PM REVIVES WAR ON DRUGS

Concerns Raised Over Human Rights Violations

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat yesterday revived the controversial
war on drugs, kicking off a 90-day campaign and stirring concerns
about a new wave of human rights violations.

He played down the deaths of thousands of people in the previous war
on drugs by the Thaksin Shinawatra administration, which drew
condemnation from around the world - deaths Thai authorities blamed
on drug dealers.

Delivering an anti-drugs policy to a gathering of about 500 officials
at the Army Club, Mr Somchai called on the authorities to exploit all
the resources at their disposal to fight drugs.

But he said the new round in the fight against illicit substances
should focus on prevention rather than suppressive measures,
especially drugs awareness among the young.

He said what the campaign achieves will not be judged by the number
of arrests of drug traffickers.

"Drugs abound because there is a demand. We have to reduce the number
of buyers. Without buyers, there can be nothing to worry about, even
if the drugs are sold for 25 satang," he said.

Mr Somchai said while the government was not expecting to eliminate
drugs entirely in the 90-day period, it did anticipate a reduction in
drug trafficking. Methamphetamine abuse in particular is rampant in Thailand.

The anti-drugs drive will be evaluated on a monthly basis.

The prime minister warned officials not to adopt a heavy-handed
approach, saying they are to operate within the framework of the law.

Former prime minister Thaksin's war on drugs, launched in 2003, was
criticised by many people in Thailand and abroad. More than 2,500
people were killed.

A barrage of complaints and reports claimed many of those who died
had nothing to do with the drug trade.

Human rights activists and relatives of many of the dead accused
police of extra-judicial killings.

Two fact-finding committees were set up to look into the complaints
by the victims' relatives and human rights advocates, but no charges
have ever been laid. The committees claimed they had found no grounds
on which to indict anyone for murder.

Thaksin and the police claimed the victims were killed by drug gangs
wanting to cover their tracks.

"Police are responsible for the suppression of drugs, not for
killing," Mr Somchai said.

"The government does not condone extra-judicial killing. The cases
must be decided in court."

Adviser to the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) Chartchai
Suthiklom said the new campaign would focus on the search for drug dealers.

The aim was to reduce supply to users aged 13 to 18 years. Those
caught buying drugs would be treated and rehabilitated at military camps.

Mr Chartchai said arrested addicts who refused to accept compulsory
treatment and rehabilitation would be sent to jail.

He said the ONCB expected to seize hundreds of millions of baht in
assets illegally acquired from dealing in drugs next year.

Wasant Panich, a former member of the National Human Rights
Commission, said the government must follow legal procedures in its
drug suppression campaign.

He said Thaksin had given "ambiguous" orders which misled state
officials to understand they had a licence to kill drug traffickers.