Thailands' Drug War Goes Live-Fire

Drug war in Thailand goes live-fire
By Michael Arnold
On February 1st, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra upped the stakes in the Asian war on drug users significantly, resolving to make Thailand drug free within 3 months.
Given the level of drug use and distribution in Thailand, this is a massive undertaking. Of the 62 million people living in Thailand as many as one in 17, or 5.9 percent of Thais aged 15 and above, are reported to be users of amphetamines. Myanmar annually supplies 500 million to 700 million amphetamine pills from the drug laboratories located along the Thailand-Myanmar border. Thailand has also long been known as the centre of the Golden Triangle, the focus of south-east Asian heroin production. While many of the illicit networks who were involved in heroin production have now shifted their attention to methamphetamine, it is undoubtedly true that heroin remains a big part of the Thai drug market.
Grand promises to create drug free suburbs, nations, or whole civilisations are far from being unheard of. What makes this campaign appallingly unique is the methods being employed by the Thai police force under governmental sanction.
The official strategy calls for the systematic round-up and imprisonment of all drug users and dealers. The campaign is being coordinated from a district level, with the Prime Minister threatening demotions and disciplinary action for ranking police officers in any district which does not meet its targets. Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, and Phuket Town District Chief Weerawat Janpan, said the “dealers would have a chance to be converted and the addicts would be weaned off their habits.”
Reports suggest that at least 50000 drug users have turned themselves in to the police. How the Thai regime will deal with such a demand on detox services is unclear, but it is very likely that this group will be crammed into prisons, probably renamed as “hospitals”, and subjected to mandatory withdrawal with little or no medical assistance or supervision.
The reason for the surrender by so many users becomes clear when we examine the “unofficial” elements of the campaign. “Drug dealers” are being murdered right across Thailand; BBC reports from February 14 places the current death toll at 350 in two weeks – more than 25 murders a day.
The police have taken responsibility for a small number of these deaths, claiming that the deaths occurred when the police responded in self-defence to attacks by dealers. Their statements on the other 300 or so would have us believe that the drug-involved were killed in inter- and intra-gang “enforcements”, supposedly sparked by fears that these individuals would inform on their activities to the police.
A number of prominent human rights groups are protesting what they describe as extra-judicial executions.
Somchai Homlaor, secretary-general of the Asia Forum human rights group, said: "The only sensible conclusion is the police are sending out death squads."
Amnesty International has also protested against the killings.
The director of Amnesty International’s Thailand office, Srirak Plipat, has said:
“The government has implied through its policy in the anti-drug campaign that the authorities can use extrajudicial means to go after drug traffickers”
"The language is new. The government is taking the campaign very seriously, and [has conveyed that it] will use violence to pursue it."
Unfortunately Amnesty continue to betray the human rights of drug users, and is only protesting against “excesses.” They have stated openly that they do not oppose the drug-war policies of the Thai government, which, in addition to the deaths, has seen the arrest of 6,907 suspected drug dealers and the seizure of 4.2 million methamphetamine pills. "This is true of the public too," said Amnesty's Srirak. "The people support the drug-control campaign but they are not endorsing the extrajudicial killings."
The systematic removal of liberty for around 60000 largely disenfranchised Thais is surely a clear abuse of human rights, but Amnesty sees us only as criminals – not bad enough to be shot willy-nilly, but certainly not worthy of the support due to political prisoners. If it was any other social minority being rounded-up and dragged off human rights groups would undoubtedly be describing the current live-fire phase of the was on drugs by its appropriate description – atrocity.
In only a few weeks time drug user activists and harm reductionists from around the world will be converging upon Chang Mai for the annual International Conference on Reducing Drug-Related Harm. The Thai government will no doubt be keen to show off its ‘successes’ in supply reduction.
International user activists have resolved not to sit quietly in plush motels while our brethren are being murdered in the street outside, and are currently planning protest action. Solidarity actions are also being discussed by those not attending Chang Mai. To find out more email [email protected]
[Article compiled with help from reports from BBC, Phuket Gazette, Asia Times Online, & www.mapinc.org ]
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n246/a09.html
Newshawk: JimmyG
Pubdate: Fri, 14 Feb 2003
Source: BBC News (UK Web)
Copyright: 2003 BBC
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/558
THAI DRUGS KILLINGS CONDEMNED
Thai Police Are Accused Of Operating Outside The Law
Human rights groups in Thailand have condemned the high death rate in recent anti-drugs operations.
The police crackdown began on 1 February, and so far more than 350 people are reported to have been killed and 9,000 arrested.
The human rights group Amnesty International told the BBC Thai service it had grave concerns about any extra-judicial killings, saying they were only justified in cases of self-defence.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told reporters that only 13 suspects had been shot by police, and that violence within drug gangs was responsible for the rest.
But Amnesty's Srivak Philat said the police had committed human rights violations.
They should "adhere to the rules that people are innocent until proven guilty", he said, adding that "only the courts can pass judgement."
Mr Thaksin brushed off the criticism, saying: "The government is firm in its policy. Whoever wants to criticise, let them criticise."
The campaign was part of an initiative led by the prime minister, who came to office two years ago promising to rid Thailand from the scourge of drugs.
But he has largely been unable to stop the flow of millions of highly addictive methamphetamine pills from Burma, which are widely used in Thailand by people of all ages.
Thai police say they are bracing themselves for a billion pills from Burma alone this year.
There are thought to be at least a million methamphetamine addicts in Thailand, which is known locally as "ya-ba".

