Hard Talk

REIGN OF TERROR UNLEASHED ON DRUG TRADE

The message sent out by the police in the northern province of Sakhon
Nakhon last week could not have been more graphic. It was probably more
poignant than the fanfare over Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's launch
of the three-month crusade to rid Thailand of drugs.

The police at Pangkol district piled up a dozen donated coffins in front of
their office as a warning to drug traffickers: Stop or end up in one of them.

The warning, however, was a belated one. The number of drug suspects that
have been killed by police over the weeks preceding the much- celebrated
campaign - of which Thaksin has appointed himself the "commanding general"
- - has by far exceeded that of the coffins displayed in front of Pangkol
police station.

It's rather obvious that police in many areas, under pressure from their
superiors to "perform", have resorted to extra-judicial killings to show
results. Thaksin only made the "open season" official with last Friday's
much-celebrated ceremony at the Royal Plaza.

Of course, the Thaksin government deserves credit for trying to
reinvigorate the assault on the drug problem, considered to be the
country's most scorching social menace. We have seen enough of young lives
being ruined and families broken up because of drugs. Nobody can say for
sure any more whether there are any schools which are completely drug-free.

But the drug problem is so deep-rooted that no one with any degree of
sanity could expect it to be solved overnight. True to his style as an
action-oriented CEO, Thaksin wants to see "results" within three months.
But he has not made clear what constitutes success in his opinion. In fact,
he has not even explained the logic behind his three-month deadline.

Thaksin's tough words, however, have already been accepted as a green light
by law enforcement officers to pull out all the stops and take whatever
steps they deem necessary in dealing with drug traffickers. Just two days
after the launch of the anti-drug campaign, four drug suspects were gunned
down in Bangkok. The war on drugs certainly promises to be a bloody one -
just the way Thaksin wants it to be.

Society's frustration with the drug problem is understandable. Thaksin
might have struck the right note by appearing to be tough. But confronting
the problem requires more than sending gunslingers into town blasting away
at anyone suspected of being a drug trafficker.

The campaign, which has already seen armies of police officers fan out
across the country to raid hideouts of suspected drug dealers, might have
the initial effect of prodding all government agencies involved into
action. But we are all too familiar with the scene - something which is not
much different from the previous anti-crime blitzes which made for good PR
but produced little long-term results.

The solution to the drug problem requires a much more concerted effort
involving all levels of bureaucracy. Besides battling the traffickers and,
more importantly, the sources of the drugs, there is also an urgent need to
confront the decaying social environment that has made our young so exposed
to this evil. It's a war that requires patience and consistency - something
which Thailand's politicians and bureaucrats sorely lack.

The three-month deadline is only good for a "body count" and the showing
off of "trophies" in the form of copious amounts of drugs seized. And we
can be sure that our police force will not fail us on this account - if
their record is any guide.

But the bigger question is, what's next after this three-month campaign. So
far, Thaksin has not made known his plans for a long-term policy to deal
with the problem.

Let's hope that his enthusiasm on this crucial issue will continue after
the body count is done.

Thepchai Yong