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POLITICS-THAILAND: THIS TIME, UNDERWORLD DONS FACE THE HEAT.
by Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, May 20 (IPS/GIN) -- The godfathers of Thailand's underworld are the latest targets of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is appearing to be more and more of a conjurer of fantastic 'success stories' to prove that he runs an efficient government.
On Tuesday, the Thaksin administration began an assault on the country's mafia dons with an objective expected to go down well with the public: The country will be rid of its godfathers by Dec. 2.
The police have already compiled a list of 850 suspects, described locally as "dark influences" or "influential figures" for the power they wield due to their links to organized crime.
The suspects on the 'black lists' compiled by the police are smugglers, casino operators, pimps, illegal arms dealers and gangland thugs, writes Kowit Sanandang in a commentary in Tuesday's 'Bangkok Post,' an English-language daily.
Thaksin also expects leading figures involved in public land encroachment, illegal logging, underground lotteries and racketeering to be nabbed.
"The country will benefit economically and socially from the crackdown," Chidchai Wannasathit, secretary-general of the Office of Narcotics Control Board, was quoted as having told 'The Nation', an English-language daily.