I'll be interested to see what happens to the Thai economoy if Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's "dream" is realised.

Usually the way of dealing with crime is to attempt to rehabilitate criminals back into normal society, and deter people from committing crime in the first place. Jail is supposed to exist as both a deterrent and rehabilitation centre. The death penalty is supposed to be a huge deterrent to major crimes.
I found this on an Amnesty International website campaigning to abolish the death penalty:

The death penalty does not fight crime or protect the public
Too many governments believe that they can solve urgent social or political problems by executing a few or even hundreds of their prisoners.
There are other means of social control - punishment need NOT be the only tool. Other options include rehabilitation, compensation or [re]conciliation.
There is no conclusive evidence to show that the death penalty is a deterrent to murder or other crime
The most recent survey of research findings on the relationship between the
death penalty and homicide rates, conducted for the United Nations in 1988 and updated
in 1996 , concluded:
"...research has failed to provide scientific proof that executions have a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment. Such proof is unlikely to be forthcoming. The evidence as a whole still gives no positive support to the deterrent hypothesis".
Recent crime figures from abolitionist countries fail to show that abolition has
harmful effects.
Pretty interesting article.
BigTrancer

Click to expand...

now the death toll is suppose to hit 2000 in 1.5 months and it is very obviouses that the cops are mudering drug dealers and users

This statement was issued over the weekend by the recently established Thai Drug Users' Network. All power to them!

The Thai Drug Users' Network is a group of individuals who use or have used drugs. We have come together to respond to the deplorable health and human rights situation of drug users in our country, and in particular the current climate of fear caused by the extrajudicial killing of people allegedly involved with drugs.

The HIV and hepatitis epidemics in our community are out of control, yet the public health response has been negligible. Many of our friends have died because of a lack of information about health, or the denial of care and treatment. We are rejected by our families and friends and discriminated against in the legal system - society treats us as criminals, not human beings. The lack of accurate information about drugs in the media and elsewhere leads to severe misunderstanding among the public and ultimately to debilitating stigmatization. We reject the idea that our lives are worthless and that drug users are disposable.

We believe in the power of the people, and are committed to putting our energy and experience together to address the needs of our community, and to push the government and non-government agencies to confront the barriers to equal rights for drug users.

Today we demand the government to:

1. Immediately stop the killing. Repeal laws and policies that allow people to be murdered with impunity. Conduct investigations into all prior deaths under the government's War on Drugs.

2. Immediately ensure the involvement of drug users (active and former) in the development of all policies and programs that affect our lives.

3. Conduct public education campaigns which promote a positive awareness about the realities of drug use and desist from using a Just Say No approach.

4. Create a supportive social, political and legal environment for the implementation of and access to a range of quality harm reduction programs to address the diverse needs of drug users, including the provision of clean needles.

5. Repeal mandatory HIV testing and compulsory drug treatment laws. Drug users must have access to voluntary HIV counseling and testing services and be supported to enter drug treatment at will.

6. Cover the cost of drug treatment, including substitution, antiretroviral and other relevant therapies, under our national health plan.

7. Remove discrimnatory policy and practice, which currently prohibits active drug users from accessing health care and treatment including antiretroviral therapy.

8. Provide health and social services that are gender sensitive and incorporate the needs of the family and community as well as the individual.

Thai Drug Users' Network April 6, 2003, Chiang Mai

Contact:

Nong 09-811-6406, Wut 01-909-5341, Wee 01-700-5288

Interviews may be arranged via Gary Meyerhoff on email [email protected]

I will advise of phone number and windows of opportunity as soon as I have worked this out. Please promote this widely.

