BurmaNet News: July 22, 2001

[strider@xxxxxxxxxxx]

______________ THE BURMANET NEWS ______________
        An on-line newspaper covering Burma 
           July 22, 2001   Issue # 1848
______________ www.burmanet.org _______________


INSIDE BURMA _______
*The Savvy Traveler: Should We Go to Burma? 
*Savvy Traveler: Callers give opinions about last week's discussion on 
traveling to Burma and other politically incorrect countries 
*BBC: Analysis--Burma talks stalled
*Asiaweek: Things are moving fast in Myanmar. Recent gestures by the 
junta could lead to the end of the political impasse 

MONEY _______
*Irrawaddy: Drugs, Generals and Neighbors 

GUNS______
*Bangkok Post: No help for minority groups

DRUGS______
*Bangkok Post: Police seize heroin, cash in record swoop
*Thai Rath: Dealing with the problem of narcotics

REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL _______
*Irrawaddy: Thailand?s Least Wanted

EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA________
*The Washington Times: Military opening the gates in Myanmar


					
__________________ INSIDE BURMA ____________________








The Savvy Traveler: Should We Go to Burma? 


[BurmaNet adds--The Savvy Traveler is a weekly program on travel on 
National Public Radio in the United States.
To listen to this program over the web, to to 
http://savvy.mpr.org/show/features/2001/20010713/feature3.shtml ]


July 13, 2001





Are there places in the world you would never visit? Places that offend 
you too much, whether it be human rights policies or treatment of 
animals. Indonesia, Turkey, China, Tibet and Cuba are all on a list that 
groups such as the UN International Labor Organization suggest we 
reconsider as vacation choices at the moment. But the hottest debate 
among those advocating politically correct travel right now focuses on 
Burma. 

Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is the elected leader of 
Burma, but her cabinet is waiting in the wings, powerless behind the 
violent military junta. She implores foreigners not to give precious 
tourist dollars to the violent regime where individuals are routinely 
imprisoned for even discussing the military's actions. The anniversary 
of the assasination of Aung San Suu Kyi's father and his staff, 
so-called Martyr's Day, is coming up this week. It's a time of unrest in 
Burma - or Myanmar, as the natives call their country. We sent our 
contributor Jeff Tyler to this land of controversy to find out for 
himself how the Burmese people are living under the current regime. 




By Jeff Tyler, 7/13/2001


 Listen in RealAudio           Need audio help? 
 

People first settled in what is now Burma about 5000 years ago. And I'm 
pretty sure they arrived on this ancient bus. Seats like stone, no 
headrest? and of course no heat for the chilly nights and no AC to 
off-set the tropical heat. I rode with my knees on my chest, my feet on 
crates of tomatoes, following the muddy Irrawaddy River out the window, 
as it cut through golden fields of wheat. The radio worked more reliably 
than the motor, and we stopped repeatedly for repairs. 

As the bus left the capital, Rangoon, we passed huge portraits of 
serious old men in uniforms. The ruling military junta. The same guys 
who refused to recognize the country's democratically elected leader, 
Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi (Ong San Sue Chee), and keep her under 
house arrest. The same men who ordered soldiers to crush the democracy 
movement in 1988, killing over 3 thousand people. 

I almost never dealt with the military during my two weeks in Burma. 
Every few hours, our bus was stopped at a checkpoint, and the driver 
jumped out to get his papers stamped. The young soldiers rarely came 
onboard. And when they did, they never hassled me. 

The government did, however, try to keep tourists at a distance from the 
Burmese. The moment I arrived at the airport, after getting my passport 
stamped, the Burmese were funneled one way -- to baggage claim. The 
tourists detoured to the currency exchange, where we were forced to 
change 200 dollars into a nearly worthless money used only by 
foreigners. 

At customs, a man in a military-style uniform searched my bags. I was 
sweating here. Journalists are rarely allowed into the country, so I was 
traveling on a tourist visa. I figured, if the customs guy discovered my 
microphone and minidisk recorder, I'd get kicked out. Before ever 
leaving the airport. But the official inspected my bags halfheartedly. I 
slipped past. 

I took a taxi into Rangoon and dropped my bags at a budget hotel I 
picked at random from my Lonely Planet guidebook. Down near the sleepy 
railway station. Where the asphalt turned to dirt. Five bucks a night, 
including cable TV that picked up The Tonight Show. As I watched Jay 
Leno win laughs at the expense of George Bush, I remembered reading 
about two Burmese political satirists. Tame by the standards of American 
late-night monologues, their jokes poked fun at the military leaders 
here. The comedians fast found themselves in prison doing hard labor. 

Around eight that night, I turned off the tube and wandered around 
downtown Rangoon. It was shuttered up like a small town on Sunday 
morning. I pressed on to my destination: The Strand, the kind of place 
that might attract ex-pats on a Friday night, who could share insights 
on life in Burma. 

The only other customers in the bar: Three European backpackers in their 
early 30's. Hippy types playing pool and drinking half-priced cocktails. 
I chatted with one barefoot woman, a Brit, who I'll call Lisa - she 
asked me not to use her real name. She'd been to Burma in 1994 and was 
on the last day of her second trip. But when I told her I was a 
journalist, she scanned the room for eaves-dropping waiters, then walked 
away. When I approached her again more discretely, she agreed to talk to 
me, but not here. Not where we were being watched. 

We ended up back at her 12-dollar a night hotel room. Well-maintained, 
like an upscale Motel 6. With a phone, a mini-bar, and cable TV. 

With CNN on to cover our conversation, Lisa spoke freely. 

Lisa: "When you visit certain areas of this country and you speak with 
certain people, you do gain a certain paranoia. And even when you're 
speaking with other travelers at tea shops, I found myself looking over 
my shoulder this time...and we were like, 'you mustn't speak too loudly. 
You don't know who is listening.'"
So it's hard to find people willing to talk? I asked. No, she said, it's 
better now. On her first trip, back in 1994, locals feared any dialogue 
with foreigners. 
Lisa: "It's changed a great deal in that, now, you'll get everybody 
speaking to you. Whether it's just to say hello, whether it's to 
practice their English, or whether it's to put their side about what's 
happening politically in the country."
Jeff: "So they will talk to you about politics?"
Lisa: "Certain people will. Yeah."
Those 'certain people' had told Lisa stories of family members beaten by 
government goons. People who disappeared, never to be seen again. But 
when I pressed for details, Lisa said... 
Lisa: "It's really difficult to explain, because then you'll obviously 
be able to pin-point who I've been talking to."
Jeff: "So you're reluctant to them me their stories because..."
Lisa: "I'm not reluctant to tell the stories, but most of the people 
I've met are very keen to give you information. But for example, if you 
we're to use that information in the form of a book or an article, they 
make sure to say that you're not allowed to use their names, and you're 
not allowed to use the place they came from, because even if I were to 
change the name of the person, but say they were from 'X' town, they say 
the government would be able to trace them. That it would be pretty easy 
to pin-point them."
After promising to take her responsibility for these people as my own, 
she gave me the name and location of a Burmese man who might speak 
openly. 
She also suggested I visit a few of the must-see sights in Burma. So I 
set off to find a politically outspoken mystery man, stopping along the 
way at the temples of Bagan and the artisan village at Inle Lake. 

Inle Lake is a tourist trap. The residents live in wooden homes on 
stilts in the middle of the lake, traveling by boat. 

At the weavers shop, women pressed bare feet against the peddles of 
wooden looms. At the blacksmith, sweaty, shirtless men slammed hammers 
against molten iron. Turning out ceremonial daggers for tourists. . It 
reminded me of Williamsburg, Virginia, where actors re-create the life 
of artisans in the 18th century. But here, the poor men and women are 
LIVING in the past. 

I struck up a conversation with a restaurant owner. When we were alone, 
the soft-spoken man said in halting English that he'd lose his business 
permit if he were caught talking about the military government. He'd be 
out of work and lose what little he had. I asked him to say THAT on 
tape... Surely, the government wouldn't object to him saying tourism 
supports small business? He stared into space. His eyes filled with 
tears. All he said was: "I have a wife and children." 

Later, I walked along the river bank with a woman I met at my hotel: an 
introspective 28-year old Swedish backpacker named Maria. I wanted to 
know why the stigma attached to Burma as a tourist destination didn't 
keep her away. 

Maria: "Myanmar has a great fascination and attraction because it's been 
a closed country. It's like an adventure. In my own naive, Swedish way, 
like an adventure of seeing something that is off-limits. It has an 
attraction to do stuff that is forbidden so to speak."
Ironic, isn't it: the Western boycott of tourism has helped make Burma 
attractive, appealing to those who like to venture WAY off-the-beaten 
path, where white people are still unusual guests. Fewer than 
200-thousand thrill-seekers visited in the year 2000. Compare that to 
the 9 MILLION foreigners who flooded neighboring Thailand in the same 
year. And it's only in the last decade or so that Burma opened for 
tourists at all. After the military coup in 1962, the army closed the 
borders. Just the kind of place for backpackers who imagine themselves 
intrepid. Cocky travelers who engage in a game Maria describes as 
testosterone-driven one-upmanship. 

Maria: "'OH, but you should have gone to THAT place. Oh, you didn't go 
there. Uh-huh.' It's the kind of status thing of going to the most 
un-touristic areas, doing the most un-touristic things...it's the same 
way of coming here to Myanmar. It also have a status, kind of. 'Oh, so 
you went to Southeast Asia, did you go to Myanmar?' No, I chose not to. 
'Oh, it was a great place. You really missed something there. Pity.'"
Jeff: "Bragging rights."

Maria: "Bragging. Yah, it's bragging."

But when backpackers push the limits in Burma, somebody else pays the 
consequences. Back at our hotel, the proprietor told Maria and me a 
cautionary tale about another tourist. Flaunting his independence, this 
kid ventured into an area off-limits to foreigners. But like all 
travelers, he had recorded his passport and visa number at the hotel. 
The government apparently pays attention, because when he checked out 
and went off the radar for a day, stern officials showed up to harass 
the HOTEL OWNER. They forced him to take time off work to drive around 
the country until he found the guy and dragged him back to the tourist 
zone. 
That night, I began to fear that the government might be tracking ME. If 
at some point down the road they confiscated my notes, they'd be able to 
trace my steps back to the people I interviewed. So I started writing 
the names of people and places in code. 

The next day, I put my worries in check and got on a bus bound for what 
travel writers describe as 'one of the true wonders of Asia' and the 
place in Burma 'not to be missed' - the ancient city of Bagan. 

There's no hyperbole in calling Bagan one of the greatest Buddhist 
monuments - up there with Angkor in Cambodia. But you don't get the same 
massive crowds. At the largest temple in Bagan, with the sacred Buddha 
footprints and the 900 year old statues. I bumped into a few tourists. 
But with hundreds of earth-toned pagodas spread over miles of desert, I 
could peddle my beat-up rental bike from temple to temple with only 
cactus and crows for company. 

I returned again and again to one shrine. Along with bald-headed monks 
in cinnamon robes, I bought flowers for the altar. Then took off my 
shoes and squeezed in with the men and women, young and old, bowing in 
prayer before golden statues of Buddha. I sat still in the corner, 
intoxicated by the aroma of fresh jasmine and over-ripe fruit. But as 
any Buddhist will tell you, such peace is transitory. 

A few days later, I finally found the mystery man Lisa had told me 
about. You'll understand if I don't tell you where he lives. Let's call 
him James. We met in a tea shop. Worried that my interview might get him 
in trouble, I insisted we go someplace where James wouldn't be 
overheard. So we sat behind the tea shop, under the drone of a 
generator. 

James was eager to talk, but he understood why others were fearful. 

James: "They have to risk their life. And they can be tortured, and 
probably they will be disappeared. Disappeared means that they will be 
killed. Because police officers and military intelligence are watching 
them."

I glanced nervously over my shoulder every few minutes, but James never 
whispered. In a defiant voice, he spoke about dangerous subjects. Like 
the drug trade. Burma is the world's second largest producer of heroin, 
and the drug lords and their kick-backs make the military leaders rich. 
James: "Heroin is very PROFITABLE. It takes the whole year, hard work, 
but they make more and more profit. Half of their profit, millions, will 
go to the government."

James said Burma's economy is based on isolation and corruption. 
Remember all those road-blocks I saw on my bus rides? Turns out the 
drivers had to pay-off the soldiers at every checkpoint. James: "Their 
salary is 4500 kyats for one month. They can make three times more than 
one month's salary in one day. A good sideline to keep a gate. As a 
gate-keeper."
Speaking of 'gate-keepers,' I wondered what James thought about the 
campaign to keep tourists away from Burma. So, I asked him the question 
that had weighed on my mind since I arrived...should I even be here? 
James: "It's a good idea to come to Burma. If the travelers come as a 
backpacker, individually, then they can meet with local people and will 
know what is the true color of the people. So it's better to come to 
Burma and see."

But don't come on a package tour, James said. THOSE tourists spend their 
money at fancy government hotels and never meet the average Burmese 
people. Comforting words. Because they didn't apply to me. As an 
independent traveler, I could feel good about my journey. 

A few days later, I was worried again. The panic struck during my last 
stop - Mandalay. A city that sounds like a dream, but is really just a 
mess of traffic jams and multi-story buildings. At a disco, I met a man 
who confirmed everything James said. But as I was leaving, he added a 
worrisome twist. 

"You think you're being sly," he said. 'You think you're not being 
watched. But you're mistaken. The military intelligence was trained by 
the East German secret police, the Stazi. They know who you are. You 
should expect to be thoroughly searched as you leave the country." 

Luckily, he was wrong. No one searched me at the airport. But of course, 
I couldn't know that. So I spent the night before editing the interviews 
on my minidisk. Erasing references I thought might compromise the 
speakers. 

Then it hit me. I was experiencing the country from the local's 
perspective. I had learned that in Burma, you don't need to wait for the 
censor. If you wanted to protect someone, you censored yourself. Like 
other travelers I'd met here, I felt somehow responsible for the local 
people. Burma had become more than someone else's problem. In a small 
way, it became my own. Which is maybe the best reason to come here. To 
add a voice in support of people who are afraid to speak. 

In Burma, I'm Jeff Tyler for The Savvy Traveler. 




___________________________________________________



Savvy Traveler: Callers give opinions about last week's discussion on 
traveling to Burma and other politically incorrect countries 


July 21, 2001 Saturday 

JEFF TYLER 

DIANE NYAD, host: 

This is the SAVVY TRAVELER. I'm Diana Nyad. 

[Abridged]

A report we ran last week, by our contributor Jeff Tyler, brought Burma 
into focus. This is a country under the microscope of human rights 
activists right now, and there is tremendous controversy as to whether 
to travel there or not. Here's a snippit of Jeff Tyler's story just to 
jog your memory. 

JEFF TYLER reporting: 

The Western boycott of tourism has helped make Burma attractive, 
appealing to those who like to venture way off the beaten path, where 
white people are still unusual guests. Just the kind of place for 
backpackers to imagine themselves intrepid. 

NYAD: As you might expect, the story raised some fiery responses. 

Unidentified Woman: (Voice mail) Voice message received 3 PM. 

NYAD: That's right. It's time to check the SAVVY TRAVELER voice mail. 
Let's find out what listeners thought of last week's show. 

Unidentified Man: This type of blatant hypocrisy just is a complete slap 
in the face. 

NYAD: Youch! Yes, hypocrisy, blatant and otherwise, was a recurring 
theme in the calls and letters we received. But let's back up a bit. We 
knew the Burma story addressed the dicey issues, so we decided to get an 
expert opinion from Laura Marsh, who directs an association in Britain 
called Tourism Concerned. It's kind of a watchdog group that warns 
people against traveling to countries where citizens' basic rights are 
compromised. 

Now, Laura said Burma is off limits to anyone with a conscience, and 
most of you agreed with her. But then I asked her where she was going on 
vacation. 

Ms. LAURA MARSH: Well, I'm going next--next Friday I'm off to--to Cuba. 

NYAD: Cuba! That's where the hypocrisy part comes in. Here's what Mary 
Ann from Florida said. 

