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AP-U.N. Myanmar Opium Funds Fall Sh

Subject: AP-U.N. Myanmar Opium Funds Fall Short

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Sunday November 21 8:39 AM ET=20
U.N. Myanmar Opium Funds Fall Short

MONG PAWK, Myanmar (AP) - The U.N. drug control agency is struggling =
fund an anti-opium offensive in impoverished Myanmar villages.=20

In a bid to drum up money from donor nations, diplomats were flown by =
helicopter this week to the eastern Shan state, the heartland of =
Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle and the target of the U.N.'s =
$15.8-million project to wean communities off poppy cultivation.=20

The U.N. International Drugs Control Program so far has received a total =
of nearly $8 million from the United States and Japan, chief technical =
adviser John Dalton said Friday.=20

The project targets nearly 600 villages in territory close to the =
Chinese border controlled by the United Wa State Army. The army, which =
reached a cease-fire with Myanmar's military regime in 1989, is regarded =
by U.S. narcotics officials as the nation's leading producer of heroin =
and methamphetamines.=20

Army chairman Pau Yu Chen told the visiting diplomats in a speech that =
the U.N.'s proposed $15.8 million would not be enough to improve the =
living standard of villagers who sell opium as a cash crop.=20

People in the region already live in poverty, reaping little profit from =
their crop. Most opium money goes to drug dealers who process it into =
heroin and sell it in other countries like Thailand and Laos.=20

Diplomats from Britain, Germany, France, China were among those who =
traveled to Myanmar to hear about the U.N. project, which also calls for =
building roads, schools, health clinics and fresh water supplies.=20

Myanmar, also known as Burma, is the world's second biggest source of =
heroin, after Afghanistan. Heroin is made from opium gum, which is =
harvested from poppy plants that thrive on mountainsides in the north =
and eastern part of the country.=20


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<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2><B>Sunday November 21 8:39 AM ET</B>=20
<H2><FONT size=3D4>U.N. Myanmar Opium Funds Fall Short</FONT></H2><!-- =
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<P><FONT size=3D-1><I></I></FONT>
<P>MONG PAWK, Myanmar (AP) - The U.N. drug control agency is struggling =
fund an=20
anti-opium offensive in impoverished Myanmar villages.=20
<P>In a bid to drum up money from donor nations, diplomats were flown by =

helicopter this week to the eastern Shan state, the heartland of =
Southeast=20
Asia's Golden Triangle and the target of the U.N.'s $15.8-million =
project to=20
wean communities off poppy cultivation.=20
<P>The U.N. International Drugs Control Program so far has received a =
total of=20
nearly $8 million from the United States and Japan, chief technical =
adviser John=20
Dalton said Friday.=20
<P>The project targets nearly 600 villages in territory close to the =
Chinese=20
border controlled by the United Wa State Army. The army, which reached a =

cease-fire with Myanmar's military regime in 1989, is regarded by U.S. =
narcotics=20
officials as the nation's leading producer of heroin and =
methamphetamines.=20
<P>Army chairman Pau Yu Chen told the visiting diplomats in a speech =
that the=20
U.N.'s proposed $15.8 million would not be enough to improve the living =
standard=20
of villagers who sell opium as a cash crop.=20
<P>People in the region already live in poverty, reaping little profit =
from=20
their crop. Most opium money goes to drug dealers who process it into =
heroin and=20
sell it in other countries like Thailand and Laos.=20
<P>Diplomats from Britain, Germany, France, China were among those who =
traveled=20
to Myanmar to hear about the U.N. project, which also calls for building =
roads,=20
schools, health clinics and fresh water supplies.=20
<P>Myanmar, also known as Burma, is the world's second biggest source of =
heroin,=20
after Afghanistan. Heroin is made from opium gum, which is harvested =
from poppy=20
plants that thrive on mountainsides in the north and eastern part of the =

country. <!-- TextEnd --></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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