Introduction

Record of the 21^st APCCA

Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the conference was preceded by a welcome reception the previous evening hosted by the Mayor of the city of Chiang Mai. The ceremony itself was conducted in the Imperial Grand Hall of the Imperial Mae Ping Hotel in Chiang Mai, in the presence of His Majesty’s Minister of Interior, Professor Dr Purachai Piumsomboon. It was a multi-media event, based on the theme of the conference which was the “Flame of Peace” and incorporated a traditional Thai procession, video presentations and a light and sound display, all of which could only be described as spectacular.

The central feature of the opening ceremony was the handing over of the APCCA symbols by Mr. Luke Grant, on behalf of Dr Leo Keliher, the host of the 20^{th
APCCA in Sydney, Australia, in 2000, to Mr Siwa Sangmanee Director General
of the Department of Corrections of Thailand. The symbols, a Fijian war club
and an Indian brass lamp, were presented to the conference in 1985 and 1988
respectively, and have been held in safe keeping by the conference hosts
each year since then. It was explained that the Fijian war club, even though
associated with aggression and violence, when surrendered to another person
was a symbol of peace, harmony and civilisation, as was the case when Fijian
warriors gave their clubs to missionaries. Similarly, the Indian brass lamp
is a symbol of learning and enlightenment. Taken together, these symbols
represent the enduring values of APCCA and were again reflected in the
“Flame of Peace” representation in the ceremony.}

Director General Siwa Sangmanee then formally reported to the Minister Professor Dr Purachai Piumsomboon in the following words:-

Your Excellency, Professor Dr Purachai Piumsomboon, Minister of Interior.

On behalf of the organising committee, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Your Excellency for presiding over this opening ceremony of the 21st Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators today.

APCCA conferences are held on an annual basis. Their main objective is to provide an opportunity for administrators from Corrections Departments across the Asian and Pacific region to come together to exchange academic points of view and experiences in correctional administration.

During this week long conference, a series of workshops will be held addressing individual country developments over the past twelve months and other relevant topics for correctional administration. These workshops will be followed by visits to correctional facilities and other relevant organisations in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces.

Foreign delegates and observers attending the conference, compose of high-ranking correctional officials and criminal justice personnel. There will be representatives from up to 24 countries across the Asia and Pacific region. One of the outcomes of this conference is that the participants will bring back information gained over the week to their respective countries to assist in further developing their services. A report based on the outcomes of this conference will also be presented to the United Nations World Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which is held every 5 years.

The hosting of APCCA conferences occurs on a rotation basis across participating countries and has been done this way for the past 20 years. As Thailand previously hosted the 2nd APCCA in 1984, this will be our second opportunity to hold this event. Hosting this conference will provide a number of benefits to Thailand. Firstly, it will enable the government to show the progress that has been made in the field of corrections. Secondly, it will provide an opportunity to enhance the image of the Thai correctional system. Finally, it will also promote tourism across Thailand and help to stimulate the Thai economy.

I would now like to take this opportunity to call upon Your Excellency to formally open the 21st Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators.

The Director General Mr. Siwa Sangmanee then invited the Minister Professor Dr Purachai Piumsomboon to officially open the conference. He did so as follows:-

Chairman of the Organizing Committee, APCCA Coordinators, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is my honor to preside over this opening ceremony of the 21st Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators today. I have learnt that the Conference has been held consecutively for more than 20 years, of which Thailand has been honored to host this event on one other occasion prior to today. Hosting this conference once again, brings pride to not only the Thai Department of Corrections, but also to the Thai Government and the Thai nation. Moreover, our ability to host this conference successfully, indicates that peace and stability still remain in this country and our region, while the world is in tension.

Thailand is now moving towards the implementation of the 9th National Economic and Social Development Plan, through which the efficiency of the criminal justice administration will be enhanced. Under such a plan, a proactive criminal policy is to thttะ

sssssystematically solve existing problems. In particular, the Thai Government recognizes its importance of the correctional services system, especially the current over crowding prisons. In fact, the overcrowding is the result of economic and social factors which have led to an increase in the involvement in corruption, drug, and crimes.

As a result, the Government has launched a policy to overcome these obstacles by declaring war on poverty, corruption, and narcotics with the hope of bringing peace to the society. Of particular focus is the war on narcotics: an area the Thai Government has a strong desire to eliminate completely. ‘Drug dealers must be punished, while drug users must be treated’ is the main theme of the strategy. Implementation of this plan is currently being carried out at levels such as the restoration of social orders, the control of entertainment business, the promotion of family integrity, and the search for treatment innovations. Such innovations, for example, include an introduction of compulsory treatment in a boot camp as an alternative to imprisonment. This would help to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

Narcotics are a problem of mankind because they destroy our next generation and effect people throughout the world. Drugs have become a transnational crime because of their global networks. Serious effort of the Thai Government may not be sufficient to contain the problem, and thus we urge the World community to join hands in the fight against drug and not to support any forms of involvement in order to restore a high quality of life to the people in this region.

The Thai Government values this 21stAsian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators, and believes that this forum will provide an opportunity to show the improvements made by Thailand criminal justice administration and the Thai correctional services. Also, it will provide an opportunity for our own correctional officers to exchange views and information among members of the delegates, and to enhance cooperation of member countries in the region. I sincerely hope that this conference will enable us all to be aware of the situation faced by common correctional services and to further develop your understanding of how this services are implemented at large and that the outcome of the conference will lead to a concerted development of correctional services as well as to strengthen friendly ties among correctional administrators in the region.

Before concluding my remarks, I wish to express my much appreciation to the Department of Corrections of Thailand and the organizing committee, for their hard working effort in hosting this conference. It is now my pleasure to declare the 21st Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators opened. May I wish all delegates from Asia and Pacific countries every success in this important conference and to wish you all a pleasant stay with us in Thailand.

A further traditional performance followed the Minister’s speech, and then the Minister, Director General and all delegates were escorted to the stage of the hall for a group photograph. The Minister then departed the conference.

After a short refreshment break, the conference re-assembled and Mr. Siwa Sangmanee invited the APCCA Coordinator and Rapporteur, Professor David Biles, to introduce the conference business. Professor Biles said:-

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to add my personal welcome to that offered by our host, Director-General Mr Siwa Sangmanee, and I would also like to congratulate the conference organisers for the excellent preparations they have made for this, the 21st assembly of the Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators. Even though I do not have the final figures, as some of the delegates may still be on their way here, all of the indicators are that this will be the largest conference we have yet held with more nations and more delegates than ever before. Very special thanks are due to Ms. Sivakorn Kuratanavej and Mr. Vitaya Suriyawong for the central role they have played in all aspects of the preparation.

Since we last met in Sydney, Australia about twelve months ago, there have been a number of developments which I believe will make the APCCA even stronger and more useful to its members. A very successful meeting has been held in Singapore of the Working Group of APCCA Support Services, and the report of that meeting will be discussed during this conference. That meeting was convened by Mr. Benny NG of Hong Kong(China) and hosted by Mr. Chua Chin Kiat of Singapore.

Our Internet web site is still operating very successfully and attracting over 2500 visitors each month. I am most grateful to the Australian Institute of Criminology for the excellent work they are doing for us under contract to maintain and develop that site. Furthermore, two excellent editions of the APCCA Newsletter have been published by the New South Wales Department of Corrective Services. Again, many thanks for a job well done.

Over the past few days, the Co-rapporteur, Mr. Neil Morgan, and I have had an opportunity to read some of the national discussion papers and we are both of the view that all that we have seen are at a very high standard as well as being extremely interesting. These papers will certainly make our job of producing a detailed conference report easier, and they also indicate that we are going to have a high quality conference.

Also over the past few days, I have produced a draft report on the correctional statistics of the Asia and Pacific region. That report should be in your conference papers. There is still a small number of data collection forms to be returned, but for the 20 nations that have completed the forms at this stage, it is interesting to note that in this region we have almost exactly two million prisoners, and they are supervised by just over 370, 000 prison officers. These two figures, I suggest, illustrate the significance of this conference and the enormous responsibilities carried by the correctional administrators assembled here today.

The program for this conference represents a blend, or combination, of tradition and innovation. The first agenda item, National Reports on Contemporary Issues in Corrections, will allow all delegations up to ten minutes to report on current developments in their countries, while the next three agenda items will each have a smaller number of presenters and more time will be allowed to encourage informal discussion. These agenda items will focus on Foreign Prisoners and International Transfers, the Psychological and Other Treatment of Drug Offenders, and, the Management of Special Groups of Offenders. Then, as an experiment, on the last day of the conference we will have two simultaneous specialist workshops. These will focus on Correctional Through-care: the Integration of Custodial and Community Treatment, conducted by New Zealand, and Indigenous Offenders and Restorative Justice, conducted by Canada. These workshops will be more informal than our normal conference proceedings, and I am quite confident that they will be a welcome addition to our traditional APCCA meetings. My warm thanks to New Zealand and Canada for offering to conduct these workshops.

I wish you all a professionally rewarding and personally enjoyable conference in this wonderful historic city of Chiang Mai.

Before the discussion of the agenda items, an election for the position of Conference Chair was conducted by Professor Biles. The leader of the delegation from the People’s Republic of China proposed Mr. Siwa Sangmanee as Chair, and this was seconded of the leader of the delegation from Malaysia. There being no other nominations, Professor Biles duly declared Mr. Siwa elected and invited him to take the Chair.