THAILAND USES SOCIAL PRESSURE IN DRUG WARS

Villagers Shun Friends, Relatives Suspected Of Using Or Dealing

BAN PA-KWOW, Thailand - Seated in a Buddhist temple, the villagers
scribbled on pieces of paper and dropped them in a box. The secret ballots
contained names of friends, relatives and neighbors suspected of being drug
traders or users.

If the accusations turned out to be true, the offenders would have to
reform or else be shunned.

The threat of social sanctions is the latest weapon in a widening war on
drugs, especially methamphetamine, the synthetic stimulant that has been
declared Thailand's public enemy No. 1.

But the inform-on-your-neighbor strategy worries some Thais.

"To humiliate publicly, disgrace and shame people, is against human rights
and the law," said Thongbai Thongpao, a leading civil liberties lawyer.
"This kind of measure will lead to social conflict with people in the
village, making enemies of each other."

However, authorities say the methamphetamines, being smuggled with impunity
from neighboring Myanmar, have become such a problem that tough measures
are needed.

The army says an estimated 700 million methamphetamine tablets were
smuggled into Thailand last year, a sevenfold increase since 1988. Only
about 10 percent was seized by the authorities.

The Health Ministry estimates 2.4 million of Thailand's 62 million people
use the drug.

Secret ballot forums were introduced in October in Chiang Rai province,
about 400 miles north of Bangkok, in the notorious Golden Triangle, where
the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet.

So far, 340 of Chiang Rai's 1,510 villages have held forums.

"Our policy is to try to wipe out the medium- and small-scale dealers,
because these guys are the ones who spread the drugs to teen-agers,"
provincial police chief Maj. Gen. Wut Witittanont said.

"We think social sanctions will help us a lot," he said.

Realizing that villagers can provide the best intelligence about drugs,
authorities decided to enlist their help in fighting the scourge after
conventional law enforcement methods made little progress.

In Chiang Rai alone, about 12,000 people are known to be addicted, but many
more are suspected of involvement with drugs. Gov. Rungrith Makarapong says
the worst-hit areas are those bordering Myanmar, such as Mae Chan district,
where Ban Pa-Kwow is located.

Ban Pa-Kwow's 200 or so adults knew what was at stake when they gathered at
the Buddhist temple last month.

The meetings work like this: Each villager is asked to write the name of a
person suspected of being involved in using or trafficking in drugs. The
unsigned papers are deposited in a box.

Officials then read out the names, which are copied on a blackboard. A
person whose name appears more than five times must answer the assembly. A
confession results in the accused being sent for medical help. A denial
leads to more discussion among villagers.

If a majority finds the accusation warranted, the offenders are made social
pariahs. People are urged not to help them with their harvests or invite
them to parties or even talk to them.

Such sanctions can be effective because villagers depend on each other,
said Yongyut Tiyapairat, a lawmaker from Mae Chan district who brought
journalists to observe the forum.

The names of blacklisted individuals are given to police. So far, the
meetings have contributed 1,000 names to the police watch list, said Wut,
the police chief.

The forums don't follow court-like procedures of evidence, but it is
assumed that the opinion of a majority of villagers assembled safeguards
against score-settling and malicious finger-pointing. Wut said there have
been no complaints of wrongful "convictions" so far.

Aye Kanpeng, a 47-year-old farmer in Ban Pa-Kwow, is among those who
support the program.

"Authorities alone cannot get rid of all drugs and sellers and addicts," he
said. "My son is 25 years old and not an addict, but I fear one day he will
follow his friends and try drugs."