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Change of Thai Policy Led to Presen



Subject: Change of Thai Policy Led to Present Drug War, says a Thai Weekly:

6 August 1999

Change of Thai Policy Led to Present Drug War,
says a Thai Weekly:

Change of the previous policy of having buffers along the border to
'From
battlefields to commercial fields' slogan as initiated by the late prime
minister, Chartichai Choonhavan, was the reason Thailand is suffering
from the
unprecedented onslaught of drugs from its western neighbors, write the
Thai
language Nation Weekly [Issue 372, 22 - 28 July].

"Now the Red Wa has become Burma's buffer and our pain in the neck", it
said.

The Thai army launched an operation along the border against amphetamine
trafficking into Thailand since mid-July.

Mong Yawn
The once unknown village is located in the fertile valley of the Kok
that flows
through Thailand into the Mekhong. In 1982, Khun Sa's troops occupied
the area
until it fell into the hands of the United Wa State Army following his
surrender in early 1996.

The San Ton Du checkpoint was officially opened on 8 July last year. It
was
ordered closed yesterday (5 August) after narcotics officials held that
200
million amphetamine passed through this area into Thailand.