Thai - Govt asked to reopen inquiry into 'drug war' | Thailand |
ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
The Samak government has been urged by the United Nations to reopen the investigation into extra-judicial killings during the 'war on drugs' and take steps to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
Homayoun Alizadeh, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regional representative for Southeast Asia, said he would forward the request to the government as soon as possible.
The Samak government has been urged by the United Nations to reopen the investigation into extra-judicial killings during the 'war on drugs' and take steps to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
Homayoun Alizadeh, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights regional representative for Southeast Asia, said he would forward the request to the government as soon as possible.
'An independent committee [under former attorney-general Khanit Na Nakhon] has concluded its report on the extra-judicial killings which caused more than 2,500 lives to be lost, and the public should know to what extent any officials and at what levels were involved, and how to ensure this will not happen again,'' Mr Alizadeh said at a two-day seminar on forced disappearances which began yesterday.
He called for public discussion of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances, saying the law should be strictly enforced and such ''dark stories'' should be investigated seriously.
The Khanit Na Nakhon panel last week released a report which found no evidence linking senior figures to the killings.
The panel, which worked for five months, conceded that its work was not yet complete as the tenure of the Surayud government had come to an end.
It said it needed at least a year to conduct a thorough inquiry.
According to the report, 2,873 people were killed in 2,604 separate cases between February and April of 2003.
Of those killed, around 1,370 were related to alleged drug dealing.
Around 54 people were killed in shoot-outs with police officers, 41 of these with known links to drugs.
The panel also found that drug-related murder cases increased by about 80%, after the war on drugs launched by the Thaksin Shinawatra government. This, it said, showed that the Thaksin government focused on quantitative results.
The panel said it had yet to investigate further to see if state officials broke the law in carrying out extra-judicial killings and whether the cases should be referred to the International Criminal Court.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/12Feb2008_news04.php
He called for public discussion of extra-judicial killings and forced disappearances, saying the law should be strictly enforced and such ''dark stories'' should be investigated seriously.
The Khanit Na Nakhon panel last week released a report which found no evidence linking senior figures to the killings.
The panel, which worked for five months, conceded that its work was not yet complete as the tenure of the Surayud government had come to an end.
It said it needed at least a year to conduct a thorough inquiry.
According to the report, 2,873 people were killed in 2,604 separate cases between February and April of 2003.
Of those killed, around 1,370 were related to alleged drug dealing.
Around 54 people were killed in shoot-outs with police officers, 41 of these with known links to drugs.
The panel also found that drug-related murder cases increased by about 80%, after the war on drugs launched by the Thaksin Shinawatra government. This, it said, showed that the Thaksin government focused on quantitative results.
The panel said it had yet to investigate further to see if state officials broke the law in carrying out extra-judicial killings and whether the cases should be referred to the International Criminal Court.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/12Feb2008_news04.php
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