The Justice Ministry is setting up a special committee to study the Thaksin government's war on drugs and its impact on innocent victims, so that proper financial help can be extended to them and their families. Deputy justice permanent secretary Charnchao Chaiyanukij said the secretary-general of the Office of the Prime Minister sent a letter to the ministry last week instructing it to set up the committee. Mr Charnchao said the ministry had invited former attorney-general Khanit na Nakhon to chair the panel. [continues 311 words]
Unstable political situations in neighbouring countries have caused ethnic minorities to produce more methamphetamine tablets to be sold in Thailand, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) said yesterday. ONCB secretary-general Kitti Limchaikij said the methamphetamine problem has returned. Although the problem may not be as serious as in the past, it could get worse if officials turn a blind eye to it. Faced with an uncertain future, ethnic minorities in neighbouring countries are producing more methamphetamines in order to make money to fund their own development schemes, and their main market is Thailand, he said. [continues 71 words]
The Foreign Ministry has warned Thais not to get involved in drug trafficking in China - or expect long, hard prison sentences. The ministry warning cited the heavy punishment likely to be taken on Thais if they are caught in China for being involved in drugs trafficking. The Thai consulate-general for Guangzhou and Shanghai said 20 Thais had been arrested in China since mid-2006. Customs officers at the two cities' airports have now imposed stringent surveillance on Thai passengers travelling from third countries - especially from South Asia and the Middle East, with a transit in Bangkok and Hong Kong before entering China, the reports said. [continues 88 words]
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. [continues 493 words]
The Department of Special Investigation has evidence linking police to four extra-judicial killings during deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's war on drugs in 2003. Ex-premier Thaksin could face charges of incitement. DSI director-general Sunai Manomai-udom said on Monday that all four cases were transferred from the police to the DSI which began its investigation in December 2006 following complaints lodged by victims' families. The four cases were the death of a nine-year-old boy, alias Nong Fluke, on Feb 23, 2003 and the subsequent disappearance of his mother; the killings of Nikhom Ounkaew and his wife Khanraya, in Nakhon Ratchasima's Khon Buri district on March 28, 2003; the deaths of Pongthep and Ampaiwan Rukhongprasert in Tak's Mae Sot district on May 18, 2003; and the killing of educator Samarn Thongdee in Tak's Muang district in April 2003. [continues 278 words]
Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has denied allegations against his personally having given orders to government authorities to kill drug suspects during his government's "war on drugs" campaign, his legal adviser said Saturday. Lawyer Noppadol Pattama, legal adviser to Mr Thaksin's family, told journalists that he had telephoned the deposed prime minister in Beijing recently and was told that Mr Thaksin as well as his government had never given orders on any killings of drug-related suspects during the campaign. [continues 297 words]
Surayud Likely to Chair It; Activists Delighted Human rights activists yesterday hailed the prospect of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont chairing a meeting next week on extra-judicial killings during the war on drugs under the Thaksin Shinawatra government. Former senator Kraisak Choonhavan said no other prime minister had shown an interest in dealing with breaches of human rights. But he stressed that the task required no less than changing the mindset of state officials who had been "programmed" to kill. "This is worthier than an apology. It shows he is serious," Mr Kraisak said. [continues 545 words]
Few things can keep Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont from chairing the meeting on extra-judicial killings at the Department of Special Investigation on Friday. His show of interest in the issue has raised the hopes of relatives of the victims of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's war on drugs, and human rights defenders across the country. The meeting of the DSI's committee on special cases, which Gen Surayud chairs in his capacity as prime minister, is due to decide which of the extra-judicial killings it should take on. [continues 562 words]
New investigations are set to begin into the death of more than 2,500 people in the war on drugs launched by the Thaksin government. They are to determine how many of those killed were really drug dealers. Former senator Kraisak Choonhavan has also called on the Justice Ministry to look into suspected human rights violations in the restive South. He met the permanent secretary for justice and asked him to order the Department of Special Investigation to look into these cases. [continues 218 words]
