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Press Release (1/99) of Myanmar Emb



Subject: Press Release (1/99) of Myanmar Embassy in Washington, DC

                 EMBASSY OF THE UNION OF MYANMAR                              
                               WASHINGTON,  DC                                

                                         1 / 99							  			
                                  9 February 1999.

                                    Press Release


	International Action Against Illicit Drugs

Myanmar to Host 4th International Conference on Heroin 
in Collaboration with Interpol


		Drugs are a global problem requiring global solutions.  No  nation acting
alone can overcome this modern day scourge.   For this reason, there is
increasing recognition in the  international community of the urgent need to
promote the  concept of shared responsibility among all countries  concerned. 

		Myanmar shares the concern of the international community  regarding the
menace posed by drugs and believes that all  countries must work together to
meet the challenge to  humanity.  There is a growing need for international
cooperation in such areas as control of precursor chemicals,  the
strengthening of law enforcement institutions and the  development of the
remote regions where opium poppy, coca,  marijuana and other illicit crops are
cultivated.  The need  for cooperation is especially acute in the case of
remote  regions where drug crops are the mainstay of the economy and  local
inhabitants have few economic alternatives.

		In view of this, Myanmar welcomes the opportunity to host  the 4th
International Heroin Conference in Yangon, 23 to 26 February, 1999 in
cooperation with Interpol.  The delegates  to the conference from around the
world will not only have  the opportunity to reassess and rethink
international  strategies to control the production and trafficking of  heroin
but also  observe first hand the magnitude  of the task faced by the host
country and the headway it has  made in recent years.

		Since its independence, Myanmar has waged a relentless war  against drug
traffickers.  Notwithstanding the fact that all  assistance to the country has
been curtailed for political  reasons the Myanmar authorities, relying on
their own resources, have registered significant  successes in their
campaigns.  They have seized and  destroyed more than 3700 kg  of heroin,
22,700 kg of opium,  10 million amphetamine and similar tablets and eliminated
more than 70 heroin refining camps.  Immense sacrifice was  required as the

armed forces have lost 766 men including 20 officers and over 2200 men
including 80 officers have been wounded.  In addition to its national efforts,
the Myanmar Government actively seeks international cooperation.   Memoranda
of understanding for suppression of narcotic drugs  have been signed with all
its neighbours and the United  Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) as well
as with  Russia.  The principal focus of the agreements is on reducing drug
trafficking, eliminating poppy cultivation  through economic and social
development programmes and  reducing the demand for and consumption of drugs.

		It is unfortunate that at a time when there is an urgent  need to promote
multilateral initiatives to overcome the  drug menace, there are some who have
become so blinded by  such emotive issues as human rights and democracy that
they are unable to separate the wheat from the chaff.  They  readily believe
the allegations of systematic violations of human rights in Myanmar and the
sensational  stories that authorities there are hand in glove with drug
traffickers. Those who are willing to verify the situation will find that the
charges against Myanmar are spurious and that they invariably emanate from
insurgent groups and disaffected expatriates.

		The 4th International Conference on Heroin in Yangon will  provide an
unequalled opportunity for the international  community to strengthen the
principle of shared  responsibility. Every nation serious about the drug
problem  should be represented there to find ways and means to  promote
international cooperation and to observe first hand  the Myanmar Government's
efforts to  overcome the drug problem.   It is important for countries to have
the courage to put the  long-term interest of its peoples ahead of short-term
political considerations.  For, in the final analysis, it is  not the fate of
one regime or one nation that is at stake;  it is the future of humanity.

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