Thailand secretly kills search for missing tsunami victims

[Lev]

BANGKOK, Thailand (20 Mar 2005) -- THAI authorities are calling off their operation to identify the bodies of tsunami victims because they claim it is hampering attempts to lure tourists.

Families of those still unaccounted for in Thailand - including more than 100 from Britain - will be outraged at the decision taken in secret by government officials.

Next of kin were promised the international effort to identify victims would continue until the last body was returned home, no matter how long it took.

The Thais have made no public announcement about their plan as they expect a backlash from European governments who are still missing more than 1,200 people.

Nor have they told the international task force in southern Thailand who are led by a team of 90 police and forensic scientists from Britain.

Senior officials said the decision to end the hunt had been discussed with the country's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, who agreed the operation should be wound up.

The authorities have not said what they will do with remains that have not been identified by the time the operation is called off.

Officials suggest they could be cremated in a Buddhist ceremony or buried in a mass grave. No final date for ending the process has been set but officials say it will happen before the peak tourist season which begins in September.

There is growing anger among British families at the slow progress the Thais are making to identify more than 3,000 bodies from the tragedy on St Stephen's Day.

So far only 75 Britons have been confirmed dead in Thailand. There are at least another 106 still missing.

Juthamas Siriwan, the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said holidaymakers did not want to be reminded of the tragedy so foreign volunteers would be sent home and identification sites closed. "It is a very sensitive issue. I think it is to end no longer than six months. If you cannot identify bodies within that time you have to do something (and say) no more. If they can't match DNA you have to admit that you can't find a body. There are a lot of people still not identified, about 3,000. The Government are confident they can match everyone soon."

A source at Scotland Yard said: "As long as there are still bodies to be identified we would want to be there but it is up to the Thai authorities. It is their jurisdiction."

The Thai Government was accused of insensitivity just days after the disaster when ministers announced they were calling off their search for bodies. Protests from local families and international governments forced the Thais to go back on that plan. Three months after the disaster there are victims whose names were known within hours are still lying in refrigerated containers or overcrowded mortuaries.

At present police and forensic officers from Germany, Britain, Sweden, China and other countries vastly outnumber paying guests at many five-star hotels in Phuket, easily visible at breakfast and dinner in their boots and combat trousers. With the initials DVI (Disaster Victim Identification) stencilled on their T-shirts the sight is a grim reminder of the task still facing these experts.
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