Time to disarm arms traffickers<\/p>\n
Before (President Megawati Sukarnoputri) arrived (in Bangkok),
\nThai and Indonesian officials expected her to do little more than
\nshake hands, exchange pleasantries and ask if Thailand would,
\nperhaps, like to buy a few more light, Indonesian airplanes. (We
\nwouldn't). Instead, in her meeting with Prime Minister Thaksin
\nShinawatra she brought up the arrest last May of two Thai army
\nsergeants in Songkhla.<\/p>\n
Still sketchy reports said they were charged with preparing to
\nship hand grenades, rifle ammunition and land mines to rebel
\nforces in Aceh. Mr. Thaksin promised Mrs. Megawati he would look
\ninto the problem. He should do that, and he should pursue the
\ninquiries. Anything less, now that he has been warned publicly of
\nthe problem by a foreign head of state, would be unacceptable.<\/p>\n
Thailand has been named in many reports over the last decade
\nas a major trafficker in illegal small arms. The last U.S. report
\non money laundering said Thai arms trafficking was as important
\nas drugs and human trafficking. Last year, police even seized an
\nunderwater craft being built in Phuket and allegedly bound for
\nthe Tamil Tiger terrorists in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n
Thai-supplied arms have allegedly shown up in battles in
\nNagaland and Assam in India. The supply of arms to the most
\nvicious rebel forces in Sri Lanka and Indonesia is troubling. It
\nmeans Thai arms merchants have no scruples beyond their own
\ngains. Like drug dealers and white slavery merchants, Thai arms
\ntraffickers have badly hurt the nation's image. Mr. Thaksin
\nshould, indeed, look into the problem.<\/p>\n
Reports by the United Nations, human rights organizations and
\nthe Thai media have made a common allegation. It is widely
\nbelieved that high-ranking, corrupt military officers are behind
\nthe Thai arms trafficking. The Thai army has vastly improved its
\nimage in recent years, but the arrest of the sergeants in
\nSongkhla touched off allegations that they were merely scapegoats
\nfor their superior officers.<\/p>\n
Thailand must not contribute to such problems in neighboring
\ncountries. More to the point, it must not be seen to be
\ntrafficking in small arms. Mr. Thaksin must take a two-pronged,
\nand serious approach. He must instruct police to investigate, and
\ntake necessary action. And he must tell the military it is on
\nnotice to wipe out any involvement by the brass -- no excuses. It
\nis time to tackle this criminal activity, and to thank Mrs.
\nMegawati for bringing it up.<\/p>\n
-- The Bangkok Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/time-to-disarm-arms-traffickers-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }