One might get the impression from the following article that no illicit drugs are manufactured in Thailand. Hmm.
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Drug traffickers still at large
The depressing news in recent days that drug traffickers are again stepping up activities in and near Thailand should come as no surprise. Winning the war against international drug merchants takes time, requires commitment and must have international cooperation. The sad fact is that eliminating the cross-border gangs that cause illicit drug problems cannot succeed without the full determination of all the governments concerned. So long as one regime remains on the sidelines of the battle, the drug traffickers will persevere.
There are formidable hurdles to ridding our region of the drug trafficking gangs. Some of these are at least partly out of the control of Thai law enforcement. A major obstacle on the road to a drug-free society is the demand for drugs from Western nations. A resurgent addiction to heroin in Europe, America and Australia is feeding the demand for this terrible narcotic from the Golden Triangle.
America's authoritative Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that unintentional fatal drug overdoses _ not suicides _ in the United States have nearly doubled in the past five years, to 19,838 in 2004, the last year for which data are available. The agency was still breaking down the figures last week. But scientists said about half the deaths were from narcotics and hallucinogens _ heroin, cocaine and prescription painkillers.
All authorities agree, and are concerned, that heroin addiction is climbing among adults, those who swore off such drugs less than half a generation ago. But it would be unwise to put all the blame for the demand for narcotics on faraway countries. The demand for heroin in Thailand, virtually wiped out except in remote areas just a decade ago, has increased, noticeably in Bangkok and in other cities in the region. Police Maj-Gen Amaresrit Wattanavibool, who commands the Bangkok region's anti-drug activities, said he has seized "hundreds of kilogrammes of heroin" in the past year.
Many of the anti-drug programmes of the 1990s came to an end in 2003, when then-premier Thaksin Shinawatra declared victory in his nasty and violent war on drugs. That not only cleared the way for surviving drug peddlers _ meaning all the big shots and most of the street sellers _ to resume their activities after the murderous but inconclusive "war".
It also meant the end of many anti-drug programmes, including those aimed at young people. Most projects aimed at gathering information about drug use, demand and supply also were stopped, in case anyone might think they were questioning the ex-premier's claim of victory.
One of the most important demands for drugs now comes from China. In Yunnan province, which borders the Golden Triangle, the underground sex trade and the illicit narcotics market are feeding off each other in a terrible way.
Researchers believe the rampant Aids epidemic in Yunnan is worse than anyone previously thought. Heroin use, of course, spreads the HIV through shared intravenous needles.
The nub of the drug trafficking problem in our area is Burma. Authorities can and must step up education efforts among young people, and work to decrease the demand for illicit drugs, both heroin and methamphetamines, as well as imported "recreational drugs" such as cocaine and Ecstasy.
But the key to ending the drug trade lies almost entirely in matching the international contacts of the drug gangs with tight, cross-border cooperation among governments.
If law enforcement agencies are empowered, or better still are ordered to merge their information, they will prevail over the gangs.
The countries around Burma all are agreed on the need for action. The military dictators have long dragged their feet on a meaningful crackdown on big-time drug traffickers. As a result, the trade flourishes within Burma, which is not just one of the world's largest opium producers. By going easy on the drug traffickers, Burma is effectively enabling a trade that kills, addicts and spreads Aids as well.
Bangkok Post, February 13, 2007