MARY ANN: I was very disappointed to hear a voice that is trying to 
bring a dignity to the people of one country and then turn around and 
say that she's spending her dollars or her pounds or whatever in a 
country like Cuba. 

NYAD: And here's Steve from Philadelphia. 

STEVE: The human rights violations of Cuba are really in a category of 
their own that I believe are far worse than any that one could cite 
relative to Burma, China or any other politically incorrect place. 

NYAD: Well, although many listeners did agree with Steve, some of you 
argued that tourism does help promote political freedom. Here's Kathryn 
from Florida. 

KATHRYN: The more movement there is in and out of a country, the more 
you are going to open that country up to new ideas. You're going to get 
that country in touch with the rest of the world. The United States 
boycotts countries for, I think, very arbitrary reasons. 

NYAD: Clearly, this is a complex issue, and we don't pretend to have the 
answers. But in keeping with the vision of public radio, we will 
continue to ask the tough questions. 

We still like to get light and have some laughs, but we're not afraid to 
explore deeper issues. Through it all, we want to know what you think. 
Call us anytime at 888-728-8728, or e-mail us at savvytraveler.org. 





__________________________________________________





BBC: Analysis--Burma talks stalled

July 19, 2001


Aung San Suu Kyi normally does attend the ceremony

By regional analyst Larry Jagan 
The failure of Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to attend the 
Martyr's Day ceremony commemorating the assassination of her father in 
1947 is being seen as a clear sign that the dialogue process has stalled 
again. 



Aung San Suu Kyi has clearly rebuffed the military authorities by not 
attending the Martyr's Day event
 
 Secret talks between the military authorities and the opposition leader 
have been going on for more than seven months. 

But the talks appear to have produced few concrete results, despite the 
release of more than 150 political prisoners since January. 

Both Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's Generals are anxious not to be seen as 
the side which ended this fragile dialogue process. 

Snub 

Aung San Suu Kyi has clearly rebuffed the military authorities by not 
attending the Martyr's Day event although she sent a senior party 
representative in her place. 



Aung San Suu Kyi is rarely seen in public
 
At the official ceremony, U Lwin said he was representing Aung San Suu 
Kyi and her party the National League for Democracy (NLD) on her 
instructions. 

"It was her decision not to attend the ceremony," U Lwin told party 
members. 

Opposition sources told the BBC that they believe she did not attend 
because the military authorities had not done enough to meet the minimum 
goodwill gestures she had requested in June through the UN envoy envoy 
for Burma, the Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail. 

These include the release of political prisoners and the removal of 
restrictions on her and two other senior party leaders. 

The military insist that they are working on building trust and have 
released many of the country's political prisoners. More than 50 have 
been released since the UN envoy's last visit to Burma at the beginning 
of June. 

Key demand 

Human rights groups estimate that there are still nearly 2,000 political 
prisoners still in Burmese jails. 

But the opposition leader suggested to the military authorities that 
there are five categories of prisoners that should be released as soon 
as possible. According to diplomats in Rangoon, all of the top category 
- people being detained in government guesthouses without trial - have 
now been released. 



So far the military have tried to take the maximum credit for the 
minimum concessions to the NLD
 
 They believe there are some 200 political prisoners who fall into the 
other categories that the opposition leader wants released before the 
end of July. 

The most crucial demand though is probably the removal of the 
restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi and two other members of the NLD 
central executive, Tin U and Aung Shwe. They have been held under 
virtual house arrest since last September when they tried to leave 
Rangoon by train to attend a party meeting in Mandalay. 

A senior opposition source said he thought the opposition leader was not 
prepared to go to the ceremony unless she was unconditionally released 
from house arrest. 

According to a Burmese Government source, the generals were surprised by 
Aung San Suu Kyi's failure to attend Thursday's ceremony, particularly 
as they had released 11 political prisoners day before, including Dr 
Aung Khin Zint who is seen as a key member of the NLD and close to the 
opposition leader and the writer Nway Nway San. 

They will also see this as a clear message to the international 
community that the talks have stalled again. So far the military have 
tried to take the maximum credit for the minimum concessions to the NLD. 


As one western diplomat told the BBC: "The Burmese military leaders will 
only do as much as is necessary to deflect international criticism of 
their intransigence. They want to drag the process out as long as 
possible." 

The Burmese military will now have to prove that they are really 
committed to the process of confidence-building - something they have 
already privately assured the opposition leader and the international 
community. 

Already a return visit by the UN envoy is being delayed. Rangoon has 
told Dr Razali that he cannot come before the end of August now - having 
originally promised to allow him to visit later this month. 

Although no one believes the talks have irretrievably broken down, most 
analysts believe they have stalled again. This may also be because the 
talks are on the verge of entering new phase. 

Only more concessions by the military can keep the talks from being 
derailed altogether. 






___________________________________________________






Asiaweek: Things are moving fast in Myanmar. Recent gestures by the 
junta could lead to the end of the political impasse 


July 20, 2001 

It's possible Aung San Suu Kyi will be released from house arrest before 
Martyrs' Day, July 19. If she is, it could mean the beginning of the end 
to Myanmar's status as a pariah nation 


Speculation is growing in Myanmar that pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu 
Kyi will soon be released from house arrest. Some believe she may even 
be freed before Martyrs' Day, July 19, which marks the 1947 
assassination of her father, Gen. Aung San, the father of the modern 
nation. Straws in the wind: Over the past nine months, Suu Kyi has been 
meeting regularly with senior military officers at her Yangon home in an 
attempt to thrash out a political settlement. 

During this time, the regime has released most of the detained members 
of her National League for Democracy (NLD), and the two sides have 
observed an informal truce in which they have ceased denunciations of 
each other. Last week the regime allowed the party to begin reopening 
its branch offices. Suu Kyi has also been permitted to attend private 
meetings outside her compound, escorted by a military intelligence 
officer. 

Some neighboring countries believe the growing rapport signals that an 
end is in sight to Myanmar's pariah status. Malaysian Prime Minister 
Mahathir Mohamad, who has been actively encouraging the regime to reach 
a settlement with the pro-democracy camp, said earlier this year that he 
expects new elections will be held. Earlier this month, Thailand's 
defense minister, Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who has close ties with 
the Yangon generals, said that the regime and Suu Kyi's party are poised 
to announce the formation of a national government. 

Suu Kyi's release from house arrest might coincide with news of the 
formation of a transitional government, including civilians named by the 
NLD. A new constitution could be finalized later and elections held 
within five years. A political thaw before the ASEAN Regional Forum in 
Hanoi on July 27 would also ease the pressure on Myanmar from Western 
nations attending the meeting. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who 
will be at the session, might even meet his Myanmar counterpart. One 
thing is certain: Releasing Suu Kyi will spur the already heightened 
interest of foreign businesses looking at Myanmar, as evidenced by a 
recent $ 400-million investment by Canada's Ivanhoe Mining Co




______________________MONEY________________________



Irrawaddy: Drugs, Generals and Neighbors 

June 2001


Drug production, once the domain of insurgents fighting against Rangoon, 
has become the cornerstone of the mainstream economy, and the bane of 
Burma?s neighbors.



by Aung Zaw/Mae Sai

In May, after a three-day drug meeting sponsored by the United Nations 
International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) to coordinate 
drug-suppression, Burmese officials managed to impress foreign 
governments and media with the seriousness of their efforts to stamp out 
the illicit drug trade. 

Drugs with a street value of almost US $1 billion in North America, 
consisting of opium, heroin and amphetamines, went up in smoke as 
diplomats, Asian officials and Burmese leaders watched.

However, Kyauk Ye, about 35 years of age, wasn?t at all impressed, but 
rather amused. Sitting inside a small house on the Thai-Burma border, 
the Chinese man from Yunnan province smiled while smoking Burmese 
cheroots. 

Then he growled: "You know the Burmese are very clever." I nodded and 
waited to hear more. "They don?t just steal from other people; they also 
steal from themselves." Having ended his brief statement, he paused and 
went back to smoking his cheroot.

Kyauk Ye?s brief comment explains everything about the recent 
drug-burning show in Rangoon. The destruction of seized drugs was staged 
to coincide with a regional meeting held to coordinate the anti-drug 
efforts of Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam. 

Drug-burning shows have become popular ceremonies in Burma, which is now 
a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and they 
have made a public relations virtue out of the necessity to dispose of 
dangerous drugs. Burma has already held more than a dozen such events. 

Perhaps the delegates from Asean countries and UNDCP officials were 
pleased to witness such an event. However, for Kyauk Ye, who recently 
came from northern Shan State, the drug burning show was merely a PR 
stunt staged by the ruling junta, now known as the State Peace and 
Development Council (SPDC). 

Why? 

Kyauk Ye has an answer.

Last year he was seen in the Tang-yan area of northern Shan State. This 
territory is now controlled by ethnic rebels who have reached cease-fire 
agreements with the ruling junta. They have been permitted to grow opium 
and maintain their drug factories. 

Kyauk Ye leased a four-acre field of opium in the area of Tang-yang. He 
registered his name and address with a local Burmese battalion before 
growing the opium, and promised to pay opium tax after harvesting.

 
CATCH OF THE DAY Seized heroin stored by the Food and Drug 
Administration in Bangkok 
"Everything is open there," Kyauk Ye spoke in Burmese with his heavy 
Chinese accent. He had four opium farmers, but some owners in that area 
hired 50 to 80 farmers to take care of their poppy fields, which are ten 
times larger than Kyauk Ye?s. Of course their location is better too. 
"Some owned 30 to 40 acres," Kyauk Ye said. 

Before coming to Burma, Kyauk Ye learned Burmese in Ruili, a Chinese 
border town. His plan was to make a fortune in Burma. "All my business 
(in Burma) has been illegal since I arrived there." 

He wasn?t alone. His friends who are also Chinese from Yunnan Province 
came to northern Shan State. Entering Burma isn?t so difficult. "If you 
have 30,000 kyat you can get an ID card." Kyauk Ye said that since he 
came into Burma 15 years ago he has held 30 different ID cards. 

When he was 20, he joined local drug dealers and made friends with Shan 
rebel groups in northern Shan State. His adventurous business began in 
1990, two years after the military regime staged a bloody coup in 
Rangoon.

Eighty Chinese and Shan carrying automatic assault rifles walked from 
northern Shan State to the India border to deliver heroin. Kyauk Ye was 
among them. "We had 40 mules carrying about 900kg of heroin with them." 
The journey took three months to reach the Indian border. They were 
tough jungle trips. Sometimes they encountered unknown armed groups who 
tried to seize the heroin. 

"We were ready to sacrifice our lives for our goods. They could take our 
lives but not our heroin." On some occasions, his friends who were sick 
or wounded were left with guns in the jungle. In one case, he had to 
leave a friend with a bullet in his head.

In any event, in the end, Kyauk Ye made a handsome amount of money: "I 
invested 1.3 million kyat, and got back 3 million kyat."

But Kyauk Ye isn?t as lucky as some of his friends from Yunnan. Those 
who also ran drug businesses have now bought houses in Mandalay and 
Rangoon. He refused to reveal the names of these friends, who are now 
influential businessmen and close to regional commanders and army 
officials in Burma.

Now Kyauk Ye has found temporary sanctuary in Thailand?driven out of 
Burma not by a rival drug gang, but by the Burmese army. The reason was 
that he could not pay the opium tax to the local Burmese army unit.

The Burmese army demanded that he pay 600,000 kyat from his poppy field, 
but bad weather destroyed his crop. On a good year, he said, his field 
could produce 60 viss (about 98 kg), valued at 300,000 kyat per viss. 

Kyauk Ye said that cultivators who could not pay the opium tax were 
arrested. "Even if you don?t make any profit, they will come and collect 
opium tax anyway," he said, adding that the Burmese army prefers opium 
to money. 

Last year?s bad weather ruined Kyauk Ye?s opium crop, thus he failed to 
make any profit. 

Some drug enforcement officials have stated that opium production in 
Burma has dropped due to weather conditions and is nothing to do with 
suppression efforts. By all accounts, the opium business in Burma is 
still alive and kicking.

According to recent Deutsche Presse-Agentur press reports, "With the 
destruction of Afghanistan?s poppy crop earlier this year, Burma has 
reclaimed its crown as the world?s leading producer of opium and heroin, 
albeit by default." Previously, Afghanistan was the largest heroin 
producer in the world. 

Mr. Sandro Calvani, regional representative of the UNDCP, who had 
previously praised Rangoon?s efforts in the fight against drugs, also 
acknowledged Burma?s preeminence as the new world leader in the 
production of some drugs: "In terms of opium production, Myanmar (Burma) 
is number one again."

US drug enforcement agencies estimate opium production in Burma last 
year to have been about 1,200 tons. Since 1989, a year after the ruling 
junta came into power, Burma has produced 2,000?2,600 tons of raw opium 
yearly. In the 1970s, production was between 200 to 400 tons annually.

It is estimated that the authorities intercept less than 1 percent of 
Burma?s annual opium production?the rest is smuggled out through China 
or Thailand and on to the world market.

With Burma becoming the opium king of the world, Kyauk Ye is dying to go 
back to run another opium business. "I know dealers in Shan State are 
moving to some areas in Kachin State this year. We have found some 
places in Hpakan." Ironically, the Kachin Independence Army had 
previously declared Kachin State an opium-free zone before it signed a 
ceasefire agreement with Rangoon. 

Opium dealers are eyeing areas in Hpakan controlled by both the army and 
Kachin rebels who have reached a cease-fire agreement with Rangoon. 
"Some areas are well-protected and already have mines planted to protect 
the opium fields."

Back in Tang-yang, Kyauk Ye knew all the rebels groups?Kokang, Wa, 
Kachin and Shan?who have reached a cease-fire in the areas involved in 
the opium business. But, he says, "The Wa are the most powerful." 

The United Wa State Army (UWSA) has a strong army with 20,000 foot 
soldiers. The Wa, who were former members of the Communist party of 
Burma (CPB), mutinied in 1989 and reached a cease-fire agreement with 
Rangoon.

In 1997-1998, according to Kyauk Ye, the UWSA was granted permission by 
the government to grow opium for another five years. Thus, he said, many 
opium growers wanted to do their business before the deadline expired.

However, according to Khin Maung Myint, a Wa liaison officer who 
recently invited several "unbiased" journalists to a Wa town near the 
Thai border, the Wa were involved in drug activities until 1996, but are 
not anymore. 

"We decided to give up this business in 1996 at the insistence of the 
Myanmar government and international community and we introduced a poppy 
substitution project," he said.

Regional analysts believe that the UWSA is one of the most powerful drug 
armies in Southeast Asia, and poses a formidable threat to the region?s 
stability.

With a strong army and drug money, the Wa empire grew rapidly within a 
few years. Like many other ethnic groups that have struck a deal with 
Rangoon, the UWSA enjoyed a special relationship with the Rangoon 
leaders. In addition to the drug trade, they also engage in legitimate 
businesses in Burma. 

Since the cease-fire agreement, the Wa have been given permission to 
grow opium. The UWSA later started producing amphetamines, also known as 
yaa baa, or "crazy pills" in Thai. 

The UWSA expanded its empire to include the southern part of Shan State, 
close to the Thai border. Thousands of Wa were moved into Mong Yawn, 
where they have spent millions of dollars building a modern town in 
their territory. Thai officials claim that this town is built by drug 
money.



?We are serious about fighting drugs? 


Rangoon has had a drug eradication program for 15 years. The Burmese 
claim that they are serious about fighting drugs. Surprisingly, the UN 
agrees with this claim. 

At the recent regional conference in Rangoon, Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, 
Secretary One of the SPDC, said that Burma had made "universally 
acknowledged" progress in eradicating opium production, but amphetamines 
posed a new and formidable threat.

 
NOTHING TO HIDE Opium is traded openly near the Chinese border 
Calvani recently spoke to BBC World Service: "They (the SPDC) are very 
transparent when it comes to monitoring the crops. In some cases, they 
have eradicated significantly and effectively, so where the crops have 
been eradicated there has not been any new plantation. Opium tax? This 
is very bad news. This has never been reported to me before. A double 
game? That the government of Burma is lying? They are committed, they 
are helping." 

Burma has also cooperated with the UN in running successful programs to 
make villagers give up the cultivation of poppy, Calvani said. He said 
the UN estimates it will need a $10 million investment by the 
international community to fight the drug problem in Burma, as well as 
providing alternative sources of income for villagers. But so far only 
$1 million has been provided, mostly by the US and Japan.

Indeed, the international community isn?t impressed. Burma is a pariah 
in the eyes of the world community. The country?s poor human rights 
record and on-going political repression discourages the resumption of 
aid. 

"Instead of giving us aid, the international community has been accusing 
and pointing the finger at us. Our achievements are never recognized," 
Col Hkam Awng of the anti-narcotic department in Burma said recently. 

Home Minister Tin Hlaing said that his government could not deny that 
fact that there were still active areas of drug production and 
trafficking in the remote areas near the Burma-China and Burma-Thai 
borders. 

However, quite a different story is emerging from Shan State, where Htun 
Ye, an opium farmer from a small village in Kunlong, in northern Shan 
state, said the Burmese army would come and meet villagers and encourage 
them to grow opium. "When the opium is ripe, they make us pay opium 
tax," he added.

Many opium farmers earn quite a decent amount of money. "Daily wages are 
high," said Kyauk Ye. "I paid my farmers 1,500 kyat a day." A government 
clerk earns about 4,000 kyat per month in Burma. 

What about border areas close to Thailand?

Last year, a regional magazine reported that Burmese soldiers have been 
ordered by Rangoon to "live off the land"?an order implying permission 
to get involved in the drug trade.

Kyauk Ye said that Burmese soldiers are active in fighting against some 
armed political groups who are fighting for freedom and autonomy. "But 
they won?t bother attacking drug factories because they receive tax." 
Instead, Burmese soldiers protect drug refineries.

This totally contradicts the government?s claim, which is endorsed by 
the UNDCP.

But it doesn?t come as a surprise to other observers. After all, Burma 
is a haven for drug lords. Lo Hsing Han, chairman of Asia World, is 
close to the generals. Asia World is Burma?s biggest conglomerate, with 
investments in hotels, construction companies and supermarkets totaling 
US $600 million dollars.

Lo, Burma?s former drug kingpin, has his own poppy fields in the 
Tang-yang area. "He has about 30 acres in my area," said Kyauk Ye. His 
family members, including his grandchildren, used to go there to pose 
for pictures by the opium flowers. Lo acted as peace negotiator between 
the Wa and Kokang Chinese rebels and the government in the late 1980s. 

Lo now lives in a lavish house in Rangoon, where he runs his business 
with his son, Steven Law, also known as Htun Myint Naing. They are both 
barred from entering the US because of drug-related activities.

Not surprisingly, over the past decade, Burma?s drug trade has become 
more integrated into the Burmese economy. By allowing traffickers to buy 
legitimate businesses in the country, Rangoon has managed to stave off a 
collapse of the economy, strained by more than a decade of sanctions and 
mismanagement.

The US State Department?s International Narcotics Control Strategy 
report identified money laundering in Burma and the reinvestment of 
narcotics profits laundered elsewhere as "significant factors in the 
Burmese economy overall. " The report adds that country?s underdeveloped 
banking system and lack of action against money laundering have created 
a "business and investment environment conducive to the use of 
drug-related proceeds in legitimate commerce."

Like Lo, Khun Sa, alias Zhang Qifu, the former drug warlord who 
surrendered to Burmese authorities in 1996, has been allowed to keep up 
his investments. Journalist Bertil Lintner wrote after Khun Sa?s 
unexpected surrender: "Shortly after Khun Sa?s surrender, ten new 
companies were registered at an obscure address in Rangoon, a virtually 
empty room in a townhouse with little more than a sign and a mailbox 
outside. The registered owner of the premises is a company called ?The 
Good Shan Brothers International Ltd?, which is engaged in ?export, 
import, general trading and construction,? according to the 1995-1996 
Myanmar Business Directory. Thai intelligence sources added that after 
Khun Sa?s surrender, about US$ 24 million were transferred to Rangoon 
from various financial institutions in Thailand." 

The SPDC even admitted that the government has awarded an official 
contract to Khun Sa, who is also wanted by the US, to run buses between 
major cities in Burma. Khun Sa, who is now protected by the military 
intelligence service in Rangoon, has also opened a casino in Myawaddy, a 
border town with Thailand. 

Kyauk Ye said that over the last five to seven years, more than 50 
percent of all business in Burma has been run by drug money. 

Now the UWSA has taken control of Yangon Airways and the Mayflower Bank, 
one of the biggest banks in Burma. Moreover, it seems they have plans to 
start a telecom business in Burma. 

Aik Htein, a little known ethnic Chinese businessman who barely speaks 
Burmese, is the managing director of Myanmar Sky-Link Company, which was 
awarded the contract to install the GSM system in Burma.

Aik Htein is an influential shareholder in Myanmar?s May Flower bank, 
while Yangon Holdings and Yangon Airways also have connections to the 
Wa. Aik Htein?s staff refused to answer when asked for information about 
their boss?s background. "I cannot tell you," they said, and then hung 
up the phone.

 Thailand?s war on drugs

As drug lords roam freely in Burma and their business empires grow 
overnight, the country?s neighbors, particularly Thailand, have 
repeatedly expressed their concern. 

Over the last two years, Thailand has shown its frustration toward its 
western neighbor, and as a result, a war of words has erupted between 
Thailand and Burma. 

Thailand accuses Burma of turning a blind eye to illicit trade. Thai 
officials say Burma is the main source of amphetamines being smuggled 
into Thailand, which is estimated to have a drug-using population of 
over two million. Thai drug enforcement officials expect that about 700 
million speed pills will come to Thailand from Burma this year.

Thai leaders, both army and civilian, talk about decisive actions 
against drug activities along the border, yet they also complain about 
the lack of cooperation from Burma. 

Thai drug suppression officers believe that the UWSA runs an estimated 
55 illegal laboratories along the northern border, which are capable of 
producing 600 million pills a year. The Thai Third Army, which is 
responsible for the volatile part of the border with Burma, has been 
taking a tough stance. Gen Wattanachai Chaimuenwong, commander of the 
Third Army, openly criticized Burmese high-ranking army officers? 
involvement in the drug business and accused Burma of waging a drug war 
against Thailand.

Thailand and Burma went into conflict early this year. Fighting broke 
out between Thai and Burmese troops near the Mae Sai-Tachilek border 
crossing in the Golden Triangle area. Then in May, the Thai used two 
F-16 jet fighters to push back Burmese and Wa troops who occupied Hua 
Lon hill inside Thailand. Both sides took a tough stance and were 
unwilling to back down. The Burmese pledged to fight alongside the Wa, 
which prompted Thai army leaders to alert their troops. 

Getting the two sides to cooperate is not easy. "What is going on 
between Thailand and Myanmar is not helping what we are trying to 
achieve," said Mr. Jean Luc Lemahieu, UNDCP country representative.

The Burmese also hit back at Thai officials by accusing them of being 
involved in drug trafficking and smuggling chemicals used for yaa baa 
production into Burma. 

Banleng Inthakhan, 42, a former police sergeant-major, was recently 
arrested in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand, allegedly possessing 1.1 
million speed pills and 40 kg of ephedrine, a chemical precursor used in 
methamphetamine production. 

The Thai officer had 24 motor vehicles, including two luxury sedans?a 
Mercedes Benz and a BMW. In addition to that, officials were astonished 
to find that he had 30 bank accounts and more than 100 pieces of jewelry 
worth more than 10 million baht (US $220,000). 

Banleng Inthakhan is now facing charges. But the question is how many 
other Banlengs in Thailand have been doing this business? Most 
importantly, who is behind them?

At any event, Thai officials? focus is how to man their border. There 
have been reports about Thailand unofficially re-arming Shan and Karen 
rebels along the volatile border with Burma. Some analysts suggest that 
Thailand is returning to a buffer-zone policy. 

"We have to consider it," said Padoe Mahn Sha, secretary general of the 
Karen National Union (KNU), referring to the possibility of cooperation 
with the Thais in their anti-drug efforts. "We also have a policy to 
crackdown on drugs," he added.

KNU troops recently attacked a Burmese army outpost near Myawaddy 
opposite Mae Sot, and they said that yaa baa is smuggled into Thailand 
from this outpost. Mahn Sha also said that UWSA officials and Chinese 
merchants are active in Karen State. Some are collaborating with 
pro-Rangoon Karen groups. Drugs from Shan State, Mahn Sha said, pass 
through Karen State in order to reach Thai and Asian markets. 

Similarly, news regularly appears in Thai papers and on TV news that Col 
Yord Serk of Shan State Army in Southern Shan State is now active in 
attacking drug traffickers and handing over the seized drugs to Thai 
officials. Yord Serk, who was accused by Rangoon of involvement in the 
drug trade, claims that his army is fighting against the illicit trade. 

As this new golden triangle conflict grows, a major player is 
re-appearing on the scene: the US. Adm. Dennis Blair, the chief of the 
US Pacific Command, recently told The Bangkok Post, "As a military man, 
I support Thailand." He added: "The support that we have for Thailand in 
patrolling its border is an important part of our policy." He was in 
Thailand to open the 20th Cobra Gold military exercises, joined by Thai, 
US and Singaporean forces, and to discuss anti-drugs co-operation with 
Thai authorities.

Over 5,000 US troops took part in the exercise, held near the Thai-Burma 
border. The Cobra Gold exercise is part of a joint combined exercise 
called Team Challenge 01, which also features the Philippines and 
exercises with Australia. 




Nevertheless, it is not known where US anti-drug policy is leading. 
Since US President Richard Nixon made his famous "War on Drugs" speech 
in the summer of 1971, the US has been active in attacking drug barons, 
but there has been little evaluation of the success or failure of 
anti-narcotics efforts. 

The US is now giving training to Thai Task Force 399 to fight drugs. US 
Special Forces are now stationed in northern Thailand. The task force is 
made up of elements of the Third Army and the Border Patrol Police. The 
US also supplied two Black Hawk helicopters to the army as part of its 
modernization program.

Rangoon alleges that the US unit was intended for intervention in Burma, 
although Thai and US officials played down the location, saying it was a 
matter of rotation. Burma hit back at Thailand, attacking the country?s 
revered Royal Family. At the same time, Rangoon called up thousands of 
war veterans and urged them to prepare for a contingency plan in the 
event of an attack on its territory by its "hostile" neighbor. 

While the two nations are pointing fingers at each other, drug 
traffickers in Burma are finding new routes to transport their drugs to 
the world market. 

According to Thai intelligence sources, traffickers in Burma have found 
a new route to transport drugs from southern Burma.

In January this year, Thai officials seized five million yaa baa pills 
and 100 kg of heroin in the Andaman Sea. The drugs came from Burma. Thai 
authorities said that the seizure confirmed a new theory that 
traffickers had changed their transportation route from land to sea. 

Usually, heroin and speed pills are transported to Thailand, Laos, China 
or India by land and are then sent on to the world market. A few years 
ago, Kyauk Ye himself sent 200 viss of raw opium to Kachin State by a 
car owned by a cease-fire group which he refused to name. 

But some cease-fire groups active in northern Shan State, he said, would 
have sent as many as 4,000 viss of opium to the Chinese border by truck 
without interference.

Kyauk Ye is still nostalgic about his three-month long trip to the India 
border. He refused to reveal the name of the Shan captain who led the 
opium convoy there, as he is still alive and still involved in this 
business. Kyauk Ye is proud of his loyalty, but he sniffed at the 
Burmese. "Even in the opium business, the Burmese government is most 
unfaithful."

Why? 

"They seize heroin and opium, as has been shown on TV and in newspapers. 
They later re-sell them in the domestic market, and then they re-seize 
the drugs and re-sell them again. That?s how they make such a profit."

As things stand at the moment, Rangoon?s efforts to shake off its 
nefarious reputation are not winning many friends. But that?s fine with 
Kyauk Ye, who says the regime?s pariah status is well deserved.

The opium business in Burma is going to last for decades, says Kyauk Ye, 
who is preparing to return to grow opium in Kachin State. He says he 
doesn?t care about Calvani or Adm. Blair or Gen Wattanachai. But he 
admires Lo, Aik Htein and a few other rich businessmen in Burma.

Who knows? One day he might even find himself working out of a posh 
office and rubbing elbows with the generals in Rangoon. Good luck, Kyauk 
Ye.








_______________________GUNS________________________





Bangkok Post: No help for minority groups

July 21, 2001  

 
Wassana Nanuam


Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh will declare a hands-off stance 
towards backing anti-Rangoon minority groups to mark his July 23-24 
visit to Burma.

Thai forces would stop giving support to Burmese minority groups, 
including the Shan State Army and the Karen National Union, a source 
said. This was the gist of a pledge Gen Chavalit would make to Burmese 
Prime Minister Than Shwe.

The Burmese government would be asked to pledge co-operation with 
Thailand on drugs and not help the Wa with drug production, the source 
added.

"In fact, the military stopped supporting minorities long ago. But there 
might be local-level relationships and some humanitarian help remaining. 
Some minority people might come to ask for food occasionally.

"After Gen Chavalit's statement is made, we will completely stop 
supporting or doing things in favour of minority people," the source 
said.

Thai security forces would round up minority people using Thai soil as a 
base to undermine Rangoon.

"We will not crack down on minority groups. But neither will we help 
their operations nor turn a blind eye," he said.

Gen Chavalit had already sent out word to the army, in particular the 
First and Third armies.

Gen Chavalit will visit Burma accompanied by the supreme commander and 
the chiefs of the three armed forces. Third Army commander Lt-Gen 
Watanachai Chaimuanwong said his troops had never helped minority 
groups, even Shan rebels whose anti-drug efforts indirectly benefited 
Thailand
 





________________________DRUGS______________________



Bangkok Post: Police seize heroin, cash in record swoop 

July 21 2001

Seven arrested in two-city operation
Anucha Charoenpo 
Narcotics police seized 74kg of heroin and seized nearly 90 million baht 
in cash and bank deposits in this year's biggest drug haul.


Police said the drugs were smuggled from laboratories in Pangsang, 
Burma's northern Shan State, through Laos to Chiang Saen district in 
Chiang Rai.


The drugs were seized in Bangkok on Tuesday and were believed to be 
destined for the United States.


Seven suspects, five men and two women, were arrested.


The seven were placed under police surveillance for some time before 
simultaneous police raids in Bangkok and Chiang Mai.


The suspects were Somporn Thaweeapiradeephum, Thanu or Ar Phing 
Manjaisak, 44, Phongphan Pirom, 40, Pongpipit Satpithak, 50, and his son 
Watthanasin, 22. The other two, Somsri Janhom, 53, and Nithas Nuprasert, 
45, were known by the Thai and US Drugs Enforcement Administration to 
have close ties with Wei Hsueh-kang, a fugitive drugs warlord, who heads 
methamphetamine production in the United Wa State Army in the Shan 
State.


Police said they decided to make their move after a long surveillance 
upon learning Somporn contacted drug producers in Burma and intended to 
bring the drugs into Thailand.


After her arrest in Bangkok, Somporn told police Thanu and Phongphan 
were to pick up the shipment for her in Chiang Saen district, Chiang 
Rai.



Police followed the two drug couriers to Chiang Mai and arrested them 
before they could deliver the heroin to Somporn in Bangkok.


The two confessed in subsequent interrogations and said the heroin, 
weighing 74kg, was delivered to them by Pongpipit, an automobile dealer, 
and Watthanasin. Pongpipit apparently ran his automobile business in 
Chiang Rai as a front to sell drugs.


The information led police to Pongpipit's home in Bangkok where he and 
his son were arrested after a search yielded 22 million baht in cash. 
Bank books carrying deposits worth 13 million baht in 12 different 
accounts were also seized.


Police said the investigation revealed Pongpipit and his son often 
transferred drug money from several bank accounts to Somporn's bank 
accounts to purchase drugs from dealers in Burma.


Profits from the trade were transferred to the bank accounts of the 
other two suspects, Somsri and Nithas.


Police said they searched the pair's homes in Bangkok and seized about 
eight million baht in cash and another 40 million baht in bank deposits.


Fifteen luxury cars were also seized from the gang.


Police said five of the suspects were charged with possessing and 
trafficking in heroin. The group faces a jail term of up to 10 years if 
found guilty of money-laundering. They could face the death penalty if 
found guilty of heroin trafficking.


Police said they believed there were more collaborators and expected to 
make more arrests soon.


Vassana Permlarp, the Anti-Money Laundering Office secretary-general, 
said he was convinced more money and assets illegally obtained from the 
drug gang were likely to be hidden somewhere. His office would 
investigate the matter.


Gen Thammarak Issarangkun na Ayutthaya, PM's Office minister, said the 
heroin cost 450,000 baht a kilo and could fetch 10 times more in the 
West.








 

 


__________________________________________________



Thai Rath: Dealing with the problem of narcotics

[Editorial printed in the Thai language paper Thai Rath, translated and 
reprinted in The Bangkok Post, July 21, 2001]

The Thaksin government seems to be serious in pushing its campaign 
against narcotic drugs, which is one of its top priority issues.

Soon after taking office, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra held a 
workshop in Chiang Rai where a new anti-drugs strategy was considered.

Recently, the prime minister ordered the Royal Thai Police Office to 
draw up a list of policemen suspected of involvement in the drug trade.

Those found guilty would be dismissed.

The Office later announced that nearly 300 commissioned and 
non-commissioned police officers were involved in the drug trade.

Joining in the fray, a deputy director of the Internal Security 
Operations Command announced that Isoc had blacklisted a number of 
politicians suspected of involvement in the drug trade. Among the names 
on its list were former cabinet ministers.

These revelations are not new. News and rumours about politicians and 
civil servants engaging in the drug trade were circulated in the past.

Researchers have delved into this problem and come up with damning 
conclusions about the "influential people" behind it. However, none of 
these alleged ringleaders was arrested. But without evidence, how can we 
arrest them, asked the police.

Prime Minister Thaksin means what he says. Several drug convicts have 
been executed under the reasoning that they were a threat to national 
security.

But can we get to the bottom of the problem and nail the big fish that 
run the drug networks from behind the scenes? Even if we secure 
co-operation from Burma, where drug factories are located, and try to 
stem the flow of drugs from across the border, the problem will remain 
as long as there are local dealers and consumers.

If lack of evidence poses a hindrance to the government's campaign 
against drugs, then something must be done about it.

Perhaps, disciplinary action is the answer. If, say, a government 
official is suspected of involvement in the drug trade but there is no 
hard evidence to prove his guilt, the official's superior might consider 
suspending or dismissing him for misconduct.

When a civilian government was overthrown many years ago, the 
coup-makers set up a panel to investigate the "unusual wealth" of the 
cabinet ministers.

The panel managed to dig into the backgrounds of these ministers and 
come up with some evidence.

Now, how about some investigation into the backgrounds of suspected 
drug-dealing officials?







___________________ REGIONAL/INTERNATIONAL___________________
				


Irrawaddy: Thailand?s Least Wanted

June 2001


As the push to resettle Burmese exiles in third countries continues 
apace, those who remain in Thailand?s "Safe Area" for student activists 
have reason to fear for the future.

 

by Neil Lawrence/Ban Maneeloy

It?s eight o?clock Saturday morning, and Ban Maneeloy, a nondescript 
Thai village some two hours? drive west of Bangkok, is bracing for an 
invasion. Hundreds of Burmese rebels suddenly descend upon the village, 
and within hours, it?s all over: Hastily set-up roadside stalls are just 
as quickly dismantled, and residents of Maneeloy?s holding center for 
Burmese students, armed with a week?s supply of vegetables and dry 
goods, quietly amble back into the "Safe Area"?a euphemism for what is, 
to all appearances, a medium-security prison.

 
DANGER: SAFE AREA AHEAD Maneeloy?s holding center for Burmese students 
has a reputation for violence  
Few places better capture the ironic tensions that exist between 
Thailand and its most unwelcome "guests"?the thousands of dissidents who 
have fled persecution in Burma since 1988, only to find themselves 
alternately tolerated and reviled by their host country. Established in 
1992 by the Thai Ministry of Interior (MOI), ostensibly to facilitate 
the resettlement of Burmese asylum-seekers in third countries, the Safe 
Area has become a symbol of the siege mentality that has gripped both 
Thais and the Burmese who live among them?making it, in the minds of 
many, one of the most dangerous places in Thailand.

The uneasy calm that has settled upon Maneeloy in recent months belies 
its notoriety. Since October 1, 1999, when a group of dissidents with 
ties to the Safe Area seized control of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok, 
Maneeloy has borne the brunt of anti-Burmese sentiment in the popular 
press. Already regarded as a hotbed of dissent, the camp came under 
additional pressure as new restrictions were slapped on residents and 
hundreds of other Burmese were forced inside in an effort to literally 
contain the Burmese "menace". Simmering tensions came to a head on Oct 
18, when several officials from the United Nations High Commission for 
Refugees (UNHCR)?an agency openly resented by many in the Safe Area as 
an ineffectual protector of their rights?were briefly detained by a 
group of residents. Then, in January 2000, ten heavily armed 
anti-Rangoon rebels raided a hospital in Ratchaburi province, and the 
Safe Area once again became a focus of suspicion. A search for weapons 
and explosives yielded nothing, but served to reinforce the impression 
that the Safe Area was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

Attention has shifted away from the Safe Area in the past year, but now 
residents are facing a new worry: a renewed push by the Thai authorities 
to shut the camp down for good. Despite its reputation among exiles as 
the dreaded purgatory where many have had to wait years before starting 
new lives in the West, the Safe Area has, as tolerance towards Burmese 
dissidents steadily dwindles in Thai society, finally begun to live up 
to its name. "The situation is very touchy here, but this is the safest 
place," says Safe Area resident Khaing Htun Aung, of the Indigenous 
Social Welfare Association, one of several political organizations 
operating in the camp.

 
ON THE INSIDE The MOI office at the Safe Area receives visitors  
There are serious concerns about the pace of the closure and the fate of 
those who will be left behind. Various dates have been announced, but 
the camp could be closed as early as September or "no later than early 
next year", according to Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, 
speaking shortly before an official visit to Rangoon on June 19-20. He 
concedes, however, that the process of sending Burmese abroad could take 
time "due to problems that have accumulated"?namely, the hundreds of 
residents who have been deemed ineligible for resettlement, and who 
could face harsh penalties for remaining in the camp illegally.

"What we fear most is a life sentence in the IDC," confides one illegal 
resident, referring to the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok, 
where hundreds of Burmese dissidents have been held in overcrowded cells 
since 1988. Like many others, he adds that his only hope is to be 
recognized as a Person of Concern (POC) by the UNHCR, which has already 
rejected his case once. 

At present, around 500 recognized POCs are "at various stages of the 
resettlement procedure," according to the UNHCR?s deputy regional 
representative, Janvier de Riedmatten. But hundreds of others face a far 
more uncertain future, say Safe Area residents. These include so-called 
"border cases", who will be relocated to established refugee camps along 
the volatile Burmese border, and rejected cases who clearly fear life 
outside the prison-like confines of the Safe Area, but who "are not, by 
definition, of concern to this office," according to de Riedmatten.

Semantics has played an important role in the UNHCR?s handling of 
Burmese refugees in Thailand, particularly those in the Safe Area. In a 
1998 report entitled "Unwanted and Unprotected: Burmese Refugees in 
Thailand", the New York-based Human Rights Watch advised the UNHCR to 
"avoid use of terminology such as ?displaced persons? or ?person of 
concern? in place of ?refugees?, given the legal protection, primarily 
protection against refoulement, that flows from being a refugee." The 
report further recommended that the category of "border cases" be 
abandoned altogether, and called on the Thai government to ratify the 
1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Critics say that the UNHCR?s care with words is more a reflection of its 
delicate diplomatic relationship with Thailand than an attempt at 
precision in distinguishing among the various types of refugees who have 
fled to the country. "Obviously the Thai government wants to close down 
Maneeloy," remarked one aid worker familiar with the situation at the 
Safe Area. "That?s why they don?t want anyone else recognized as POC. 
That explains why the UNHCR is listing so many as border cases, even 
when they obviously don?t fit into that category." 