Thaksin Shinawatra's declaration of his war on drugs in 2003 would not have resulted in 2,500 cases of mostly unsolved deaths had he used more common sense and a meticulously thought-out plan. As a result, a large number of those killed during the first few months of the campaign have been claimed to be innocent and hard-working Thais, including elderly people, pregnant women and even small children. During his leadership, Mr Thaksin has been accused of using his emotions before using his reasoning power on several important issues. It was also rumoured that Mr Thaksin had a personal motive in this particular matter in dispute: one of his close relatives got hooked on amphetamines and thus he was furious at the prevalence of the drug in the country, hence the campaign that resulted in thousands of unseemly deaths. The 2003 war on drugs was just one example of Mr Thaksin's lack of leadership quality and characteristics. Chavalit Van Chiang Mai [end]
The Lawyers Council of Thailand and the National Human Rights Commission will submit to the Justice Ministry details of 40 apparently innocent victims believed to have been killed by police during the war on drugs. Somchai Homla-or, chairman of the council's human rights committee, said the two agencies found that in at least 40 of 2,500 cases innocent people had been gunned down by police in extra-judicial killings during the war on drugs launched by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. [continues 206 words]
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Lawyers Council of Thailand are pressing the government to ratify the convention on the International Criminal Court so deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra could be tried for crimes against humanity over his controversial anti-drugs campaign. The council and former lawmakers accused the Thaksin administration of having blood on its hands for waging its so-called war on drugs which killed more than 2,000 people, most of them drug traders and traffickers. The government must bring Mr Thaksin to justice or the Sept 19 military coup which swept it to power would amount to nothing but a public deception, they said. [continues 655 words]
Justice Ministry officials are now collecting evidence related to the extra-judicial killings of some 2,500 people during the Thaksin government's war on drugs campaign, said a senior official of the ministry today. Jarun Pukditanakul, Permanent Secretary for Justice, told journalists that concerned officials were now collecting evidence after complaints were lodged and said that he expected that the re-examination process should be completed soon. Asked whether the decision to re-examine possible human rights violations was adopted after a request by Kraisak Choonhavan, a former Nakhon Ratchasima senator, Mr. Jarun said that Mr. Kraisak only submitted evidence on a former senator who was shot dead in the South. [continues 161 words]
Kraisak Wants DSI to Hold New Inquiries Kraisak Choonhavan, a former Nakhon Ratchasima senator, has urged the Justice Ministry to re-examine the human rights violations which occurred during the rule of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He said the interim government should attach importance to the cases because the United Nations had submitted 26 questions on them to Thai authorities last year. "More than 2,000 people died in the extra-judicial killings during the war on drugs launched by the Thaksin government in 2003. It was believed that state officials were also involved in many of the deaths," said Mr Kraisak after an hour-long meeting with Justice Permanent Secretary Jarun Pukditanakul. [continues 235 words]
Five years ago, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan fled along with its Arab terrorist allies in the US invasion that followed the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Since then, the country has failed to establish a decent, functioning government. Despite much aid and strong support from the United Nations and the world, Afghanistan is in desperate trouble. The viable economy consists almost entirely of opium production and drug trafficking. Terrorism, particularly suicide bombers, threatens life everywhere. The Taliban army, routed but not disintegrated in 2001, has regrouped and remains a deadly military threat. There are open fears in Afghanistan that the Taliban rebels pose an actual threat to central power. The commander of Nato forces, British Gen David Richards, believes the Kabul government and international supporters have as little as six months before the Taliban begin to make major gains. The extremists have survived by mounting tough military resistance in the Afghan mountains. But, says Gen Richards and his Nato staff, the Afghan people are beginning to miss the social order and security of the Taliban days more than they appreciate their current freedom. The Afghanistan government, the United Nations and Nato must solve three major problems if they are to prevent failure. [continues 453 words]
The Thai government burned some 3.5 tonnes of seized narcotics worth nearly 11 billion baht (about $285 million) Monday morning to mark Thailand's observance of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking, Public Health Minister Pinij Jarusombat presided over a ceremony to destroy the seized drugs, the 34th of its kind over the past years, at the Bang Pa-in Industrial Estate in this central province of Ayutthaya Province. No problem: The drugs burned in an internationally standardised, environmentally friendly system, called pyrolytic incineration to ensure the environment was protected as well as the drug abusers the drugs never reached. [continues 116 words]
