Drugs
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Drugs and Burma
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Burma: opium and heroin
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Financing Dispossession - China’s Opium Substitution Programme in Northern Burma |
| Date of publication: | | February 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | "Northern Burma’s borderlands have undergone dramatic changes in the last two decades. Three main and
interconnected developments are simultaneously taking place in Shan State and Kachin State: (1) the increase
in opium cultivation in Burma since 2006 after a decade of steady decline; (2) the increase at about the same
time in Chinese agricultural investments in northern Burma under China’s opium substitution programme,
especially in rubber; and (3) the related increase in dispossession of local communities’ land and livelihoods
in Burma’s northern borderlands.
The vast majority of the opium and heroin on the Chinese market originates from northern Burma. Apart
from attempting to address domestic consumption problems, the Chinese government also has created a
poppy substitution development programme, and has been actively promoting Chinese companies to take
part, offering subsidies, tax waivers, and import quotas for Chinese companies. The main benefits of these
programmes do not go to (ex-)poppy growing communities, but to Chinese businessmen and local authorities,
and have further marginalised these communities.
Serious concerns arise regarding the long-term economic benefits and costs of agricultural development—
mostly rubber—for poor upland villagers. Economic benefits derived from rubber development are very
limited. Without access to capital and land to invest in rubber concessions, upland farmers practicing swidden
cultivation (many of whom are (ex-) poppy growers) are left with few alternatives but to try to get work as
wage labourers on the agricultural concessions.
Land tenure and other related resource management issues are vital ingredients for local communities to
build licit and sustainable livelihoods. Investment-induced land dispossession has wide implications for drug
production and trade, as well as border stability. Investments related to opium substitution should be carried
out in a more sustainable, transparent, accountable and equitable fashion. Customary land rights and institutions
should be respected. Chinese investors should use a smallholder plantation model instead of confiscating
farmers land as a concession. Labourers from the local population should be hired rather than outside
migrants in order to funnel economic benefits into nearby communities.
China’s opium crop substitution programme has very little to do with providing mechanisms to decrease
reliance on poppy cultivation or provide alternative livelihoods for ex-poppy growers. Chinese authorities
need to reconsider their regional development strategies of implementation in order to avoid further border
conflict and growing antagonism from Burmese society. Financing dispossession is not development." |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer & Kevin Woods |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Institute (TNI) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.7MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/tni-financingdispossesion-web.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 February 2012 |
|
| Title: | | South-East Asia Opium survey 2011: Lao PDR, Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | December 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Opium Poppy Cultivation:
In 2011, for the fifth year in a row, opium poppy cultivation increased in Myanmar. The total area
under opium poppy cultivation was estimated at 43,600 ha, an increase of 14% compared to 2010
(38,100 ha). This upward trend started in 2007 after six years of decline between 2001 and 2006.
Shan State accounted now for 91% of opium production in Myanmar, while the largest increase in
poppy cultivation was observed in Kachin State (+27%). In Shan State most of the increase in the
area cultivated took place in South Shan (+21%) followed by North Shan (+17%). There was no
significant change in East Shan (+1%)...Opium yield and production
In 2011, the national average opium yield was estimated at 14.0 kg per hectare, which represents a
decrease of 8% compared to last year’s yield. Nevertheless, the larger area under cultivation
resulted in an increase in total opium production of 5%, from 580 mt in 2010 to 610 mt in 2011...
Opium prices:
Opium prices in Myanmar have significantly increased in 2011. The average farm-gate price of
opium (weighted by the estimated area under cultivation) was US$ 450/kg in 2011, up some 48%
from US$ 305/kg in 2010. Opium prices have continued to increase since 2002. The most recent
increase can be explained by the strong demand in opium from neighbouring countries as well as
the depreciation of the Kyat against the US$ (by some 14% over the past year)...
Household income from opium:
The average annual cash income of opium-producing households increased by almost 24% in the
Shan State, from US$ 830 in 2010 to US$ 1,030 in 2011. However, opium farmers in Myanmar
generally remain poorer than non-opium growing farmers. For non-opium cultivating households
(including those that never cultivated or have stopped opium poppy cultivation), the average
annual cash income was almost US$ 1,200. On average, income from opium accounts for 54% of
total cash income among poppy-growing farmers and in South Shan even more than 60%. For
Myanmar opium survey 2011
44
these farmers, opium cultivation is the principal income to survive, which is illustrated by the
comments of farmers that had stopped cultivating opium and had to purchase food on credit or
borrow food and rely on relatives and friends...
