Thaskins drug war Victims to be given assistance
Victims to be given assistance
Compensation will be decided by new commission
The Justice Ministry has asked former attorney-general Kanit na Nakorn to head a commission looking into compensation for the victims of the previous government's war on drugs.
Justice permanent secretary Charan Pakdithanakul said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont ordered the government to deal with "negative consequences" of the 2003 anti-drugs policy.
More than 2,500 people were killed during the crackdown ordered by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Many were allegedly killed extrajudicially, leading to sharp international and domestic criticism.
Charan said the government wanted the commission to offer compensation and other assistance to those injured and the relatives of those killed.
"We'll examine the official record to see how many innocent people were killed or injured during the crackdown. We'll propose measures to prevent such a thing from happening again," he said.
The Justice Ministry will submit names of potential commission members to the Cabinet within two weeks.
However, Charan denied that the commission was asked to identify those responsible for executing the policy.
"We'll be responsible for fact-finding and issuing statements to clarify the situation to the public and international community so that there is understanding.
"This should help restore our international image, which was tarnished during the war on narcotics, as far as the protection of human rights is concerned," Charan said.
Earlier, former senator Kraisak Choonhavan said state officials could have been involved in extrajudicial killings.
This prompted the United Nations to ask the government to respond to questions on the protection of human rights.
The Nation
