THAILAND'S DRUGS WAR TO CONTINUE

Thailand's 10-month war on drugs is due to end on Wednesday, but Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said it will continue despite its success.

Mr Thaksin gave no further time frame for the crackdown, saying it
will be "a relentless, continuing campaign".

More than 2,000 people have been killed so far. Rights group accuse
police of murdering suspected dealers, but the government denies this.

It says most of the deaths have resulted from inter-gang
violence.

Police say they have arrested about 90,000 people on drugs-related
charges since the campaign started in February and have seized more
than 40 million methamphetamine pills and assets worth 1.8bn baht
($45m) from suspected dealers.

"We wouldn't have fathomed that it could be this successful," Mr
Thaksin told reporters on Tuesday.

"We've destroyed many drug rings. But this doesn't mean we're going to
stop after tomorrow because it's like a disease in the body," he said.

According to official statements, 2,245 drugs suspects were killed
between 1 February and 30 April alone.

'Investigations Needed'

Police say only a few dozen of the victims have been killed by police,
and those have been shot in self-defence.

But London-based rights group Amnesty International criticised the
Thai Government in a report last month for failing to initiate
"independent, impartial, effective and prompt investigations" into the
killings.

Charun Ditha-appichai of the National Human Rights Committee said he
welcomed the government's commitment to stamping out drugs, but said
it had caught few major traffickers.

"This government is much more determined than its predecessors to
fight the drugs problems. Its unprecedented wide-ranging campaign has
greatly boosted government popularity. But what we disagree is the
ways it has been conducted," he said.