Addiction:
Data on opium and other drug addiction was collected via interviews with village headmen.
Headmen were asked about the number of daily opium users and the number of ‘regular’ users of
other drugs (without specifying frequency of use). According to the headmen, daily opium use in
Shan State and in Kachin affects 0.8% of the population aged 15 years and above. As in previous
years, the prevalence rate was higher in opium-growing villages (1.3%) than in non-opiumgrowing
villages (0.4%). Although the number of amphetamine type stimulant (ATS) users is
increasing, the prevalence rate remained very low, at 0.2% of the population in opium-growing
areas which is almost the same ratio as last year. Heroin use is also reported to be very low,
affecting less than 0.1% of the population aged 15 and above. However, information on drug use
must be interpreted with caution, as respondents may have been reluctant to report opium, heroin
and ATS consumption in the context of the Government’s efforts to curb drug use and addiction...
Reported Eradication:
This survey did not monitor or validate the results of the eradication campaign carried out by the
Government of Myanmar (GOUM). According to the GOUM, a total of 7,058 ha were eradicated
in the 2010-2011 opium season, which is 15% less the area eradicated in 2009-2010. Most of the
eradication continued to take place in Shan State (85% of the total), notably in South Shan (51%).
44% of the eradication concentrated in three townships in the southern part of South Shan, namely
Pinlaung, Pekong and Sisaing townships...
Food security and coping strategies:
Food security remains a major problem in almost all regions where the survey took place for both
poppy-growing and non-poppy-growing villages. The erosion of food security is of particular
concern because it could trigger a further increase in opium cultivation. In order to meet their food
deficit, households across all regions most frequently sought assistance from friends and/or took
loans to buy food.
The high (and rising) price of opium in Myanmar is making opium production more attractive. In
fact, as a proportion of total income, opium income has increased among opium growing farmers.
Among opium growing farmers, the proportion of total household income derived from opium
production is also now increasing. Between 2003 and 2009, the income generated by opium was a
declining proportion of opium-growing farmers’ total cash income falling (from 70% to about
20% during the period). However, in 2010, this trend reversed and the proportion of total cash
income coming from opium is now 54%. With the cultivation of one hectare of opium farmers
earned 9 times more than from rice cultivation in low lands, and 15 times more than rice cultivated
in uplands. This makes it more difficult to convince farmers to abandon opium and switch to other
crops. Nonetheless, this survey provides important information to help design and target
alternative livelihood-programmes..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf Myanmar section: 1.6MB (low res); Full text: 4.8MB - OBL version; 6.36MB - original |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/sea/SouthEastAsia_2011_web.pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs12/UNODC-Opium_Survey_2011.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 December 2011 |
|
| Title: | | Still Poisoned - Opium cultivation soars in Palaung areas under Burma’s new regime (English, Burmese press release) |
| Date of publication: | | October 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Summary:
"Almost one year after Burma’s long-awaited elections were held in November
2010, Palaung communities in northern Shan State are suffering from the
effects of an even greater upsurge in opium cultivation than in previous years.
Local paramilitary leaders, some now elected into Burma’s new parliament,
are being allowed to cultivate and profi t from drugs in return for helping the
regime suppress ethnic resistance forces in Burma’s escalating civil war. As a
result, drug addiction has escalated in the Palaung area, tearing apart families
and communities. Burma’s drug problems are set to worsen unless there is
genuine political reform that addresses the political aspirations of Burma’s
ethnic minority groups.
Research carried out by Palaung Women’s Organisation in Namkham
Township shows that:
􀂃 Opium cultivation across 15 villages in Namkham Township has increased
by a staggering 78.58% within two years.
􀂃 12 villages in the same area, which had not previously grown opium, have
started to grow opium since 2009.
􀂃 A signifi cant number of these villages are under the control of government
paramilitary “anti-insurgency” forces, which are directly profi ting from
the opium trade.
ô€‚ƒ The most prominent militia leader and druglord in the area, “Pansay”
Kyaw Myint, from the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development
Party, was elected as an MP for Namkham in November 2010; he promised
voters that they could grow opium freely for 5 years if they voted for him.
