Pubdate: Mon, 20 Sep 2004 Source: Bangkok Post (Thailand) Copyright: The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd. 2004 Contact: http://www.bangkokpost.co.th/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/39 THROWING OFF THE STIGMA OF DRUGS Good news has been slowly accumulating in and around Thailand that the tide is turning against illicit drugs, and especially against the criminals who make, sell and smuggle them. The latest small step forward was the decision by US authorities that the significance of the drug trade has dropped. President George W. Bush removed Thailand from a list of 22 countries where there is big-time drug trafficking. It is a realistic decision, although some will argue it could divert attention from the hurricane of drug trafficking all around the calm eye which is Thailand. Thailand for a generation has been described in the president's annual report as one of the "major drug-transit or major illicit drug-producing countries". That no longer applies. Mr Bush's report last week named 22 such countries, including neighbours Burma, Laos and Vietnam. The list includes countries often exploited by drug smugglers and traffickers, as well as those which refuse to take tough action against known drug gangs. President Bush cited a number of changes in Thailand, most of which have occurred slowly but steadily. Opium fields have been rare in Thailand for more than a decade, and no heroin factory has even been suspected in the country for years. The crackdown on local methamphetamine production has been steady and effective. Drugs are still produced in Thailand, and there are still traffickers _ a prison guard was arrested with 4,000 speed pills for sale, and two Taiwanese were arrested recently with 14kg of heroin bound for Australia. But drug production and international trafficking have fallen to the lowest points in memory. The Thailand success story is far from complete. Nor has it come without pain. President Bush's brief summary report on the world's top drug-involved nations failed, for example, to mention last year's murderous crackdown on drugs that turned into a literal war. More than 2,000 people died in a six-month campaign, and the government has refused to investigate any of the killings. Thailand has reduced drug trafficking, a fact noticed by US authorities. But the US State Department also believes the war on drugs reduced the level of human rights in Thailand. But the country can be generally proud of its 40-year campaign against illicit drugs. Without doubt, the greatest achievement was to wean indentured, poor farmers off the opium poppy while providing them with superior, alternative crops and markets. A model for the world, the Thai crop replacement programme is being aped in other countries. A recent United Nations report said that crop replacement could end opium production in Laos and even in Burma in just a few years. The turn-around in Laos has been remarkable. The communist government used to traffic in heroin. Now, Vientiane is sponsoring projects to wipe out opium fields. This is a welcome development but requires urgent support from the international community, including Thailand. Unless Lao farmers have profitable crops to grow and markets in which to sell them, they will revert to growing opium covertly. The annual reports by the United Nations show that the opium-heroin crime centre has shifted to Afghanistan. This must not divert attention from Burma, which has accepted major trafficking by allies of the military dictatorship, especially the United Wa State Army. In recent years, Rangoon has taken action against the most blatant heroin merchants and amphetamine gangs. But drug trafficking remains one of the country's biggest industries. The generals have remained on good professional and social terms with some of the biggest drug traffickers in the world. Between North Korea and Afghanistan, Burma is Asia's biggest producer and seller of illicit drugs. The recognition from the United States that Thailand is no longer a major player in world trafficking is welcome. It is a major milestone in the battle against illicit drugs. It is important to keep the pressure on those countries still on the list, and the gangs that exploit them. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek