pix-asia.com
Paradise Lost

Well as bad as things sometimes seem in this country, there are definitely worse places to be. Just ask US activist Matthew McDaniel who was arrested in Thailand shortly after he filed a human rights complaint with the UN on behalf of the Akha tribe there.

Activist hardly seems to cover his involvement. He has spoken out against irresponsible missionary activities that attempt to eradicate traditional culture and of the many atrocities perpetrated by the government against the Akha.

McDaniel produced "Akha Voices", a 270-page book which details disturbing allegations of abductions and extrajudicial killings by Thai army and police officers that it claims amount to "ethnic cleansing".

...He is also described as a staunch critic of the US 'war on drugs', which he says has resulted in thousands of Akha being imprisoned "at the hands of the DEA [Drug Enforcement Agency]".

He will be probably be deported which will leave his pregnant Akha wife and four other children living in the country in danger. The US Embassy looks unlikely to intervene.

Seeing a pattern here folks? The world over, the war on drugs does its greatest damage to the least culpable and in this case the innocent, indigenous people who live in poverty in the supply countries.

These are your legislators, using your tax dollars to support a foreign government's genocidal policies. I don't know this for a fact, but I feel certain the DEA maintains its own offices in Thailand. I know they do in the Philippines -- another country that executes drug consumers. It's good to remember in this presidential season -- depose the Bush regime, but also elect legislators that won't vote to fund these projects, starting from the local offices on up.

[Thanks to JackL for the links]