􀂃 Government troops, police and militia continue to openly tax opium
farmers, and to collect bribes from drug addicts in exchange for their
release from custody.
􀂃 Drug addiction in Palaung communities has spiralled out of control. In
one Palaung village, PWO found that 91% of males aged 15 and over were
addicted to drugs. Drug addiction is causing huge problems for families,
with women and children bearing the burden of increased poverty, crime
and violence." |
| Language: | | English, Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization (PWO) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (417K; Burmese press release 68K; English press release 85K)) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.palaungwomen.com
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs12/Still_Poisoned-PR(bu).pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs12/Still_Poisoned-Press_Release(en).pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 October 2011 |
|
| Title: | | South-East Asia Opium survey 2010: Lao PDR, Myanmar - Myanmar section |
| Date of publication: | | December 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
"The Government of the Union of Myanmar (GOUM) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) jointly conducted the 2010 Opium Survey in Myanmar. Through satellite
imagery and village and field surveys, information was gathered to determine the extent of opium
poppy cultivation and production, as well as the socio-economic status of farmers.
While current levels of opium cultivation remain below the alarming levels of the mid-90s and
increases measured in the last three years are still modest, there are two worrying changes:
farmers’ incomes remain distressingly low and food security has worsened. Given the high price
of opium in Myanmar, this situation makes the growing of opium more attractive. In fact, as a
proportion of total income, opium income has increased among opium growing farmers. Between
2003 and 2009, the income generated by opium had a diminishing impact on opium-growing
farmers’ total cash income (i.e. the proportion of their income that came from opium fell from
70% to about 20%). In 2010, this trend reversed. Opium poppy is now by far the most lucrative
crop for farmers that illicitly cultivate it. With the cultivation of one hectare of opium earning 6.5
times more than that earned from rice cultivation in low lands, and 13 times more than rice
cultivated in uplands, the income proportion from opium increased to more than 43%. This makes
it difficult to convince farmers to abandon opium and switch to other crops. Nonetheless, this
survey provides important information to target alternative livelihood programmes and identifies
what crops farmers would be willing to cultivate instead of opium.
Opium farmers in Myanmar remain poorer than non-opium farmers. The great majority of farmers
who cultivate opium do so to buy food. For them, opium cultivation remains a subsistence
exercise. Tellingly, many farmers who stopped cultivating opium, had to purchase food on credit
or borrow food and rely on relatives and friends.
The pattern of opium poppy cultivation is also changing: some areas became opium-free while
others increased their level of cultivation. In South Shan State, farmers introduced new practices
such as multi-cropping. Generally, opium fields moved further away from villages and, in certain
regions, were subject to eradication. In addition, cultivation shifted to areas previously considered
opium-free or to climatically less favourable regions. All these considerations, combined with
reduced accessibility and the expected change in cropping pattern, influenced the 2010 survey
methodology..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (3.7MB - Myanmar section; 6.6MB - full report) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/sea/SEA_report_2010_withcover_small.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Alternative Development or Business as Usual? China’s Opium Substitution Policy in Burma and Laos |
| Date of publication: | | November 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Conclusions & Recommendations:
• The huge increase in Chinese agricultural
concessions in Burma and Laos is driven by
China’s opium crop substitution programme,
offering subsidies and tax waivers
for Chinese companies.
• China’s focus is on integrating the local
economy of the border regions of Burma and
Laos into the regional market through bilateral
relations with government and military
authorities across the border.
• In Burma large-scale rubber concessions is
the only method operating. Initially informal
smallholder arrangements were the dominant
form of cultivation in Laos, but the topdown
coercive model is gaining prevalence.
• The poorest of the poor, including many
(ex-) poppy farmers, benefit least from these
investments. They are losing access to land
and forest, being forcibly relocated to the
lowlands, left with few viable options for
survival.
• New forms of conflict are arising from
Chinese large-scale investments abroad. Related
land dispossession has wide implications
on drug production and trade, as well
as border stability.
• Investments related to opium substitution
plans should be carried out in a more sustainable,
transparent, accountable and equitable
fashion with a community-based approach.
