NEWS ARTICLE - Bangkok, Thailand: The execution by lethal injection of two Thai men for drug possession and trafficking last week has sent shockwaves around the world. The men, Bundit Jaroenwanit aged 45 and Jirawat Poompreuk aged 52, were given just 60 minutes notice of their executions, offered a last meal and a chance to listen to a Buddhist sermon before being led to the execution chamber manacled and blindfolded. Amnesty International immediately denounced the killings underlining "there is no evidence that the death penalty deters crime."(1) Human Rights Watch called the executions a "new low" in Thailand's anti drugs campaign (2).
At the 9th International Congress on AIDS in the Asia Pacific this year there was universal consensus that criminalization of illicit drug use, sex work and sex between men is seriously hampering effective prevention and support programs in the region. Professor David Cooper from Australia said the international community would not reach its goal of universal access to HIV treatment for all people with HIV by 2010 (3). Prasada Rao of UNAIDS offered a reason why. He said "the main challenge is overcoming the whole issue of stigma and discrimination, repealing of outdated laws and legislation."(4) Progress being made in HIV treatment, care and prevention is of little use if stigma and discrimination is not reversed in the region.
Sixteen countries in Asia still have laws that deliver the death penalty for drug related crimes. In 2005, to mark International Anti-Drugs Day the Chinese government paraded 50 men convicted of drug crimes before a public rally, then executed them – at least one was broadcast on state television. In Malaysia, 36 of 52 executions were for drug trafficking. Vietnam, in a 2003 submission to the UN Human Rights Commission stated that "over the last years, the death penalty has been mostly given to persons engaged in drug trafficking." Since 1991, more than 400 people have been executed in Singapore, mostly for drug related crime. In spite of the application of the death penalty being applied to trafficking, cultivation, manufacturing or importing/exporting, the definition of capital narcotic crimes can be applied to those who possess illicit drugs in some jurisdictions (5).
Before their execution, Khun Bundit and Khun Jirawat were housed in Bangkwang Prison. It's called the 'Bangkok Hilton' by many Westerners but Thai's call it "The Big Tiger" because it is a man eater. In overcrowded conditions, prisoners battle to remain sane. For those convicted of drug crimes, even though they may have admitted to trafficking, even pleading guilty, they are still awarded the death penalty.
Arguments in the blog-o-sphere have been raging. Bloggers on ThaiVisa.com and Prachatai.com are engaged in a passionate debate re the merits and shortcomings of these executions. Hard line views appear sensible and practical at face value. Contrary views are easily 'argued away' as tree hugging. But experts point out there's no compelling evidence that criminalizing drug use and trafficking or administering the death penalty deters it. In fact, they argue all the evidence available is to the contrary. Dave Burrows, APMG Director, has extensive experience in harm reduction across the globe. He argues "punitive drug laws drive drug users underground away from prevention and treatment services; this then reduces the effectiveness of HIV control measures and leads to increased costs in resources - expended both on ineffective drug control programs and less effective HIV control and in the lives of drug users dying of AIDS." APMG, he says, supports the Executive Director of UNAIDS who told the ICAAP conference "many countries are changing laws that criminalize consensual adult sexual behavior (including sex work) and drug use, and courts are helping to clarify bad laws...Australia has demonstrated that law enforcement and public health goals can go hand in hand while dealing with drug use. We can remove punitive laws and policies that block effective responses to AIDS." (6)
The International Harm Reduction Conference 2009 was held in Bangkok in the hope it would pressure the Thai Government to improve its treatment of injecting drug users (IDU). Thailand's recent history on treatment of drug users has been brutal and unforgiving. Many Conference participants struggled with whether to attend given Thailand's recent past. They remembered too well that after announcing a war on drugs in 2002/3 the Thai Government executed drug traffickers and users in the thousands. The then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said "all of them [drug dealers] must be sent to the guardian of hell, so that there will not be any drugs in the country." Unsurprisingly, further violence toward drug users followed. Activists in the North East of the Kingdom reported extra-judicial killings by death squads targeting the homes of both users and dealers. Local villagers were enlisted to support the action and dead bodies left to rot in the streets (7).
With the recent change in Thailand's national government, there was optimism that a softening of national policy toward drug crime would follow. Presentations by Thai officials at the Thailand satellite workshop during the Harm Reduction Conference seemed to suggest some genuine change in the Governments' position. With the execution of these two men some are suggesting that policy and legislative reform on drugs in Thailand may be a long way away.
REFERENCES
(1) Amnesty International. Thailand Carries Out First Execution in Six Years. 26 August 2009. www.amnesty.org
(2) Thailand executions a new low. Human Rights Watch 26 August 2009. www.hrw.org
(3) Herald. Treating AIDS more difficult due to stigma, experts say. 4 Sept 2009. www.calgaryherald.com/health
(4) Ibid. 4 Sept 2009. www.calgaryherald.com/health
(5) Lines, Rick. The Ultimate Price. DRUGLINK. July 2007.
(7) www.stopthewarondrugs.org/chronicle-old/235/thaipolice.shtml
0 comments:
Post a Comment