Burmese amphetamines are flooding i

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Subject: Burmese amphetamines are flooding into Thailand, 

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Drug Tide Strains Ties
Burmese amphetamines are flooding into Thailand, raising tensions that =
could force Bangkok to seek new forms of leverage=20
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By Shawn W. Crispin in San Ton Du, Santi Suk and Chiang Mai and Bertil =
Lintner in Chiang Mai
Issue cover-dated September 9, 1999=20
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Santi Suk, a small village near the Burmese border in northern Thailand, =
has a drug problem. Thai military officials say it's the "nerve centre" =
of the country's rapidly expanding and increasingly damaging amphetamine =
trade. But Banyen Wachirabanpotkul, the 32-year-old village head, denies =
it. "Do you see a drug problem here," she screams from her front porch =
when confronted with the military's allegations. "There is no problem =
here."=20
Bangkok, however, disagrees. Thai military sources stationed 10 =
kilometres south of the village say Santi Suk is a clearing house for =
vast quantities of amphetamines, known as yaa baa, or crazy medicine, in =
Thai. They say the drugs are smuggled over the densely forested Wa Wee =
mountain range from Burma and distributed throughout the country from =
the village. Western narcotics officials based in the northern city of =
Chiang Mai estimate that millions of yaa baa tablets flood into Thailand =
every month, mostly from Wa-controlled areas of Burma's Shan state. =
"There's no end in sight," says a Western narcotics official in Chiang =
Mai. "Drugs are everywhere."=20

And they are taking a heavy toll on the country. A recent report by the =
Thai Development Research Institute in Chiang Mai stated that Thailand =
now has at least 257,000 yaa baa addicts, surpassing the country's =
214,000 heroin addicts. Another recent study, by the Ministry of Public =
Health, found traces of amphetamines in the blood of more than 35% of =
students at a middle school in Chiang Rai province. The drugs are also =
driving a thick wedge between the Thai and Burmese governments, =
threatening the rapprochement reached via Burma's accession into the =
Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1997 and Bangkok's withdrawal =
of assistance to many of the rebel ethnic groups fighting Rangoon's =
military government.=20

Although the official rhetoric remains upbeat, the growing bilateral =
tension was palpable on August 24 when Thai Foreign Minister Surin =
Pitsuwan met Win Aung, his Burmese counterpart, in Rangoon to urge the =
junta to step up joint anti-narcotics efforts. Surin even went so far as =
to suggest that the countries' anti-drug forces undergo joint training =
exercises with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Bangkok-based diplomats =
say the Thais were discouraged by Rangoon's response and its insistence =
that the amphetamines don't come from Burma. Rather than a hoped-for =
pact on narcotics control, Surin returned to Bangkok with an agreement =
on cultural cooperation.=20

"When we talk about joining hands, the talk stops when we mention yaa =
baa," says a Thai soldier based at San Ton Du, a recently closed border =
crossing just south of Santi Suk.=20

For decades, Thailand was able to pressure the junta through its =
unofficial ties to, and support of, the various ethnic insurgents along =
their 2,100-kilometre border. But in the early 1990s, Thai policy =
changed course and the government withheld assistance to ethnic groups =
as Burma squashed the rebellions. Now, with Burma's entry into Asean and =
the effect of the economic crisis on the Thai economy, Bangkok has lost =
much of its political and economic leverage over Rangoon. "For =
constructive engagement to work a country must have bargaining =
authority," says a Western diplomat in Bangkok. "Thailand is fast =
finding it doesn't have any."=20

This fading influence has translated into less pressure on drug lords in =
eastern Burma, according to Thai military sources. In Burma's Shan =
state, north of Santi Suk, it's the Wa people who run the amphetamine =
trade. And their tentacles reach deep into Thailand. Banyen, the village =
head, is the daughter of Ai Siow Seu, founder of the United Wa State =
Army, which took control of parts of Shan state in the mid-1990s after =
helping the Burmese army defeat drug lord Khun Sa.=20

Thai military sources say a growing number of local-government and =
military officials have been corrupted by the drug trade. "There's just =
too much money involved," says Col. Sutat Jarumanee, chief of staff of =
the Thai 17th Infantry Regiment task force at San Ton Du and one of =
several professional soldiers sent to the area in recent months to fight =
the flood of amphetamines. "Unfortunately it's making many of my honest =
men dishonest."=20