They should respect traditional land
rights and communities’ customs. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational InstituteDrug (Policy Briefing No. 33) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (304K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.tni.org/node/595/by-country/Burma |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Poisoned Hills - Opium cultivation surges under government control in Burma (Burmese) |
| Date of publication: | | 26 January 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: Community assessments by the Palaung Women's Organisation during the past two years reveal that the amount of opium being cultivated in Burma's northern Shan State has been increasing dramatically. The amounts are far higher than reported in the annual opium surveys of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and are flourishing not in "insurgent and ceasefire areas," as claimed by the UN, but in areas controlled by Burma's military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Between 2007-2009, PWO conducted field surveys in Namkham and Mantong townships, and found that the total area of opium cultivated increased almost fivefold over three years from 964 hectares in the 2006-7 season to 4,545 hectares in the 2008-9 season. Namkham and Mantong are both fully under the control of the SPDC. The areas have an extensive security infrastructure including Burma Army battalions, police, and pro-government village militia. These militia are allowed to engage in illicit income-generating activities in exchange for policing against resistance activity, and are being expanded in the lead up to the regime's planned 2010 elections. Local authorities, in "anti-drug teams" formed by the police in each township, have been systematically extorting fees from villagers in exchange for allowing them to grow opium. During the 2007-8 season in Mantong township, at least 37 million kyat (US$37,000) in bribes in total were collected from 28 villages. PWO data shows that the "anti-drug teams" are leaving the majority of opium fields intact, and are filing false eradication data to the police headquarters. PWO found that only 11% of the poppy fields during the 2008-9 season had been destroyed, mostly only in easily visible places. The fact that authorities are profiting from drug production is enabling drug abuse to flourish. In one village surveyed in Mantong, it was found that that the percentage of men aged 15 and over addicted to opium increased from 57% in 2007 to 85% in 2009. Around the town of Namkham, heroin addicts flock openly to "drug camps," and dealers sell heroin and amphetamines from their houses. PWO's findings thus highlight the structural issues underlying the drug problem in Burma. The regime is pursuing a strategy of increased militarization in the ethnic states to crush ethnic resistance movements, instead of entering into political negotiations with them. For this, it needs an ever growing security apparatus, which in turn is subsidized by the drug trade. The regime's desire to maintain power at all costs is thus taking precedence over its stated aims of drug eradication. Unless the regime's militarization strategies are challenged, international funding will make little difference to the drug problem in Burma. A negotiated resolution of the political issues at the root of Burma's civil war is urgently needed to seriously address the drug scourge which is impacting the region..." |
| Language: | | Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization |
| Format/size: | | pdf (3.9MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/Poisoned_Hills-PWO.pdf (English) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 January 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Poisoned Hills - Opium cultivation surges under government control in Burma (English) |
| Date of publication: | | 26 January 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: Community assessments by the Palaung Women's Organisation during the past two years reveal that the amount of opium being cultivated in Burma's northern Shan State has been increasing dramatically. The amounts are far higher than reported in the annual opium surveys of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and are flourishing not in "insurgent and ceasefire areas," as claimed by the UN, but in areas controlled by Burma's military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Between 2007-2009, PWO conducted field surveys in Namkham and Mantong townships, and found that the total area of opium cultivated increased almost fivefold over three years from 964 hectares in the 2006-7 season to 4,545 hectares in the 2008-9 season. Namkham and Mantong are both fully under the control of the SPDC. The areas have an extensive security infrastructure including Burma Army battalions, police, and pro-government village militia. These militia are allowed to engage in illicit income-generating activities in exchange for policing against resistance activity, and are being expanded in the lead up to the regime's planned 2010 elections. Local authorities, in "anti-drug teams" formed by the police in each township, have been systematically extorting fees from villagers in exchange for allowing them to grow opium. During the 2007-8 season in Mantong township, at least 37 million kyat (US$37,000) in bribes in total were collected from 28 villages. PWO data shows that the "anti-drug teams" are leaving the majority of opium fields intact, and are filing false eradication data to the police headquarters. PWO found that only 11% of the poppy fields during the 2008-9 season had been destroyed, mostly only in easily visible places. The fact that authorities are profiting from drug production is enabling drug abuse to flourish. In one village surveyed in Mantong, it was found that that the percentage of men aged 15 and over addicted to opium increased from 57% in 2007 to 85% in 2009. Around the town of Namkham, heroin addicts flock openly to "drug camps," and dealers sell heroin and amphetamines from their houses. PWO's findings thus highlight the structural issues underlying the drug problem in Burma. The regime is pursuing a strategy of increased militarization in the ethnic states to crush ethnic resistance movements, instead of entering into political negotiations with them. For this, it needs an ever growing security apparatus, which in turn is subsidized by the drug trade. The regime's desire to maintain power at all costs is thus taking precedence over its stated aims of drug eradication. Unless the regime's militarization strategies are challenged, international funding will make little difference to the drug problem in Burma. A negotiated resolution of the political issues at the root of Burma's civil war is urgently needed to seriously address the drug scourge which is impacting the region..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization |
| Format/size: | | pdf (3.38MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/Poisoned_Hills-PWO-bu-red.pdf (Burmese) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 January 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Opium Poppy Cultivation in South-East Asia: Lao PDR, Myanmar (2009) |
| Date of publication: | | December 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "...In 2009 the annual opium survey in Myanmar covered the Shan State (North, East, and South
Shan), Kachin and Kayah States, i.e. all the regions of Myanmar where opium poppy cultivation
was reported. As in 2008, the survey included several Special Regions in Shan (Wa Special
Region 2, Kokang Special Region 1 and Special Region 4), where rapid assessments were
conducted. The survey confirmed the sustainability of the opium-ban in these three Special
Regions.
