Thailand's war on drugs took it's second innocent victim today, a 16-month-old child; the first a 9-year-old boy. The infant was killed as she slept in her mother's arms. A gunman is alledged to have shot at the mother and killed the baby along with the mother.

Thailand's war on drugs has recieved much criticism from humam rights experts who feel that though there is a dire need to fight against narcotics in Thailans, the strategy that has been adopted by the Prime Minister is far from acceptable. The war on drugs already having killed many through addiction is now only increasing to the death toll in stead of ending the deaths.

Given below is an editorial that appeared the Nation. This article written before the news of the death of the 16-month-old baby is a perspective from a person living through Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra war aginst drugs.

ONE YOUNG BOY DEAD IS TOO MANY

Military officers use the euphemism ``collateral damage'' to describe the damage incurred and lives lost when a bomb, missile or bullet misses its target and strikes a civilian installation. Even the smartest weapons can go astray in the heat of battle. Such is the price of war. So, evidently, goes Thailand's war on drugs.

On Sunday night, a nine-year-old boy was shot during a drug arrest. While police claim the bullets killing Chakkapan Srisa-ard came from the weapons of a motorcycle gunman protecting the car driven by a fleeing drug dealer, public suspicions run high that the shots came from the pursuing law officers. Authorities plan a special investigation into the case and the role played by the three police officers involved, who have been taken into custody and charged with murder.

The tragedy comes amid a growing chorus of questions concerning the hundreds of deaths since the war on drugs was declared on Feb 1. According to the Interior Ministry, 977 people have been killed in drug-related violence, mostly attributed to internecine warfare as dealers seek to wipe out potential informers. Of greater concern to the public consciousness has been the 16 drug suspects killed by police, ostensibly in self-defence. Human rights groups, including the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, have urged authorities to abide by international norms regarding the use of force and to investigate the deaths to date.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra calls drugs a national threat. While officials say there are fewer than 250,000 users nationwide, other estimates place the number in the millions. Drug trafficking is huge business, with hundreds of billions of baht changing hands every year, and a not inconsiderable amount being paid in bribes to state officials to turn the other way or even actively abet the trade.

Mr Thaksin argues that allowing the rot to continue places millions of people in jeopardy, undermining the future of our children and the country, as hundreds of thousands have already fallen prey to the siren call of amphetamines, heroin, ecstasy and other drugs. No one questions that strong action is needed to counter the drug problem, which now infects all reaches and institutions of society, from schools to temples to factories and public parks. But at what price justice? Has the government's rush to show results undermined the rule of law in favour of numbers? Have we discarded moral principles in a bid to show short-term results?

Mr Thaksin, to his credit, has pledged a full inquiry into the shooting of the nine-year-old, and has told the police that weapons could only be used in self-defence and extra-judicial killings would not be tolerated. For as much as drugs represent a threat to society, so does allowing the state to exercise authority unchecked and to make life or death judgments affecting the citizens it is pledged to protect.

The war on drugs will not be won in one or two skirmishes, nor will it end in one or two months. True progress will only come through a long struggle, one which balances judicious force with patience and mercy. Rehabilitation programmes need to be strengthened to help addicts, and education programmes bolstered to reinforce in children the dangers of drugs. The fight against drugs is also a fight against state corruption, and any officials found complicit must be punished to the full extent of the law.

Perhaps most importantly, genuine reform of the legal system is needed to ensure justice to all. Yes, the guilty should and must be punished. But only within the confines of our legal system, imperfect as it may be. To do otherwise threatens not only the public well-being, but our very moral fibre and aspirations to be a free and just society.