The worsening situation in the northern provinces has pushed Bangkok to =
action. On August 6, Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai presided over the =
closing of the border crossing at San Ton Du. The closure was ordered by =
the Thai National Security Council, which has identified the drug trade =
as a threat to national security. Col. Sutat says the border crossing =
was long used to ship amphetamines and construction materials to and =
from Mong Yawn, a Wa-controlled area 30 kilometres inside Burma.=20

Burma denies that amphetamines are made on its territory. Col. Thein =
Swe, a Burmese military intelligence officer, was quoted in an official =
transcript of a news conference in Rangoon on August 6 as saying that =
Burma doesn't manufacture the "chemicals and machines" necessary to =
produce amphetamines. He said the Wa tribesmen who run Mong Yawn are in =
fact busy turning the area into an "opium-free zone."=20

Nothing could be further from the truth, say Thai and Western =
anti-narcotics officials. They say Mong Yawn is the site of the largest =
collection of heroin and amphetamine laboratories along the Thai-Burma =
border. The lucrative drug trade, they say, has allowed the Wa to carve =
out of the thick jungle a thriving town of 20,000-30,000 people, =
complete with schools, hospitals, a new hydroelectric power station and =
even karaoke bars. "The junta hasn't wiped them out because they are =
receiving money from them," says Sutat, the head of the Thai drug task =
force at San Ton Du.=20

Western anti-narcotics officials estimate the Burmese amphetamine trade =
is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year. They say Pao Yuwa, a =
younger brother of Pao Yuchang, supreme commander of the United Wa State =
Army, runs the Ho-Tao drug complex on the Burmese border with China. An =
older brother, Ta Rang, is chief administrator of the area around Mong =
Yawn. Western anti-drug officials estimate the annual turnover of the =
Pao family's drug operation at about 2 billion renminbi ($240 million). =
Wei Xue-Gang, a China-born drug lord who was indicted by a court in New =
York in 1993 for drug trafficking and is wanted by the Thai police, is =
also active in Burma.=20

Wei, the founder of the Mong Yawn settlement, has invested millions of =
dollars in mineral smelting, retail trading and logging during the past =
year in what one Western drug-enforcement official calls "the biggest =
money-laundering operation in Southeast Asia today."=20

Thai military officials believe Wei and his men are moving some of their =
operations further south in the wake of the closure of the San Ton Du =
border crossing.=20

These developments have left Thai authorities desperately seeking help =
from Rangoon to stem the influx of amphetamines. But since the junta has =
economic interests in the trade, such assistance, so far, has been =
withheld. When Burma joined Asean in 1997, Thailand hoped membership =
would encourage the junta to increase pressure on drug lords and expand =
efforts to end drug trafficking. At the same time, many analysts noted =
that the junta's complicity in the narcotics trade was the greatest =
potential cause of friction within the group.=20

"We hoped that the Asean norms would force Myanmar [Burma] to conform," =
says Bhansoon Ladavalya, a professor of political science at Chiang Mai =
University and former member of Thailand's National Security Council. =
"But already two years have passed by and we haven't seen any progress =
in that direction." Bhansoon, who is studying the effect of the drug =
trade on Thai politics and the economy, says other Asean members aren't =
taking a harder line on the issue because of the group's tradition of =
noninterference in members' internal affairs.=20

Western diplomats say that given the worsening drug problem in Thailand, =
the government may soon be pressed to find new ways to turn back the =
tide of amphetamines from Burma. The nearly 100,000 Karen refugees still =
languishing at Mae Sot in western Thailand represent one possible =
bargaining chip. If the junta remains unwilling or unable to suppress =
the flow of drugs into Thailand, unofficially rearming Burmese ethnic =
minorities opposed to the Wa, such as the Karen and Shan, may become an =
increasingly attractive option. Indeed, the Shan Herald Agency for News, =
which is run by Shan exiles in Chiang Mai, has reported that remnants of =
Shan forces defeated by the Wa in 1994 have recently received arms from =
their "old Thai friends."=20

If such activity becomes more prevalent and the Thai authorities choose =
to turn a blind eye, conflict could flare again on the Thai-Burmese =
border.=20




