The "Drug Wars" (8)- Bangkok, Thailand 1977

A Thai Execution-picture by Richard Clark

During my tour of duty with DEA in Bangkok (1975-1978), I witnessed several changes of government (not all via democratic elections). In October 1976, a military coup ousted the prime minister and appointed Tanin Kraivixian as the new prime minister. Tanin was a hard-liner, and one area he cracked down on was the drug traffic. A new law was passed, called Article 21, by which the prime minister could order the summary execution-without trial-of certain high-level criminals including drug traffickers. In 1977, a 44-year-old Lao-Chinese man, Thavorn Udomluedej, was arrested in Bangkok selling a multi-kilo quantity of heroin. He would become the first person summarily executed under the new law.

On April 15, an international drug conference involving the US,Thailand and several other nations was scheduled to open in Bangkok. Attending would be several US officials including high-ranking members of Jimmy Carter's administration. Carter, whose foreign policy was focused on Human Rights, was sending his "Drug Czar", Peter Bourne, to the conference, along with Mathea Falco, State Dept Secretary for Narcotics Affairs. My memory is not clear on this, but I believe Carter's Official Representative for Human Rights, Patricia Derian, was also present. There were also a few politicians, including Congressman Lester Wolf of New York. (Bourne, as Carter's Drug Czar, was of the opinion that marijuana and cocaine were harmless drugs. Later, he was forced out of the White House for supplying unnecessary prescriptions to one of his aides-an addict, who was arrested in possession of Bourne's prescriptions.)

As the conference date approached, Thavorn's post-arrest reports were being sent to Prime Minister Tanin with a recommendation to invoke Article 21 for the first time. On April 14, Tanin signed the order for Thavorn's summary execution.

In the early morning hours of April 15, Thavorn was taken from his cell at the Bangkok Crime Suppression Hqs. and transported to Bangkwang Prison. He was not aware of his fate at this point. (The details which follow were reported in the Thai newspapers and also related to our office by the Thai officers who participated in the execution since as narcotics officers, they also worked liaison with DEA. They also showed us photos of the entire execution process.)

Upon arrival at Bangkwang Prison, Thavorn was put in chains, fingerprinted, then taken to an area of the prison for a religious ceremony. At this location, a monk chanted a blessing for Thavorn, at which time, he realized that he was about to die. The actual executioner then knelt before Thavorn holding flowers and a joss stick in his hands and asked the condemned man for his forgiveness. The order for execution was then read to Thavorn.

Thavorn, now weeping, asked why he was being executed without even being able to say goodbye to his family. He took out what money he had from his pocket and presented it to the monk. He was then given will forms and allowed to write a short note to his children. At 6:30 am, after a final prayer, Thavorn was tied to a post- his back facing the executioner, who was separated by a sheet with a target. The executioner then fired 9 rounds into Thavorn from a distance of 10 meters with a sub-machine gun.

Later that morning, I was present at the opening ceremony of the conference at the Dusit Thani Hotel. I sat in the audience and listened to the typical boiler-plate speeches by the above American officials. Carter's emphasis on Human Rights was repeated over and over.

Then Prime Minister Tanin arrived and took the podium. He spoke of his strong commitment to combatting the drug traffic in and out of Thailand and promised strong measures against traffickers as the Americans sitting behind him smiled politely- probably feeling skeptical inside. Then Tanin dropped his bombshell. Only a few people in the audience including the DEA agents knew what was coming. I watched the faces of Jimmy Carter's representatives very carefully to gauge their reactions.

".....To demonstrate Thailand's firm commitment to crack down on drug trafficking, I have ordered the summary execution, under Article 21, of a heroin dealer. This execution was carried out early this morning." (I am quoting from memory.)

Carter's representatives squirmed in their seats with uncomfortable looks on their faces and said nothing.