Why has the rule of law been made a victim of Thailands anti-drug campaign?
Asian Human Rights Commission Since February, when the government of Thailand opened the way for alleged drug traffickers to be murdered with impunity, over 2000 persons have been killed. This relentless carnage poses an enormous threat. Unless quickly averted, the consequences of mass extrajudicial killings will be far deeper and more insidious than the damage caused by the trade and use of drugs in Thailand. Behind the worst atrocities in history lies the mentality that there exists a class of persons who can be eradicated simply because they are deemed socially undesirable- in this case, alleged drug dealers. Irrespective of what a person is said to have done, if they and their kind are pursued without regard for due process, a deep social crisis is sure to follow. The Asian Human Rights Commission has consistently reported on cases in Asia where tacit state approval of one human rights violation has led to an intractable cycle of abuse. Extrajudicial killings have led to mass disap
