NEWS - Armies of the night take con

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: NEWS - Armies of the night take control

THE NATION - September 5, 1999

EDITORIAL & OPINION

UWSA

Armies of the night take control

THE drug armies along Burma's eastern border, which once served as a
buffer
between communist insurgents in Thailand and Burma, have now become a
danger
to Thai society.

A couple of decades ago, the now defunct Mong Tai Army of Burmese opium
warlord Khun Sa kept the communist parties of Burma at arm's length. But
with Khun Sa's surrender and the communist insurgency depleted, the tide
has
turned in favour of the Burmese.

The cozy arrangement the United Wa State Army has with the State Peace
and
Development Council has created a lucrative source of income for the
military junta that rules Burma.

The UWSA, dubbed by the United States as one of the world's largest
armed
drug trafficking groups, has injected hundreds of millions of dollars
into
the Burmese economy.

But like Khun Sa, the UWSA is a thorn in Thailand's side. The Kingdom is
no
longer just a transit point for hard drugs to flow to the rest of the
world -- it is now a full-blown market for cheap products produced by
the Wa
army along the border.

Opium cultivation has been a way of life for villagers in the area for
many
decades. The warlords controlling opium production were allowed to carry
on
their business as long as they posed no security threat to Rangoon.

For the UWSA, which came into being soon after the fall of the Communist
Party of Burma in 1989, the arrangement with the generals means they
have
been allowed to expand their heroin empire from the Chinese border to
the
Thai northern border adjacent to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

Since the death of nine villagers in March, allegedly at the hands of Wa
soldiers, Thai narcotic agencies and the army have stepped up security
along
the border and cut off access the USWA's southern stronghold.

In response to the clampdown, the UWSA has come up with new measures to
carry on their insidious trade, according to a Thai merchant. The Wa, he
said, have started to issue identification cards for Thai nationals
working
in areas under their control.

Moreover, Burmese authorities in Kentung, without explanation, shut down
the
Kiw Pawak Pass. Thai authorities suspect the move was in response to the
closure of San Thon Doo.

Meanwhile, officials in Bangkok are doing some serious soul-searching on
how
the problem has reached this point.

Increasing security along the border appeared the appropriate action but
closing more border checkpoints may not be the answer as alternative
routes
always can be found.

Thai merchants have been told to pull their equipment out of the
Wa-controlled area. They refuse to budge.

''We were given the green light to do business with the Wa. And now when
the
situation gets out of hand, everybody has to pay,'' he said.

Adds another: ''We have bills to pay. Besides, what is the government
going
to do to us if we don't (obey)?''