 
Privacy is non-existent for residents  
Most rejected cases say they believe the MOI has leaned on the UNHCR to 
limit the number of refugees it recognizes, in order to deter others 
from seeking asylum in Thailand. However, de Riedmatten denies "the 
allegation that the Thai government is exerting pressure on the UNHCR to 
reject cases in the refugee status determination procedure. We do 
guarantee that it is conducted in an independent manner, with the full 
responsibility of the decisions resting with the UNHCR."

Although the UNHCR reached an agreement with the Thai government in 1989 
allowing it a role in dealing with Burmese asylum-seekers (after an 
earlier Thai program to "voluntarily" repatriate many dissidents met 
with international condemnation), the Safe Area remains firmly under the 
control of the MOI. Armed guards patrol the camp, and residents are 
permitted to leave only with special permission. Use of pay phones is 
strictly regulated, and residents say they must pay even to receive 
calls. In 1993, following complaints from residents that they had been 
mistreated by guards, an official announced that the government had 
"strictly enforced measures to ensure that the Burmese students will not 
contact NGOs to complain. This must be done to uphold the country?s 
image."

These days, many will happily trade their two hours a week outside the 
camp?s gates for a chance to have contact with outsiders. Sitting at a 
teashop while others buy cheap clothes or vegetables, they defy their 
troublemaker image with impeccable politeness. But frustration 
inevitably comes to the surface, as they describe the discriminatory 
treatment of some of their fellow residents. Border cases and residents 
admitted after October 1999 are denied health care and receive only dry 
rations, they say, forcing others to pool their meager resources to 
provide them with adequate supplies of food and medicine. They speak of 
solidarity, but hint at divisions: "The Thais want us to fight each 
other," says Htay Tint, head of the human rights department of the 
Burmese Students Association, the only officially sanctioned political 
organization in the holding center. "If the camp is unstable, it will be 
easier for them to shut it down." 

With various ethnic minorities now making up most of the camp?s 
population, some friction among different groups has been inevitable. 
But for most, the real internal conflicts have been psychological, as 
years of uncertainty and feelings of "political humiliation" take their 
toll. Drug abuse and failed relationships afflict many who cannot 
reconcile their self-image as freedom fighters with the reality that 
they are forced to live like convicts in a democratic country. Many 
maintain their dignity by continuing their political activism despite 
official disapproval, but even they feel burdened by their 
powerlessness: "Guilt is a very pressing mood among us," says Khaing 
Htun Aung, recalling both friends who never managed to escape Burma, and 
those he will be forced to leave behind when he resettles in a third 
country later this year. 

But guilt is for the relatively fortunate: For the rest, another emotion 
comes to the fore. Asked about his prospects for the future, one "border 
case"?a member of the Karen Solidarity Organization, a group that has 
been branded as "traitors" by the dominant Karen National Union?replied 
that he felt "only fear". With the murder of U Zin Maung, a Burmese monk 
who was killed just outside of the camp last December, despite being 
under constant surveillance, that fear has grown into a presentiment of 
what awaits many in a country where they know they?re not wanted.






___________EDITORIALS/OPINION/PROPAGANDA__________


  
The Washington Times: Military opening the gates in Myanmar


July 21, 2001, Saturday, Final Edition 



Georgie Anne Geyer 

MANDALAY, Myanmar 


MANDALAY, Myanmar. - Here in the north of this mysterious country 
historically known as Burma, the brutal military regime thinks it is 
being very clever. It is encouraging its hulking, powerful neighbor to 
the north - China - to act as a balance against the country's many 
tribes and their hatred of the regime. 

Chinese immigration is barely controlled on Burma's untamed northern 
borders. Chinese businesses are omnipresent here, and in this historical 
city most of the signs are already in Chinese. Even Mandalay's streets 
have been vehicularly Sinocized: They are jammed with bicycles. Some 
analysts even say Chinese is now the major language here and that, in 
some areas, tribal men are mostly wearing Chinese military uniforms. 

The military dictatorship's rewards for this, shall we say, "open door" 
policy are substantial. Since 1988, Myanmar/Burma has been using its 
gigantic neighbor to expand its armed forces, to keep itself in power 
against a bitterly oppressed people who are now the poorest in Asia, and 
to force the many ethnic insurgent groups here in the north to agree to 
cease-fires. 

China has responded smartly to its neighbor's need to repress 
efficiently. In the past 11 years, it has provided military equipment 
amounting to the value of roughly $3 billion, which has allowed the 
military to double its force to 450,000 soldiers today, even though the 
country has no outside enemy lurking about that anyone can fathom. 

But . . . clever? This kind of cleverness is surely of a classical 
nature. In an earlier era, it led the Trojan city fathers to open the 
gates and invite in a giant wooden horse. 

For when one looks at the demographic patterns of China today, one sees 
something very interesting indeed. This is the fact that, like an inland 
sea gradually but persistently overflowing its riverbanks, China is 
consistently pushing its population out across its borders in all 
directions, using every tool and vehicle, every ruse and excuse, it can 
conjure up. 

The Burma situation is abundantly clear once one is here, although 
rarely covered because virtually no journalists are allowed into the 
country. Tibet, forcibly made part of China but a unique culture that 
has long dreamed of independence, is now being colonized internally by 
Han Chinese, and few believe the Chinese will stop until they form the 
majority in the gorgeous mountain kingdom. 

The huge, oil-rich Sinkiang Province in far western China was 
historically composed almost entirely of Uighur and Kazakh tribespeople, 
people of Turkic origins. Through deliberate colonization by Han Chinese 
from the coast, Sinkiang now has a Chinese majority of at least 51 
percent. And along the extensive and open Chinese-Russian border - 
despite the theatrically friendly meetings between Chinese and Russian 
leaders in their respective capitals - various communities on the 
Russian side are forming committees to anticipate unwanted waves of 
Chinese immigrants. 

This people pressure will continue. With an overpopulation of 1.3 
billion and still growing, China is running out of both land and water. 
The Yellow River, the cradle of China's civilization, has almost stopped 
flowing; in the north, whole rivers no longer exist and water tables are 
falling precipitately; desertification expands every year. Where, 
indeed, will all the Chinese go unless across their borders? 

This is meant to be not so much critical, but alarmist. The Chinese, 
like all peoples, have a right to move in accordance with international 
law and norms, and there is no evidence here, for instance, that they 
are forcing themselves upon the Burmese (although in the 1980s, the 
Chinese-trained Burmese Communist Party did indeed do just that). 

Other nations that should know better, such as Israel and Singapore, 
supply arms to this regime in Myanmar, one of the most cruel and 
repressive military dictatorships in the world. ("Commerce," they 
cynically call it.) 

The world should observe this fascinating but pitiful land to see the 
inexorable outcome of overpopulation and environmental degradation. 
Burma's north is one of the most compelling places in the world. There 
are dozens of tribes, some with hundreds of thousands of people. The 
Shan, one of the major tribes, were protected by the British 
colonialists before they left in 1948, and still have an anti-regime 
"Shan Army." The Riang have their front teeth capped with gold inlaid 
with ruby and green jade. One tribe, which apparently migrated here in 
ancient times from long-lost northern frontiers, still sews snowflakes 
into its beautiful embroidery. 

Most still have tribal governments but are at the mercy of the military, 
which regularly rounds up people for forced labor, sends people for the 
slightest suspicion to prisons from which they do not return, and 
imprisons them for 21 years for having a fax machine. The military has 
tried to make a kind of "peace" with the tribes, and a number of 
cease-fires have been signed. But the oppression - and the aimlessness 
of a country with no ideology except that of continued power for the 
leaders - continues. 

Is it any wonder that China looks south to Burma's picturesque 
mountains, open space and witless government? 

Georgie Anne Geyer is a nationally syndicated columnist.













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