In 2009, the total area under opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar was estimated at 31,700 ha,
representing an increase of 11% compared to 28,500 ha in 2008. This upward trend started slowly
from 2007 after five years of decline (2002 to 2006)..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (7MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 January 2010 |
|
| Title: | | From Golden Triangle to Rubber Belt ? - The Future of Opium Bans in the Kokang and Wa Regions |
| Date of publication: | | July 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "In the Kokang and Wa regions in northern Burma opium bans have ended over a century of poppy cultivation. The bans have had dramatic consequences for local communities. They depended on opium as a cash crop, to buy food, clothing, and medicines. The bans have driven poppy-growing communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security. Very few alternatives are being offered to households for their survival...
Conclusions & Recommendations:
• The opium bans have driven communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security and access to health care and education. • The Kokang and Wa authorities have promoted Chinese investment in mono-plantations, especially in rubber. These projects are unsustainable and do not significantly profit the population. • Ex-poppy farmers mainly rely on casual labour and collecting Non-Timber Forest Products as alternative source of income. • Current interventions by international NGOs and UN agencies are still limited in scale and can best be described as “emer-gency responses”. • If the many challenges to achieving viable legal livelihoods in the Kokang and Wa regions are not addressed, the reductions in opium cultivation are unlikely to be sustainable.
The Kokang and Wa cease-fire groups have implemented these bans following international pressure, especially from neighbouring China. In return, they hope to gain international political recognition and aid to develop their impoverished and war-torn regions. The Kokang and Wa authorities have been unable to provide alternative sources of income for ex-poppy farmers. Instead they have promoted Chinese invest-ment in monoplantations, especially in rubber. These projects have created many undesired effects and do not significantly profit the population.
The Burmese military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has also been unwilling and unable to provide assistance. The international community has provided emergency aid through inter-national NGOs and UN agencies. However, current levels of support are insufficient, and need to be upgraded in order to provide sustainable alternatives for the population. The international community should not abandon former opium-growing communities in the Kokang and Wa regions at this critical time..." |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Insititute (Drug Policy Briefing Nr 29) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (217K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.tni.org/briefing/golden-triangle-rubber-belt
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/Golden_Triangle_to_Rubber_Belt.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Opium Poppy Cultivation in South East Asia:: Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand (2008) |
| Date of publication: | | December 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "...In 2008, the total area under opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar is estimated at 28,500 hectares,
representing an increase of 3 per cent from 27, 700 hectares in 2007. Opium poppy cultivation is
concentrated, primarily, in Shan State, where 89 per cent of the total opium poppy was grown. The
weighted national average opium yield for 2008 is estimated at 14.4 kilograms per hectare, leading
to an estimated potential opium production of 410 metric tones. Compared to the estimated yield
of 16.6 per cent and the estimated potential opium production of 460 metric tones in 2007, the
estimates this year indicate a drop both in the yield and production of opium by 13 and 11 per
cent, respectively..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (6.29MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 January 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Opium Poppy Cultivation in South East Asia: Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand (2007) |
| Date of publication: | | October 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | "...In 2007, opium
cultivation in Myanmar rose by 29% while production was up 46% thanks to higher yields. These
increases are dwarfed by the opium boom in Afghanistan, that produces 20 times more drugs than
Myanmar. But they flash a warning sign that reminds us that Myanmar is still, by far, the world's
second largest opium producer (at 460 tonnes). Myanmar needs a more effective counter narcotics
strategy and more assistance, if it is to reach its target of being opium free by 2014.
