DRUG SUPPRESSION / MILITARY VIOLENCE

Army Chief Admits 'Mistakes'

Probe Launched Into Death Of Akha Man

Some soldiers were wrong in using violent means to discipline
hilltribe people involved in drugs and they will be punished, army
chief Gen Surayud Chulanont said yesterday.

His remark followed a report that an Akha man had been tortured to
death during an army-run drug detoxification programme in Chiang Rai
early last month.

Gen Surayud said initial investigations found that soldiers sometimes
resorted to violence to deal with hilltribe people involved in drugs
in villages bordering Burma.

Those soldiers would be punished and transferred, he said.
"Absolutely, there have been mistakes," he said.

That was because inappropriate measures had been applied in such
detoxification programmes without authorisation and reports to
superiors, Gen Surayud explained. They included the detention of drug
addicts in soil pits.

Inquiries have been launched at the levels of the Third Army and the
Pha Muang 1 Task Force. He said he wanted to know all the facts behind
such drug rehabilitation courses in order to launch right solutions.
The inquiries will also look into the death of the Akha drug addict,
Ajuuh Cheh Mooh Gooh.

The army chief thanked the Bangkok Post for revealing news of the
maltreatment.