'DEATH SQUAD' CLAIM DENIED

Two Dealers In Each Village Killed This Year

The government has declared Kalasin the first drug-free province, but
critics ask whether police have been murdering dealers to keep the streets
clean.

Sources say at least two suspected drug dealers in each village have been
killed in the past year, but no estimates of the number of those killed
were available.

Activists tell stories of ''death squads'' being deployed. At the
province's behest, villagers left sandal flower _ used for cremation _ at
the doors of suspected dealers as a sign of death.

Within two weeks, some dealers were shot and killed, their bodies discarded
in the street.

Provincial authorities say the shootings were justified extra-judicial
killings, and that the suspects resisted arrest. They deny suggestions that
police summarily executed suspected traffickers.

The province has offered local people training to set up an anti-drug
network, which gathers intelligence for drug suppression officers.

Since the scheme started in 1999, more than 200,000 people have become
members. The goal is to attract 500,000 villagers aged 13 and over.

Drug rehabilitation centres were set up at six temples to offer treatment,
but critics say drug users have seldom been invited to join.

Kalasin police chief Somwong Lipiphan said the province had 2,500 drug
dealers and 12,000 drug addicts in 1999 but no drug dealers and only 1,000
or so drug users now.

Most dealers surrendered. Others were shot dead in extra-judicial killings
or fled the province, he said.

''The key to success is co-operation from all parties _ the public sector,
local politicians and the people, especially the anti-drug network which
has given people the power to make their communities free of drugs,'' he said.

Pol Maj-Gen Somwong said that by definition a drug-free province was one
where no local drug dealers lived or peddled drugs. If drug users lived
there they should be treated.

Prime Minister's Office Minister Thammarak Issarangkura na Ayuthaya
yesterday presided over the ceremony to declare Kalasin drug-free.

Gen Thammarak said several other provinces such as Maha Sarakham, Khon Kaen
and Surat Thani were following suit.

Kalasin governor Chairat Mapraneed said the province would offer 1,000 baht
rewards for anyone giving information about drug addicts and 2,000 baht
rewards for people who could show that drugs were still available for sale.

In a bid to maintain Kalasin's drug-free status, every village would have
four villagers on duty as guards to check passing vehicles at night and
report on strangers.

Nighttime in Muang district is quiet, with only two nightspots bothering to
open after a clampdown last December.

Speed pills have become hard to find in this northeastern province with the
price increasing to 500 baht a tablet from 100-120 baht.

Phuan Wiwekwan, headman of Som Sa-ard village in Kuchi Narai district, said
his village was absolutely free of drugs, and was home to only five drug
addicts. Three drug dealers from the area were shot about a year ago.

''What we want now are guns for villagers who must set up checkpoints at
night. The volunteers are afraid of danger (without arms),'' he added.

Kid Sangkhathad, a resident of Na Kud Sim village in Na Khu district, said
drug problems were less serious after two drug dealers were shot dead
nearby, though some teenagers were still using drugs and strangers
sometimes visited the village.

''Declaring the province a drug-free zone is a good idea. Perhaps this will
scare the dealers. But some villagers wonder how long it will last,'' he said.

Nuchthida Pinitphol, a 19-year-old student, said the measure might frighten
drug dealers but how long it lasted would depend on the continuity and
consistency of drug crackdowns.

NGOs believe the project is just a propaganda campaign for the government.

Angkhana Songsilp, of the Kalasin Network, said many drug addicts under her
care had moved to nearby provinces because they were afraid of being arrested.

The provincial authorities issued advance warning that addicts would be
arrested if they could not quit before the province was declared drug-free.

Ms Angkhana said addicts needed time to come off drugs. They could not do
it overnight.

Few addicts had been approached about joining rehabilitation centres, she said.

Many addicts and dealers were killed after the government launched its
campaign on drugs, she said. Most were shot in the head.

Ms Angkhana said the situation in the province was very tense after the
campaign began.