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has pledged to step up the government's crackdown on drugs following complaints about the reemergence prevalence of drugs in several Bangkok districts. Mr Thaksin, who returned to work this week after a one-month leave, spoke with a group of around 100 Bangkok residents from Don Muang District who appeared at Government House Friday morning to ask for more action against drugs. Mr Thaksin said drug problems still exist and an urgent and continued crackdown on their abuse is needed. [continues 117 words]
Sight of addicts, mental patients chained to walls of rehab centre accepted by locals The sight of men chained to trees and walls at a ponoh school in Mayo district may shock strangers, but not local people. These men have been diagnosed as mentally deranged from prolonged drug abuse, or are HIV-Aids positive. A charity rehabilitation centre set up at the school provides herbal treatments which are accepted by local people even though they have not been approved by the Public Health Ministry. [continues 430 words]
As Two Cambodian Sisters Hope For A Pardon, How Deep Does Thailand's Support For The Death Penalty Run? In the visiting area of the Klong Prem women's prison, Cambodians Montha Khuon, 27, and her sister, Srey, a 35-year-old mother of four, stand behind several layers of Perspex and strain to make themselves heard. Everyone shouts here: Family and friends crowd into the booths, leaning close to scratchy speakers. When guards cut the microphones at the end of the strictly enforced, 20-minute visiting period, Montha is left mouthing words in mid-sentence, trying to explain how she and her sister came to be on death row. [continues 1840 words]
Human rights defenders and relatives of those killed during the February-April 2003 campaign wonder why the authorities have stopped investigating 1,639 of the 2,598 cases Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's government seems less amenable to the investigation into 2,598 murder-related cases during the first war on drugs two years ago. The government's investigation panel headed by Deputy Attorney-General Praphan Naikowit recently disclosed the investigation results of the so-called shooting-to-death cases. [continues 1235 words]
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wants the national anti-drug agency to carry on crop substitution and farm projects at Yongkha village in Burma opposite Chiang Rai, while the agency wants to know Rangoon's stance before spending 15 million baht more on this. Last week, Third Army commander Lt-Gen Picharnmet Muangmanee said the Third Army and the Doi Tung Royal Project had already halted assistance to various development projects for ethnic Wa, including the 30-million-baht Yongkha village development project and development of twin villages at the border costing 20 million baht, because the minority group did not stop producing drugs. [continues 410 words]
Effective Crime Fights Need Allies The Many Shapes Of Transnational Crime Will Dominate Discussions For The Next Eight Days In Bangkok One of the objectives of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's third war on drugs launched last week is the complete end of narcotics production in Thailand. But he can never attain this goal without the wide-ranging help of the international community. This explains the effort to secure the support of friends at the 11th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice opening today at the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre. [continues 933 words]
It has been almost six months since Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra launched his campaign against corruption. The launch was as low key as the campaign itself has been. So little has been heard about this campaign that one might wonder whether it is continuing or has been allowed to die quietly away. This raises the major question of whether the prime minister is genuinely interested in ridding corruption from the government bureaucracy. The only matter involving corruption that Mr Thaksin has taken any real interest in is the doctoring of sodium chloride purchased by the state for use in artificial rain-making to help alleviate the drought, a project supervised by His Majesty the King. And there is some question whether this matter would have attracted the attention of Mr Thaksin and his government if it not been for the fact that the project is supervised by His Majesty. [continues 576 words]
Campaign Backed, But Confidence Low In Poll The majority of people polled in 25 provinces across the country have no confidence in the government's ability to eradicate drugs from Thailand. In a recent survey by Assumption University's Abac poll, 68% of 5,168 respondents, representing a range of age groups, said they had no confidence in the plan's success, while only 23% thought the campaign would be successful. However, 74% of respondents supported the campaign to eradicate drugs, saying they were ready to provide information and clues regarding illicit drugs to the authorities. [continues 184 words]
Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has told police to put the country under the microscope again prior to a new war on drugs that is to begin once his new government is in place. Mr Thaksin also wants the Public Health Ministry to cut demand for drugs through rehabilitation of addicts, community cooperation in preventing drug use, and promotion of family love and care. National police chief Kowit Wattana said Mr Thaksin told a meeting on crime yesterday that police officers holding positions of commander and superintendent would be held responsible if drugs returned to areas under their jurisdiction. [continues 234 words]
Thailand and the United States have taken legal steps against the biggest, richest druglords in Asia. A US federal court accepted a case against eight leaders and drug peddlers with the United Wa State Army for making, smuggling and selling opium, heroin and amphetamines. Thailand, which already has criminal cases against several of the Wa, took a direct and active interest in the US case. This case is not just a symbol but an important milestone in a crucial battle. The single reason these dangerous, long-term drug traffickers continue to run drug cartels for profit is because of the protection of the Burmese dictatorship. [continues 600 words]
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday lashed out at human rights advocates for accusing his government of committing serious breaches of human rights. Mr Thaksin said those accusing Thailand of human rights violations should look at all facets of the problems, and not consider just one. He said those who harmed others must respect the rights of their victims. It was nonsense if those who never respected people's rights wanted others to respect theirs, the prime minister said, citing examples of those who have beheaded others or killed innocent people. [continues 158 words]
Although the war on drugs ended almost two years ago with the government proudly announcing it a big success, the operation has left indelible wounds on many people who have been searching in despair for justice and the answers to their misery. Thai-language Kom Chad Luek daily recently published a touching plea from the daughter and niece of a victim in Phetchaburi. With the murder of the head of their family, no government agency has been able to solve the mystery of the case or take any responsibility for it. [continues 700 words]
Afghanistan is no longer ruled by the Taliban and its terrorist supporters. But a new United Nations report highlights a problem that could be just as bad for the landlocked nation. Afghanistan is not just the world's leading producer of illicit narcotics; it supplies 87% of the world's heroin supply. Opium grows in every one of the 32 Afghan provinces. Without urgent action, the democratic elections could become meaningless, as drug traffickers turn Afghanistan into a terrorist-friendly narco-state once again. [continues 588 words]
The chief of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Burma is concerned with the shortcomings of humanitarian assistance for opium-growers in sustainable alternative projects amid the tightening sanctions against the military regime. ''We are trying not to let Burma become another Afghanistan, where after the removal of the Taliban regime the opium situation has gone back to square one and it costs international taxpayers a lot today to clean up the mess since the poor Afghan farmers have no other choices,'' said Jean-Luc Lemahieu, the UNODC representative in Burma. [continues 422 words]
US military clampdown would run the risk of turning opium producers into battlefield enemies Afghanistan's presidential elections came off with little violence but some damaging controversy. President Hamid Karzai's 15 opponents charged vote fraud. But whether the election is perceived as legitimate is only the second most important issue facing the war-torn nation. Most critical is whether the Bush Administration risks undermining the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in an attempt to suppress drug production. Unfortunately, Afghanistan has become a global Opiates-R-Us. [continues 770 words]
The United Nations' report that more than one million impoverished farmers in Burma are facing a ''humanitarian disaster'' for giving up opium cultivation is the bad news in a story that could otherwise give the world's anti-drug campaigners cause for celebration. The significant decline in poppy fields and opium output in Burma's Shan state revealed by the Opium Survey 2004 of the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime is encouraging. It shows the agency's efforts to eradicate opium cultivation through crop substitution programmes are moving in the right direction. Regretfully, the shortfall in the financial support from donor countries, particularly the United States and the European Union, are undermining the UNODC's attempt to build a safety net needed by these people who have given up their illicit crop. [continues 530 words]
Wa Leaders Promise End to Opium Cultivation by Next June, but Farmers Worry How They Will Feed Their Families Burma's production of opium has fallen dramatically over the last 12 months. Poppy production fell by more than 50% in 2004, according to the latest survey by the UN's anti-narcotics body. The area under cultivation fell by nearly 30% and poppy production has fallen by 54% since last year, Jean-Luc Lemahieu, head of the UN office on drugs and crime (UNODC) told the Bangkok Post. [continues 949 words]
