MAHA SARAKHAM, KHON KAEN TO BE 'SWEPT CLEAN'

Agency Earmarks Two As Drug-free Provinces

Success in drug suppression in the Northeast is gauged by the recent
declaration of Kalasin as a "drug-free" province.

Khon Kaen and Maha Sarakham would likely be next in line to be "swept
clean" thanks to effective drug eradication strategies, said the
northeastern narcotics control office.

Permpong Chaowalit, the office director, hailed the efficiency in drug
suppression as exceeding expectations in spite of allegations of summary
executions of drug dealers.

He said more than 20,000 drug traffickers, traders and addicts in the
region had surrendered.

Some 100,000 people were thought to be involved in the drugs trade. In the
Northeast alone, the number of addicts could exceed 300,000.

Mr Permpong said it was highly possible to see the success story of Kalasin
repeated in Khon Kaen and Maha Sarakham as an increasing number of drug
traders and addicts had volunteered to surrender.

In Khon Kaen, only a few districts bordering the North still experienced
intense problems. Many drug distribution channels passed through the North
from production bases in Burmese ethnic minority-dominated areas.

Campaigns were launched whereby volunteers were sent to persuade target
groups to confess to drug involvement. The programme emulated strategies
adopted in the past to convince communist insurgents to give themselves up.
The campaign's theme is to "forgive the wrongdoers and let them start anew".

The director said the Northeast was probably the most successful of all
regions in getting rid of drugs, thanks to co-operation from locals and a
strong civic network.

The office and law enforcers also banded together to spearhead constant
heavy offensives against traffickers.

The operation effectively pushed traders and addicts out of the provinces.
Some went into hiding in neighbouring provinces or ventured further afield,
in many cases to Bangkok.

Mr Permpong said he did not think the drug peddlers found dead in many
villages in the past were killed by police.

They were probably killed as a result of drug deals going wrong.

Rampant suppression made traders more suspicious. They killed other traders
to stop them giving away secrets.

Mr Permpong said that over the year, suppression had achieved its target as
it had covered all 3,000 drug-ridden villages.

The Northeast was geographically and demographically ideal for the spread
of drugs. There were many communities where drugs take hold and a large
population offered many potential customers.

Most addictive drugs originated from neighbouring countries and were
transported via the North before ending up in the Northeast.

The drugs could be found changing hands mostly at bus stations on highways
and target customers who were mostly labourers in sugarcane and quarrying
industries.

Pairoj Polapetch, the director of the People's Rights and Freedom
Association, disapproved of extra-judicial killings being cited as a
pretext to curb the number of traffickers and traders, saying innocent
people could be hurt.

"We should not pander to the desire for street justice," he said.