Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, already under fire for a bloody campaign against drugs, swore yesterday to "eradicate" illegal weapon owners in a country awash with guns since the Vietnam War.
Thaksin told reporters he had ordered police to "eradicate" people who did not hand in illegal arms during a two-month amnesty that ended on Monday with the government declaring 110,000 illegal weapons were left anonymously at dump sites.
"Those who refused to hand over their illegal weapons to the authorities during that period are real bandits," Thaksin said. "We know where these mafias are and we will eradicate them all."
The campaign, part of Thaksin's pledge to rid Thailand of drugs, corruption and illegal guns, came just two weeks after he declared victory in a war on drugs in which at least 2,500 people were killed.
Under pressure from revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thaksin has agreed to an investigation of the deaths, many of which human rights groups attribute to police. Thaksin says most resulted from drug dealers killing rivals.
The Interior Ministry said yesterday the arms amnesty drew 98,000 guns, mainly M-16s and AK-47s, 8,000 pistols, and 1,500 grenades.
Defense analysts said the numbers were not surprising in a region torn for decades by war or insurgencies that turned Thailand into an arms bazaar which supplied rebels as far away as Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
"Historically, Thailand has been at the pivotal point of a very significant covert arms trade stretching back decades," said Robert Karniol, Asia-Pacific editor of Jane's Defense Weekly.
RSS