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NYT-Burma Drugs: Upcoming Clinton d



Subject: NYT-Burma Drugs: Upcoming Clinton decision

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE?

Dear one and all, as this did not appear on the net, here it goes. One
comment, it seems that during the FBC
conference at AU, at least in the encounters with governors, reps and
senators, and the secretary of education,
it seemed that drugs certainly hits the attention nerve, like it or not, 
and suu kyi is a guiding light out of the darkness cast by drug lords.
if only
Clinton would get off the fence, and this certification issue is another
test-case
of where the US President stands on Burma. I suggest, you also email,
letter, call, fax
legislators saying 1/ sanctions now and 2/ no to certification on
anti-narcotics drug loans until
real signs of dialogue and reconciliation are established with the NLD
and democratic opposition.

Was he set-up? (My friends at the Mexican embassy here in Paris have
long
since stopped thinking that anyone in power in Mexico is NOT corrupt.)
Certainly, now, General Barry McCaffrey, must explain to the American
people and their friends,
how it got it all wrong on Gutierrez, as indeed it so appears to be the
case. I mean, what are we
paying him for anyway? 

thank you
dawn star
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/drugs/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Burma drugs: Feb 24 1997
International Herald Tribune Lead Editorial
"Mexico and Drugs"

The NYTIMES Editorial might have been better titled
"Clinton's Drug Policy-Vote Against Loans"

The arrest on drug trafficking charges of the general who led Mexico's
narcotics-fighting program is shocking evidence
of how difficult it will be to stem the flow of drugs.

Just two months ago, America's top drug fighter, General Barry
McCaffrey, praised his newly appointed Mexican counterpart,
General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, as a man of "unquestioned integrity".
Now General
Gutierrez stands accused of accepting bribes from and collaborating with
leading Mexican drug traffickers.
His reputation for integrity had stemmed from his crackdown on the drug
trade
while a regional commander. Now he is suspected of ignoring his favored
traffickers and moving only 
against their rivals.

The scandal raises questions about a major premise of drug policy in
Mexico -- namely, that its military would be more immune to corruption
than the already corrupted civilian narcotics agencies. It also raises
the frightening possibility that General Gutierrez, who received
high-level
briefings in Washington, has already disclosed strategies and secret
informants to his alleged drug lord
patrons.

President Bill Clinton must decide, by next Saturday, whether to certify
that Mexico AND OTHER NATIONS (ed EBN) are 
cooperating with US drug efforts. He can either grant full
certification, deny certification, or allow certification
based on 'vital national interests' even if cooperation is less than
full.
Naions that ar not certified lose most forms of economic assistance
(except for counter-narcotics aid) and Washington
must vote against loans to these nations from international
institutions. Last year, Columbia joined five other decertified
countries: Afganistan, BURMA (ed.EBN), Iran, Nigeria and Syria.

Mexican authorities moved with admirable swiftness to arrest General
Gutierrez. But
his arrest is yet more evidence that corruption is affecting even
top-level Mexican drug
officials and thus preventing Mexico from cooperating fully with the
fight against cocaine.

An honest assessment would lead Mr.Clinton to withhold full
certification from Mexico but grant
instead a waiver on 'vital national interest' grounds. That would
acknowledge Mexico's less-than-full
cooperation in the fight against drugs while continuing to recognize
Mexico as an important ally whose
economic health matters deeply to the United States. -- The New York
Times