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<DIV><FONT size=3D2><FONT size=3D6>Drug Tide Strains =
Ties</FONT><BR><I>Burmese=20
amphetamines are flooding into Thailand, raising tensions that could =
force=20
Bangkok to seek new forms of leverage</I>=20
<HR noShade SIZE=3D2>
<FONT color=3D#cc0000 face=3DHelvetica size=3D1>By Shawn W. Crispin in =
San Ton Du,=20
Santi Suk and Chiang Mai and Bertil Lintner in Chiang =
Mai<BR></FONT><FONT=20
face=3DHelvetica size=3D1>Issue cover-dated September 9, 1999</FONT>=20
<HR noShade SIZE=3D2>
<B><FONT size=3D+3>S</FONT></B>anti Suk, a small village near the =
Burmese border=20
in northern Thailand, has a drug problem. Thai military officials say =
it's the=20
"nerve centre" of the country's rapidly expanding and increasingly =
damaging=20
amphetamine trade. But Banyen Wachirabanpotkul, the 32-year-old village =
head,=20
denies it. "Do you see a drug problem here," she screams from her front =
porch=20
when confronted with the military's allegations. "There is no problem =
here."=20
<P>Bangkok, however, disagrees. Thai military sources stationed 10 =
kilometres=20
south of the village say Santi Suk is a clearing house for vast =
quantities of=20
amphetamines, known as yaa baa, or crazy medicine, in Thai. They say the =
drugs=20
are smuggled over the densely forested Wa Wee mountain range from Burma =
and=20
distributed throughout the country from the village. Western narcotics =
officials=20
based in the northern city of Chiang Mai estimate that millions of yaa =
baa=20
tablets flood into Thailand every month, mostly from Wa-controlled areas =
of=20
Burma's Shan state. "There's no end in sight," says a Western narcotics =
official=20
in Chiang Mai. "Drugs are everywhere."=20
<P>And they are taking a heavy toll on the country. A recent report by =
the Thai=20
Development Research Institute in Chiang Mai stated that Thailand now =
has at=20
least 257,000 yaa baa addicts, surpassing the country's 214,000 heroin =
addicts.=20
Another recent study, by the Ministry of Public Health, found traces of=20
amphetamines in the blood of more than 35% of students at a middle =
school in=20
Chiang Rai province. The drugs are also driving a thick wedge between =
the Thai=20
and Burmese governments, threatening the rapprochement reached via =
Burma's=20
accession into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1997 and =
Bangkok's=20
withdrawal of assistance to many of the rebel ethnic groups fighting =
Rangoon's=20
military government.=20
<P>Although the official rhetoric remains upbeat, the growing bilateral =
tension=20
was palpable on August 24 when Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan met =
Win=20
Aung, his Burmese counterpart, in Rangoon to urge the junta to step up =
joint=20
anti-narcotics efforts. Surin even went so far as to suggest that the =
countries'=20
anti-drug forces undergo joint training exercises with the U.S. Drug =
Enforcement=20
Agency. Bangkok-based diplomats say the Thais were discouraged by =
Rangoon's=20
response and its insistence that the amphetamines don't come from Burma. =
Rather=20
than a hoped-for pact on narcotics control, Surin returned to Bangkok =
with an=20
agreement on cultural cooperation.=20
<P>"When we talk about joining hands, the talk stops when we mention yaa =
baa,"=20
says a Thai soldier based at San Ton Du, a recently closed border =
crossing just=20
south of Santi Suk.=20
<P>For decades, Thailand was able to pressure the junta through its =
unofficial=20
ties to, and support of, the various ethnic insurgents along their=20
2,100-kilometre border. But in the early 1990s, Thai policy changed =
course and=20
the government withheld assistance to ethnic groups as Burma squashed =
the=20
rebellions. Now, with Burma's entry into Asean and the effect of the =
economic=20
crisis on the Thai economy, Bangkok has lost much of its political and =
economic=20
leverage over Rangoon. "For constructive engagement to work a country =
must have=20
bargaining authority," says a Western diplomat in Bangkok. "Thailand is =
fast=20
finding it doesn't have any."=20
<P>This fading influence has translated into less pressure on drug lords =
in=20
eastern Burma, according to Thai military sources. In Burma's Shan =
state, north=20
of Santi Suk, it's the Wa people who run the amphetamine trade. And =
their=20
tentacles reach deep into Thailand. Banyen, the village head, is the =
daughter of=20
Ai Siow Seu, founder of the United Wa State Army, which took control of =
parts of=20
Shan state in the mid-1990s after helping the Burmese army defeat drug =
lord Khun=20
Sa.=20
<P>Thai military sources say a growing number of local-government and =
military=20
officials have been corrupted by the drug trade. "There's just too much =
money=20
involved," says Col. Sutat Jarumanee, chief of staff of the Thai 17th =
Infantry=20
Regiment task force at San Ton Du and one of several professional =
soldiers sent=20
to the area in recent months to fight the flood of amphetamines. =
