yuwadee Tunyasiri Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/area/Thailand PM TAKES RIDGE TO TASK OVER RIGHTS REPORT BY WASHINGTON US Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge has agreed to pass on the government's concerns about a damning human rights report released recently by Washington. Speaking after a meeting yesterday between Mr Ridge and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said the United States would consider fresh information that had been submitted by the government and revise the report accordingly. Mr Thaksin voiced his disappointment at the report, prepared by the US State Department, which described the human rights climate in Thailand as "worsening" following extra-judicial killings and arbitrary arrests during last year's drugs crackdown. He also aired concern over Washington's choice of sources for the report, saying the US government had been kept abreast of rights issues. Mr Ridge lauded the signing on Thursday of a memorandum of intent (MoI) for a Terrorist Interdiction Programme Border Control System as a concrete measure to combat the threat of terrorism. He also expressed his country's gratitude for the military's help in rebuilding Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr Ridge also praised Mr Thaksin for maintaining the country's gross domestic product at 6.7% - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake