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          MYANMAR STUDENTS DEPLORE ASEAN MOVE
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FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

Imphal,  June 18:  The All Burma Students' League,  (ABSL),
which  supports  democracy  in Myanmar,   has  deplored the
decision  to  admit the  military junta  of Myanmar  in the
ASEAN.  In a statement issued by the Myanmarese students in
Imphal  recently,  they  charged the  ruling State  Law and
Order   Restoration   Council  (SLORC)   of   Myanmar  with
sponsoring  drug  peddling  and  poppy  cultivation  in the
country.

The  All Burma Students' League  condemned the human rights
violations  by the military  junta and said  that the SLORC
has   discovered  the   ability  of  heroin   to  drug  the
pro-democracy  forces,   particularly students  and youths.

According  to  the  All  Burma  Students'  league,   heroin
production  in Myanmar  constitutes 80  per cent  of Asia's
production  and  60 per  cent  of the  world's pro-duction.
Quoting a State Department report of the USA, the dissident
students  said that Myanmar produced 2,300 metric tonnes of
opium  in 1995 while  Afghanistan,  which came  next in the
list,    produced  only  1,250  metric  tonnes  that  year.

The  US report also said that 1,85,000 hectares of land are
under  poppy  cultivation in  Myanmar  and it  produces 185
metric  tonnes of  heroin annually.  It  exports 170 metric
tonnes  out of  this to other  countries,  particularly the
West.

The  All  Burma  Students' League  has  accused  the Yangon
military  junta for sponsoring poppy cultivation and heroin
production  in Myanmar,  resulting in increasing numbers of
drug  addicts.  Till  now,  there were  57,000 drug addicts
registered in the drug de-addiction centres in Myanmar. But
the  actual  number  of  addicts  in  said  to  be  higher.

The  areas  worst  affected  by  drugs  were  Lasho,  Muse,
Kutkhai,  Mongla, Shweli,  Pansan, Panyan,  Hopan, parts of
Shan  state and  the jade and  gold mines  of Kachin state.
Workers in the jade and gold mines were paid brown opium or
heroin as daily wages.

This  January,  the ruling SLORC government destroyed 1,961
kg of heroin,  worth about US $53 million,  in the domestic
market.   However,  dissident  leaders alleged  that it was
state-managed   by  the   military  government   to  garner
political  mileage  and  pursue  diplomatic  relations with
other countries.

Though  the Myanmar  government is  claiming to  be against
drugs,  cheap opium is easily available there. According to
the All Burma Students' League,  heroin is widely available
with street vendors and paan shops in Myanmar,  at the rate
of  25 Kyats for a single dose,  which is equivalent to the
price of two cups of tea.

Dissident  political leaders  and students  of Myanmar said
that opium cultivation has spread to many parts of Myanmar,
particularly  the hilly  terrain,  after the  SLORC came to
power. Initially, though, it was restricted to the infamous
Golden Triangle.

Apart  from the  Shan and  Kachin States,   intensive opium
cultivation  has been taken up in Mindut,  Matupim,  Tiddim
and  Tonzan townships in  the Chin hills  and in Nanyun and
Lahe  in the Naga hills.   An unofficial estimate said half
the cities and towns of north and northeastern Myanmar have
at least one heroin refinery each.

The  All  Burma  Students'  League  said  that  there  were
confirmed reports that a heroin refinery had been set up in
both  Hommalin and  Tarhan in  western Burma.   Hommalin is
well-connected  to Tamu  town,  which lies  just across the
Indian border town of Moreh.

The   statement  further  said  that  the  Palong  National
Organization  (PNO) had reached a cease-fire agreement with
the  SLORC in  1990,  under  which the  PNO was  allowed to
cultivate  opium in  the Mentong  region in  northwest Shan
state.   The PNO  leader,  Mr  Ike Phone,   monopolized the
production of opium,  which was smuggled out to other Asian
countries.   The All  Burma Students'  League has described
this  as a clear example of the involvement of the SLORC in
the illegal trade.

The  SLORC also reached a cease-fire agreement in 1989 with
drug  warlords  and  heroin producing  ethnic  groups,  for
maintaining   peace  in  the  country.   But  the  military
government allowed them to continue their illegal trade. It
also  reached an agreement with the infamous drug cartel of
Khun  Sa alias Cheng  Chifu,  who is now  believed to be in
Yangon.

                            Telegraph Thursday 19 June 1997
     News and Information Bureau, All Burma Students League

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