'Brutal Measures' Vow Raises Rights Concerns The second war on drugs will focus on Klong Toey slum communities, which must be made free of drugs, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday. Mr Thaksin opened the second six-month phase of Palang Phandin Ruam Kwadlang Yaseptid (the war on addictive drugs) yesterday at the Police Society in Bang Khen. He instructed the police to be serious in combating the drug trade, especially the transportation of cocaine by motorcycles. The new metropolitan police commissioner and anti-drug chief should launch at least one more crackdown on drugs in the Klong Toey area where there were always drugs and anti-drug volunteers must remain on guard. [continues 481 words]
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday declared a new round of a full-scale war on drugs, promising "brutal measures" against drug dealers and traffickers. "Drug dealers and traffickers are heartless and wicked. All of them must be sent to meet the guardian of hell, so that there will not be any drugs in the country," Mr Thaksin said. A lot of youngsters had fallen victim to drug dealers over the years and methamphetamines would likely make a comeback. "These things are like cancer and we have to continue to keep a close watch on them," he said. The new, one-year campaign would involve decisive action against drug dealers and traffickers. [continues 191 words]
As many as 2,500 people were killed in the first campaign of the government's war on drugs, and the country could well see more bloodshed now that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has declared a second offensive. The government's determination to rid Thai society of the evil of drugs deserves the support of us all. But the high fatality rate in the first six-month war on drugs last year has seriously marred what should be one of this government's major achievements in office. [continues 609 words]
A coalition of 51 human rights and health organisations has called on the Municipal Council of L'Aquila and Instituzi Perdonanza Colestniana to withdraw the 2004 International Forgiveness Award given to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr Thaksin was named as the recipient of the award for "his government's treatment of drug abusers as patients rather than criminals". The award was presented to the prime minister during his trip to Italy last month. The group, which comprises Thai and international organisations, said systematic and brutal human rights violations took place during the government's war on drugs under Mr Thaksin's leadership. [continues 72 words]
West Says Asia One Of Prime Exporters Wildlife and drugs smuggling go hand-in-hand with Asia being one of the prime exporters, said European and American justice officials yesterday. However, a Thai wildlife expert said Thailand had in the past found cases of illicit drugs concealed among live animals sent to the United States, but that was ancient history. "We continue to find various cases of both endangered animals and drugs being smuggled in the same container, or sometimes legal animals are used as live vessels to make it easier to pass through customs," said John Webb, a prosecutor from the US Justice Department. "Drug and wildlife trafficking may be the two greatest money-makers, aside from gun running, why not put them together." [continues 207 words]
A recent US State Department report salutes Thailand's progress in shutting down international drug traffickers, but much remains to be done on the home front. Despite stepped up efforts at suppression by Burmese authorities, huge quantities of methamphetamines _ known in Thailand as ya ba (crazy drug) _ are still made in clandestine labs in Burma and smuggled into Thailand via the common border and through neighbouring countries. Intelligence sources say that most of the estimated 800 million ya ba tablets produced annually in Burma enter into Thailand. [continues 1538 words]
Chiang Mai _ The director of the Northern Narcotics Control Centre is confident Thailand will be free of illegal drugs in six or seven years. Thailand will also support drug suppression in neighbouring countries through intelligence sharing and technical assistance. Pitthaya Jinawat told a workshop he was certain Thailand would be free of illegal drugs by 2010 or 2011, well before 2015, the year set by the United Nations for Asian nations to become drug free. Thailand will also provide training, intelligence and equipment to its neighbours in Southeast Asia, especially Laos and Vietnam, for use in fighting drugs. [continues 162 words]
A Knowledgeable Source Claims That, Contrary To Common Belief, Opium Poppy Cultivation Has Increased In Some Areas Of Burma "I don't like drugs and addicts. They don't want to work and they commit crimes to fund their habit." These were the first words out of the mouth of Sai Kam (not his real name), who agreed to meet and tell "everything" about the drug business along the Thai-Burmese border. Sai Kam is an agent for an anti-narcotics group based in Nam Hkam in northern Shan State of Burma. There has been a significant increase in opium poppy cultivation between Nam Hkam and Kutkai areas in the past years because of the reduced output in Wa, Kokang and other regions of the state, he said. [continues 794 words]