"Unfortunately=20
it's making many of my honest men dishonest."=20
<P>The worsening situation in the northern provinces has pushed Bangkok =
to=20
action. On August 6, Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai presided over the =
closing=20
of the border crossing at San Ton Du. The closure was ordered by the =
Thai=20
National Security Council, which has identified the drug trade as a =
threat to=20
national security. Col. Sutat says the border crossing was long used to =
ship=20
amphetamines and construction materials to and from Mong Yawn, a =
Wa-controlled=20
area 30 kilometres inside Burma.=20
<P>Burma denies that amphetamines are made on its territory. Col. Thein =
Swe, a=20
Burmese military intelligence officer, was quoted in an official =
transcript of a=20
news conference in Rangoon on August 6 as saying that Burma doesn't =
manufacture=20
the "chemicals and machines" necessary to produce amphetamines. He said =
the Wa=20
tribesmen who run Mong Yawn are in fact busy turning the area into an=20
"opium-free zone."=20
<P>Nothing could be further from the truth, say Thai and Western =
anti-narcotics=20
officials. They say Mong Yawn is the site of the largest collection of =
heroin=20
and amphetamine laboratories along the Thai-Burma border. The lucrative =
drug=20
trade, they say, has allowed the Wa to carve out of the thick jungle a =
thriving=20
town of 20,000-30,000 people, complete with schools, hospitals, a new=20
hydroelectric power station and even karaoke bars. "The junta hasn't =
wiped them=20
out because they are receiving money from them," says Sutat, the head of =
the=20
Thai drug task force at San Ton Du.=20
<P>Western anti-narcotics officials estimate the Burmese amphetamine =
trade is=20
worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year. They say Pao Yuwa, a =
younger=20
brother of Pao Yuchang, supreme commander of the United Wa State Army, =
runs the=20
Ho-Tao drug complex on the Burmese border with China. An older brother, =
Ta Rang,=20
is chief administrator of the area around Mong Yawn. Western anti-drug =
officials=20
estimate the annual turnover of the Pao family's drug operation at about =
2=20
billion renminbi ($240 million). Wei Xue-Gang, a China-born drug lord =
who was=20
indicted by a court in New York in 1993 for drug trafficking and is =
wanted by=20
the Thai police, is also active in Burma.=20
<P>Wei, the founder of the Mong Yawn settlement, has invested millions =
of=20
dollars in mineral smelting, retail trading and logging during the past =
year in=20
what one Western drug-enforcement official calls "the biggest =
money-laundering=20
operation in Southeast Asia today."=20
<P>Thai military officials believe Wei and his men are moving some of =
their=20
operations further south in the wake of the closure of the San Ton Du =
border=20
crossing.=20
<P>These developments have left Thai authorities desperately seeking =
help from=20
Rangoon to stem the influx of amphetamines. But since the junta has =
economic=20
interests in the trade, such assistance, so far, has been withheld. When =
Burma=20
joined Asean in 1997, Thailand hoped membership would encourage the =
junta to=20
increase pressure on drug lords and expand efforts to end drug =
trafficking. At=20
the same time, many analysts noted that the junta's complicity in the =
narcotics=20
trade was the greatest potential cause of friction within the group.=20
<P>"We hoped that the Asean norms would force Myanmar [Burma] to =
conform," says=20
Bhansoon Ladavalya, a professor of political science at Chiang Mai =
University=20
and former member of Thailand's National Security Council. "But already =
two=20
years have passed by and we haven't seen any progress in that =
direction."=20
Bhansoon, who is studying the effect of the drug trade on Thai politics =
and the=20
economy, says other Asean members aren't taking a harder line on the =
issue=20
because of the group's tradition of noninterference in members' internal =

affairs.=20
<P>Western diplomats say that given the worsening drug problem in =
Thailand, the=20
government may soon be pressed to find new ways to turn back the tide of =

amphetamines from Burma. The nearly 100,000 Karen refugees still =
languishing at=20
Mae Sot in western Thailand represent one possible bargaining chip. If =
the junta=20
remains unwilling or unable to suppress the flow of drugs into Thailand, =

unofficially rearming Burmese ethnic minorities opposed to the Wa, such =
as the=20
Karen and Shan, may become an increasingly attractive option. Indeed, =
the Shan=20
Herald Agency for News, which is run by Shan exiles in Chiang Mai, has =
reported=20
that remnants of Shan forces defeated by the Wa in 1994 have recently =
received=20
arms from their "old Thai friends."=20
<P>If such activity becomes more prevalent and the Thai authorities =
choose to=20
turn a blind eye, conflict could flare again on the Thai-Burmese border. =

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