The situation is particularly worrisome in the South Shan State. Although access for our ground
surveyors was difficult, there are signs of significant opium cultivation in this region.
Furthermore, there is evidence that double cropping, irrigation and fertilization are resulting in
higher yields than in other parts of the country. As in parts of Afghanistan and Colombia where
drugs and insecurity overlap, various groups are taking advantage of the situation in the South
Shan State to profit from instability.
More rural development assistance is essential to reduce the vulnerability to cultivate drugs
stemming from poverty. Ridding the Golden Triangle of opium, which has taken a generation,
could be quickly undone if farmers see no improvement in their living standards. In Laos, for
example, as opium production has fallen, prices have gone up – by 500% in the past five years.
Returning to opium is a serious temptation in poor communities which have yet to see the benefits
of abandoning poppy.
Opium growing regions would also benefit from improved drug treatment in order to cope with
disproportionately high rates of addiction.
The signs from South East Asia have been encouraging over a number of years. But there is no
guarantee that progress can be sustained over time. To consolidate the gains made until recently,
national governments and all stakeholders in an opium-free region need to continue their
engagement. The Golden Triangle should not be forgotten now that it is no longer notorious..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (9.863K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 October 2007 |
|
| Title: | | Opium Poppy Cultivation in the Golden Triangle - Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand (2006) |
| Date of publication: | | October 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Acreage down, yield up...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
"...The 2006 Opium Survey in Myanmar was conducted jointly by the Government of the Union of
Myanmar (GOUM) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). An extensive
survey, combining the use of satellite images and ground verification, was conducted in Shan
State where most of the opium poppy cultivation takes place. A rapid ground survey was
conducted in Special Region 2 (Wa) to certify its opium free status. Limited ground surveys were
also conducted in townships of Kachin and Kayah States to assess the level of cultivation in these
areas and monitor possible displacement of opium poppy cultivation.
Opium poppy cultivation
In 2006, the total area under opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar was estimated at 21,500
hectares, representing a decrease of 34% compared to 2005 (32,800 hectares). The largest
cultivation areas were found in South Shan where 72% of the national cultivation took place. 21%
was cultivated in East Shan State. In North Shan State cultivation continued to decrease and
reached a negligible level. In Kayah State, which was surveyed for first time this year, only a few
hectares could be found. In 2006, there was also some limited cultivation in Kachin accounting for
5% of the total opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar. The most remarkable change was recorded
in Special Region 2 (Wa), where there was no opium poppy cultivation this year, while in 2005
this region represented 30% of the national opium poppy cultivation.
Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar has been decreasing continuously over the last years. Since
1998, the year of the United Nations Special Session on Drugs, the area under opium poppy
decreased by 83% from 130,000 ha to 21,500 ha. Since 2002, the year of the first joint GoUM
/UNODC survey, opium poppy cultivation fell by 73%.Opium yield and production
The weighted national average opium yield for 2006 was estimated at 14.6 kg/ha (against 9.5
kg/ha in 2005). Yields ranged from only 8.9 kg/ha in East Shan State over 16.6 kg/ha in South
Shan State up to 21.4 kg/ha on the best irrigated fields in Kachin State. In general, weather
conditions were favourable for opium production (sufficient and timely rainfall). In addition,
irrigation of opium poppy fields and multistage cropping contributed to yield increases. The
considerable yield increase in 2006 offset the decrease in the cultivation area. In 2006, the
potential production of opium remained with 315 metric tons almost at the level of 2005 (312
metric tons). The survey results show that the largest increase in production took place in South
Shan State. Overall opium production in Myanmar has decreased by 75% since 1998 but the
downward trend of recent years has come to a halt due to the production increases in East and
South Shan State in 2006..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (5.32MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 October 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Myanmar Opium Survey 2005 |
| Date of publication: | | 01 November 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Opium cultivation in Myanmar has steadily declined since 2000, and two-thirds of poppy crops
have disappeared. Compared with the peak in 1996, the number of hectares devoted to opium has
been reduced by 80% in 2005, from 163,000 hectares to 32,800 hectares. When adding the
weather factor, influencing opium yields on the fields, an 82% decline in the opium production is
registered over the same period of time. While the data included in the report is largely positive, certain worrying factors, with a potential
to undo this rapid progress, need addressing. Compared to the previous year, opium production
has doubled in the southern Shan State despite the acreage showing only a slight increase. This is
in part due to additional rains, however, and more disquieting, also due to improved cultivation
practices. The latter, in turn, is an indication of more sophisticated criminal activity, transcending
poverty, and not dissimilar to the trends witnessed with ATS production: cross-border networking
and transfer of new and improved techniques.
