THAILAND PROMISES A DEADLY TOLL DURING NEW 'WAR ON DRUGS'

BANGKOK - The new Thai government is to relaunch the country's "war on
drugs" which killed more than 2,500 people allegedly involved in the
trade.

During a three-month killing spree in 2003 as intense as a full-scale
armed conflict, thousands named on police "black lists" were shot
dead, allegedly on government orders.

Yet the government's narcotics control board concluded that more than
half the victims had no involvement in drugs. One couple from
northeastern Thailand were shot dead after coming into unexplained
wealth and being added to a black list. They were, in fact, lottery
winners.

The campaign was one of the principal policies of Thaksin Shinawatra,
the former prime minister and Mr. Samak's political patron, who now
lives in exile and owns Manchester City Football Club.

"My government will decisively implement a policy against drug
trafficking. Government officials must implement this policy 24 hours
a day, but I will not set a target for how many people should die,"
said Samak Sundaravej, the new prime minister.

The interior minister, Chalerm Yubamrung, said: "When we implement a
policy that may bring 3,000 to 4,000 bodies, we will do it."

Although the military junta which overthrew Mr. Thaksin in 2006 called
the killings "a crime against humanity," the former premier and his
supporters -- who were re-elected in December -- insist that the dead
were the victims of gang warfare, not police killings.

Yet there is strong evidence of police involvement. Many were shot
days after being summoned to defend themselves before local
authorities or after reporting to a police station to have their name
removed from the "black list."

The government ordered the police to compile "back lists" which were
as comprehensive as possible, then shorten the list by 25 per cent
every month. Often the only way off the list was death.