WAR ON DRUGS SHOWED POOR LEADERSHIP

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