THAI VILLAGERS HAVE NEW WEAPON IN WAR ON DRUGS: INFORMING ON THE NEIGHBORS

BAN PA-KWOW, Thailand (AP) -- 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 to be 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.

Thai villages are close-knit communities of a few hundred inhabitants
each, and people are assumed to know what the neighbors are up to.

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 week.

The meetings work like this: each villager is asked to write the name
of a person suspected to be 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 with 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."