Pubdate: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 Source: Bangkok Post (Thailand) Copyright: The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2007 Contact: http://www.bangkokpost.co.th/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/39 THE WAR THAT WON'T GO AWAY Like most wars, the society problem often labelled as the "war on drugs" is a matter of many small battles. This war has had many ups and downs since the government of Gen Sarit Thanarat banned opium in 1959. It should not be surprising that drug trafficking and usage are increasing once again. The powerful profits of the drug gangs, combined with corruption and inattention, make it certain that the drugs trade remains a threat. What is important for the well-being of the country is that authorities stay alert, and stop fighting this war with yesterday's battle tactics. The fact of resurgent drug trafficking now seems beyond debate. This will surprise some people, who thought that the murderous and intimidating campaign of the former government might be the decisive, winning battle. Under ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, police and anti-drug forces teamed up in a campaign to wipe out petty drug-dealing. A chief tactic was the extra-judicial murder. Neither the overall death toll nor the number of totally innocent people killed is known. The best guess is that somewhere around 1,200 people died. Authorities must be pushed and supported by the public to pursue the abuses of civil rights in the 2003 campaign against the amphetamines trade. Police have dragged their feet, and the military-backed government has not taken up the cases aggressively enough. But there also are two lessons here, seemingly unlearnt. First is the fact, as we now see, that a vigilante campaign against small-time drug dealers does little to inhibit the trade in illegal drugs. The second is that there must be strict and clear guidelines that police who step outside the law to kill suspects will be dealt with swiftly and harshly - by the law they so badly disrespect. But what of 2007? Hilltribe leaders have warned clearly of increasing heroin trade from Burma's part of the Golden Triangle. The top government experts of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board have just as clearly warned of a resurgence of drug use. The drug traffickers have evolved. The Burma-based drug gangs no longer trek opium on the backs of mules. They use a sophisticated, international smuggling ring with all the tools of globalisation, rapid movement across borders and contacts around the world. New drugs are entering Thailand from abroad, creating a spiralling upward demand for so-called recreational drugs - cocaine from South America, ecstasy from Europe, crystal methamphetamine from Southeast Asian labs, and many more. There are worrying signs elsewhere inside Thailand. The opium crop, negligible for two decades, has grown significantly. Authorities must stop and reverse this alarming trend. There is little opium consumption in Thailand. A growth in opium acreage means the drugs gangs are financing farmers to provide the raw material for heroin. One way or the other, the ONCB must persuade the landowners to stop. Once again, the lack of information and education is effectively encouraging drug use and drug smuggling, particularly by young people. From harsher prison sentences to nightclub raids for urine tests, the focus is entirely on the suppliers of the drugs. There must be far more attention to the demand side of this dirty business. A generation of youngsters has little information about illicit drugs. The downside of drug addiction and abuse is seldom mentioned. Nor is there much said about the most dramatic reason not to become involved in drug trafficking. Young Thais, mostly women, are flying off to South America on an expedition to pick up cocaine. In many cases, they are not coming back. The penalties for drug smuggling in that part of the world are as harsh as in Thailand; the prisons are worse. Finally, the lack of international cooperation in combatting the cross-border drug gangs remains depressing. Burma cooperates little, but in fact the lines of communications even among willing countries are slow. Make no mistake. The battles against drug trafficking constitute a real war. That conflict was declared by drug gangs against society. And society must fight back. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman