As Drug Trafficking Revives, Thais Back Another Harsh Crackdown

In 03, A Violent Government Anti-Drug Campaign Resulted In More Than
2,500 Deaths

Reporter Simon Montlake Discusses Thailand's Past Efforts To Eradicate
Methamphetamine Smuggling.

Bangkok, Thailand - By Day, Bangkok's Largest Slum Broils Under A
Scorching Sun. Schoolchildren In Crisp Uniforms Scuttle Past Sidewalk
Food Vendors. But At Night, Say Local Activists, The Dockside Lanes Of
Khlong Toey Belong To Peddlers Of Methamphetamine Pills, Known To
Thais As Ya Ba, Or Crazy Medicine.

Wanlop Hirikul, A Community Leader And Radio Broadcaster, Has Been
Here Before. Until 03, His District Was Overrun With Dealers Hawking
Meth Pills. Then Came A Violent But Popular Antidrug Campaign Led By
Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra That Disrupted Trafficking
Networks And Forced Tens Of Thousands Of Addicts Into Rehabilitation
Camps.

Today, The Situation Is Reversing. "It's Getting Worse. The Drugs Are
Coming Back To Our Community ... Where There Used To Be One Dealer On
The Street, Now There Are Three," Mr. Wanlop Says.

Thai Authorities Are Facing A Spike In Meth Sales In Poor Communities.
Counternarcotics Officials Warn That Political Instability Is
Emboldening Illegal Drug Manufacturers In Burma (Myanmar) Who Smuggle
Millions Of Pills Into Thailand And Across Southeast Asia, Including
Growing Markets In Cambodia And Laos.

The Apparent Failure Of The Military Junta, Which Ousted Thaksin In
06, To Curb Drug Trafficking Has Proved A Political Gift To
Opponents. Officials In The Pro-Thaksin People's Power Party (Ppp) Won
The Largest Number Of Seats In Dec. 23 Parliamentary Elections, The
First Since The Coup, After Vowing To Revive The "War On Drugs."

That Pledge Pleases Community Leaders Who Want A Firmer Hand, But
Alarms Human Rights Groups Who Monitored The 03 Crackdown, When More
Than 2,500 People Died In Extrajudicial Killings. Thaksin Has
Repeatedly Blamed The Slayings On Internecine Gang Violence.

Ppp Deputy Leader Chalerm Yubamrung Last Month Pledged To Ramp Up
Suppression And Reduce Demand Through Treatment. Asked About 03, Mr.
Chalerm, A Former Interior Minister, Said It Was A "Misunderstanding"
That The Authorities Were Responsible. "There Won't Be Any
Victimization Of Innocent People. Those Who Were Affected Were Not The
Real Innocents," He Told The Bangkok Post.

But A Junta-Appointed Panel Recently Concluded That More Than Half Of
Those Slain Had No Links To The Drug Trade. The Panel Blamed A
Government "Shoot-To-Kill" Policy That Used Flawed Police Blacklists
Of Suspected Traffickers. It Recommended Compensation To Victims' Families.

But The Panel Has No Judicial Powers And Its Findings Have Been
Overshadowed By The Jockeying To Form A New Government.

That Leaves Thaksin's Allies Free To Restart An Aggressive Campaign,
Says Sunai Pasuk, A Researcher For Human Rights Watch. "People Need To
Be Brought To Court, Not Executed On The Street As We Saw Under
Thaksin...[Ppp Leaders] Show No Remorse Towards What Happened In 03
And That's Very Scary," He Says.

In Khlong Toey, Home To Some 135,000 Residents, Activists Say The
Crackdown Was A Justifiable Response. "If You Think About The 2,000 Or
More People Who Died, You Should Compare That To The Effect They Had
On The People Who Bought Their Drugs, Which Is A Much Larger Number,"
He Says.

A 04 Survey By The Asia Foundation Found Widespread Acceptance For
Get-Tough Policies Against Drug Dealers And Human Traffickers. An
Average Of 67 Percent Of Respondents Said That Extrajudicial Killings
Were Permissible In Such Cases.

Chartchai Suthiklom, A Senior Adviser To The Office Of The Narcotics
Control Bureau, Said The Controversy Stirred By Thaksin Shouldn't Stop
Police From Taking On Traffickers. He Warns That Smuggling Of Meth
Into Thailand Is On The Rise After Falling Sharply Between 03- 06.
"Aggressive And Serious Suppression Doesn't Mean Killing People. We
Can Use The Law For Suppression," Wanlop Says.

Despite Its Domestic Popularity, The 03 Campaign May Have
Unwittingly Contributed To Worsening Situations In Neighboring
Countries. Tougher Interdiction Efforts Along The Thai-Burma Border
Forced Smugglers To Explore Alternative Overland Routes Into Thailand
Through Laos And Cambodia, As Well Sea Routes Via Malaysia.

"You Could Say That Thaksin's War On Drugs Was A Disaster For These
Countries Because The Supply Routes Through The Golden Triangle Now Go
Through Laos And Cambodia And To Malaysia. These Countries Began As
Transit Routes; Now They've Become Consumers," Says Jeremy Douglas, A
Regional Coordinator For The UN Office On Drugs And Crime In Bangkok.

That Matters Little To Nittaya Phrompochuanboon, A Social Worker At An
Educational Foundation In Khlong Toey. At Night, She Joins Volunteers
Who Patrol, Keeping An Eye Out For Drug Dealers. But Their Anonymous
Tip-Offs To The Local Police Rarely Lead To Arrests.

"How Can The Police Not Know Who The Traffickers Are, When The
Neighbors See That They're Selling Drugs" She Asks.