Killer Flu and Death Squads Devastate Thai Tourism

Over 50,000 European travellers have cancelled trips to Thailand for April and May, the New York Times revealed this week, over safety concerns in the South East Asian country. The principle issue prompting cancellations is SARS, the killer flu bug sweeping Asia, though the country is coming under increasing negative scrutiny over its murderous anti-drug campaign, which has now seen over 2,000 people killed this year.

Local authorities also passed new laws this week forcing tourists arriving from Hong Kong, Singapore and China to wear face masks for two weeks or face stiff fines, in an attempt to tackle SARS, which is unlikely to boost bookings in the foreseeable future.

The escalating number of mysterious killings related to Thailand's war on drugs, however, is starting to grab the attention of civil liberties groups, with one campaigner this week pointing out that the number of suspected police death squad killings is now 'equal to that of the carnage in East Timor in 1999',

Mike Jendrzejczyk, the Washington director for Asia for Human Rights Watch, made his comment in the International Herald Tribune, adding that he considered the scale of killing as 'absolutely appalling'.

"Thailand's image as a place where the rule of law is respected is clearly under assault," he said.

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