BANGKOK: Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has called on the country's police to increase their crackdown on illicit narcotics and human trafficking. The Thai News Agency reported that the prime minister also announced that in the tenure of her government, police are not allowed to buy positions. She laid down a number of new policies to police at the Police Club in Bangkok Wednesday morning, during which the newly-appointed national police chief and his deputies, as well as police commissioners and police commanders were present. The prime minister told provincial police commanders “to cooperate with provincial governors on drug suppression and also asked nationwide police to adhere to honesty.” She also told the police to “facilitate traffic flows when there are heavy downpours and floods to support and relieve the burdens of other agencies.” Human trafficking however, local rights workers and social workers tell Bikyamasr.com should be the number one priority after girls, often in their teenage years, are forced into sex slavery. This is not the first time Thailand has looked to curtail human trafficking. In August, the labor ministry announced it would undertake steps to address transnational human trafficking, including the migrant workforce. Minister Padermchai Sasomsap said that the ministry will focus on government to government labor import agreements, in which Thai employers requiring workers “will need to contact associations of their respective businesses for specific manpower and to discourage unilateral movements of migrant workers without reporting to relevant authorities." More registration service points will be provided and national verification centers for migrant workers, mostly for Myanmar nationals, will be increased from three to 8. “The ministry will work closely with non-governmental organizations to provide immediate support for human trafficking victims," said Sasomsap. Sasomsap said this during his meeting with US ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenny in Bangkok on Monday, in which the minister also said pregnant workers who enter the country illegally will be sent back to their home country.