Good news has been slowly accumulating in and around Thailand that the tide is turning against illicit drugs, and especially against the criminals who make, sell and smuggle them. The latest small step forward was the decision by US authorities that the significance of the drug trade has dropped. President George W. Bush removed Thailand from a list of 22 countries where there is big-time drug trafficking. It is a realistic decision, although some will argue it could divert attention from the hurricane of drug trafficking all around the calm eye which is Thailand. [continues 574 words]
Clearing Laos' hills of poppies has created major social and health problems for traditional farmers The Lao government's headlong rush towards its 2005 deadline for total opium eradication is hailed by drug control agencies as a remarkable success. But many Lao people have little cause to celebrate. International NGOs and development specialists have issued warnings about the looming humanitarian disaster inflicted on hilltribes people, cajoled and coerced to abandon their traditional opium livelihoods without any alternatives in place. The cold statistics of the Laos Opium Survey 2004 and the triumphalist comments of Antonio Maria Costa, director of the United Nations Office of Drug and Crime, or Undoc, about the end of opium in the Golden Triangle, ignores the human costs and suffering for the Hmong, Akha and other hilltribes ravaged by disease in resettlement zones. [continues 864 words]
Phuket, Thailand has proposed the setting up of 10 more border liaison offices in the four Mekong countries and an increase in the frequency of patrols along the Mekong river in a bid to stem the flow of illicit drugs. The proposal was tabled during a four-day meeting of representatives of drug suppression agencies from Thailand and Burma. The meeting, which began Sept 5 and ended yesterday, was co-chaired by Narcotics Control Board (NCB) secretary-general Pol Gen Chidchai Wannasathit and Burma's police chief Pol Maj-Gen Khin Yin. [continues 137 words]
The Narcotics Control Board has set up teams to examine the deaths of 2,500 people who perished last year during the war on drugs. Pol Lt-Gen Chidchai Wannasathit, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, said three teams comprising staff from the Attorney-General's Office, the Justice Ministry and law enforcement officers would investigate the cause of death in each case. Police had also set up a working group to look into the cases, he said, after His Majesty the King urged an inquiry during his birthday speech last December. [continues 63 words]
Local software house CyberPlanet Interactive and Microsoft (Thailand) have launched Moontra Kid, an anti-drug edutainment game. Moontra Kid provides players information regarding drugs and health and targets those aged between four and 15 years old. The game comes in a series of four _ Quiz Fighting, Magic Pair, Drug War and Buggy. Microsoft Thailand managing director Andrew McBean said technology could play a vital role in education and entertainment in Thailand. Microsoft plans to give 100,000 of the CD games to schools through its Partners in Learning project . [continues 51 words]
The public has little confidence the government can tackle corruption in the next six months, but is more than happy with its war on drugs, according to a recent poll. Assumption University surveyed 4,817 people in 25 provinces between July 2-27. The survey found 60% of respondents did not believe the government could end the corruption plaguing the country before its term ends officially in mid-February. Asked which government initiatives they were most satisfied with, 94% said the war on illicit drugs. Second came the One Tambon One Product scheme, favoured by 90%. [continues 94 words]
Participants Sick Of Broken Promises Thai community leaders have demanded the government adopt more humane policies to help intravenous drug users suffering from HIV/Aids infections. In his final words to the 15th International Aids Conference, Paisan Suwannawong, a key member of the Thai Drug Users Network, said it was time the government introduced comprehensive programmes and brought changes to its "repressive" policies against Aids sufferers."We only offer them the choice of prison or military-run rehabilitation centres. Is this harm reduction or harm production?" he asked. [continues 269 words]
Owner Urged To File For Attempted Murder The Royal Thai Police Office has set up a fact-finding committee to look into why police opened fire on a house in Ayutthaya's Bang Sai district on Wednesday. Pol Gen Amnuay Phetsiri, deputy national police chief, said police thought the house was a drug storage point, but found nothing. A team of 50 Crime Suppression Division commandos, drugs and local police raided a house in tambon Chiang Rak Noi in Bang Sai district about 3am. Police say they forced their way in after the occupants refused them entry. They claim people inside the house opened fire, prompting them to return fire. [continues 327 words]
Second Chance For Small-Time Jailbirds A total of 393 women prisoners convicted of minor drug offences have been released under a scheme to suspend their sentences and allow them back into society. Kitti Limchaikit, justice deputy permanent secretary, said this was the first time convicted women drug offenders had been released before completing their jail time. They were given four months of occupational training under the Wiwatpollamuang school programme before being freed. The ministry is suspending sentences under a programme to reduce overcrowding in jails and to give minor offenders a second chance. [continues 184 words]