Mixed Opinion

I too have travelled all over the Asia Pacific region, while I do like to indulge in chemicals here in Australia and in Europe,
i have never had the urge to even consider trying anything in ASIA mainly because the of the severe penalties involved. What I dont understand that drug money is often paid in large amounts especially in 3rd world Countries like Thailand, so why is the government all of a sudden so egar to do drug busts. As illegal as it may seem , drug manufature and distribution becomes part of the economy in a lot of these 3rd countries. It creates employment and allows people to earn money. I dont really care about the drug dealers, but more for the peasants who simply work in a factory that may be used to make drugs in order to survive. Thats whats wrong. The dealers can go to hell for all I care but anyone working for them who is trying to make some money to live on now sounds like they are gonna get fucked on too. Look what happened to Afganistan , they had the largest population of Poppy Seeds to manufacture Opium which was their biggest GDP. When the Taliban moved in , they scrapped it and the country when to hell. Im in no ways condoning the manufacture of drugs or distribution , Im making the point that a lot of countries rely on it to make money , by taking it out its going to cause more problems than they had to start with if that makes any sense!

QUOTE " The dealers can go to hell for all I care but anyone working for them who is trying to make some money to live on now sounds like they are gonna get fucked on too. "

This may be worse than u think it is pretty obvoise here in thailand that the real drug dealers are not going to hell and they are making big money and paying off all the cops while the people tring to make some money to live and have no money to make freinds with the cops, or even worse users and even inocent people who have nothing to do with drugs are getting there brains blown out by the cops. I read in the paper that of the close to 2000 people death toll most of them were SMALL TIME DEALERS AND USERS not large scale dealers. And another artical about innocent people who have never tried drugs are getting hassased by the police.

speedygonzales is right. The corruption in most SEA countries is appalling. I don't know what the average law enforcement officer earns in Australia, but in most SEA countries, it's next to nothing. Where i come from, police earn about A$350 a month. Granted, we have lower living expenses, but that also leaves the police open to 'additional income'. In a sense it's a double edged sword. You can buy your way out of trouble, but then a police presence in a country like that won't give you any peace of mind too. I've never personally experienced this, but when you're the victim and the other person buys his way out of trouble, you'll start to lose faith in the police force. At the risk of sounding cliched, I'll say it's harder to find a straight cop in some parts of SEA than a needle in a haystack. The drug laws are 'flexible' too if you've got deep enough pockets. This is evident from just reading the news. Raids netting kgs of meth resulted in small A$4000 fines for the people involved while possession of just 0.05 grams gets you a 2 year jail sentence. This discrepancy in enforcement makes it pretty obvious that there's something going on behind the scenes. However, even though most citizens are aware of the level of corruption, they don't do anything about it. Most people (from what I see) just accepts the fact that corruption exists and embraces it. Everything is about bribes, be it traffic offences or drug offences. The level of corruption is so embedded into everyone's mindset that it becomes acceptable and everyone does it. It seems that everything can be 'worked out' no matter how big or small the crime is. I've talked to a high ranking police officer about this, he's a good guy but there's nothing he can do about it. Even though he may not agree with what's happening, there's nothing more he can do except turning a blind eye against it. His excuse was, everyone else in the police force is taking bribes so there's nothing he can do about it unless he wants the whole division to turn against him. I guess in these situations where there is no real check-and-balance system in place, corruption gets so deeply ingrained in the police culture that it becomes impossible to root out. I think I talk to much. Pay no attention to what I've just said. Well, that's my little rant. Still love my country, and being able to buy your way out of trouble does offer some measure of comfort, but at what price? I'm still wondering myself...

sixthseal.com buying your way out was something wich was good in a way but since the febuary 2003 police have a policy that they need to show arrest figures for drug offences so it realy depends on your luck. The police here need to show arrest figures but they don't want to bust there bussiness parters the major dealers so they are showing the arrest figures in the number of users they bust. I got 3 freind who got busted in these 2 months 2 of them are now in jail one for 4 speed pills and the other for 5 e's. the other one was a differnt case his arresting cop already had his arrest figures so he was after the most money he can get. My freind had to pay him a forturn cause the cops now have a licence to kill u if u have anything to do with drugs in thailand so they basical ask u for all the money they think u can find.
ANY way giving police the licence to kill in a corrupt contry is even worse than then a non corrupt contry, not that it is good in any contry.

OH yeir the Prime Minister of Thailand reconds that three months after implementing his policy which give Police a licence to kill the will be no drugs in the contry at all eg not even a cone of pot or even half an E