Even so and taking note of the exception mentioned, general figures overwhelmingly associate
opium with marginal economic conditions typical to remote mountainous areas in which most of
the opium is grown. Shocking for anybody less familiar to the opium problem in Myanmar, is the
low income of farmers in the Shan State. Non-opium growing households in the Shan State earn
an average US$364 annually, against only US$292 for an opium farming household, consisting of
both parents and two to four children. Half of the households surveyed in the Shan State report
food insecurity; a figure that rises to an astounding 90% in concentrated poppy-cultivation areas.
With the loss of opium income, these poor farmers and their families not only lose their coping
mechanism to deal with endemic poverty and a chronic food shortage; they equally lose access to
health services and to schools. They end up very vulnerable to exploitation and misery – from
human right abuses to enforce the opium bans, to internal displacement or human trafficking to
survive the bans.
For the United Nations, replacing one social evil (narcotics) with another (hunger and poverty) is
wrong. Therefore the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime calls on the international
community to provide for the basic human needs of those affected. The situation in the Golden
Triangle is similar to the one in Afghanistan and the Andeans: some of the poorest people are
being affected by the loss of income from drugs as cultivation declines. Thus, the international
community must have the wisdom to fight drugs and poverty simultaneously, to eliminate both the
causes and the effects of these twin afflictions. In other words, the world will not condone
counter-narcotic measures that result in humanitarian disasters. If there is one concrete measure
that the Government and its development assistance partners can take now to ensure Myanmar’s
future, it is this: food security and income generation programmes must remain in place and be
strengthened to support both the farmers’ decisions not to plant opium, and enforcement measures
to eradicate the opium that is planted against the law..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (3.8MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 November 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Downward Spiral: Banning Opium in Afghanistan and Burma |
| Date of publication: | | June 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Opium farmers in Afghanistan and Burma are
coming under huge pressure as local authorities
implement bans on the cultivation of poppy.
Banning opium has an immediate and profound
impact on the livelihoods of more than 4 million
people.These bans are a response to pressure
from the international community. Afghan and
Burmese authorities alike are urging the
international community to accompany their
pressure with substantial aid.
For political reasons, levels of humanitarian
and alternative development aid are very
different between the two countries. The
international community has pledged several
hundred millions for rural development in
poppy growing regions in Afghanistan. In sharp
contrast, pledged support that could soften the
crisis in poppy regions in Burma is less than $15
million, leaving an urgent shortfall.
Opium growing regions in both countries will
enter a downward spiral of poverty because of
the ban.The reversed sequencing of first forcing
farmers out of poppy cultivation before
ensuring other income opportunities is a grave
mistake.Aggressive drug control efforts against
farmers and small-scale opium traders, and
forced eradication operations in particular, also
have a negative impact on prospects for peace
and democracy in both countries.
In neither Afghanistan nor Burma have farmers
had any say at all in these policies from which
they stand to suffer most. It is vital that local
communities and organisations that represent
them are given a voice in the decision-making
process that has such a tremendous impact on
their livelihoods..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Institute (TNI) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (340.59 K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | A young Rakhaing woman was caught red-handed with about 5 grams of heroin |
| Date of publication: | | 30 May 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Cox's Bazaar, May 30, 2005:
"A young Rakhaing woman aged 22 was arrested holding 5 grams of heroin by the Narcotics Department in Cox's Bazaar, the southernmost district town of Bangladesh near the Burmese border, on 28 May, according to a local townsperson.
She was caught red-handed when narcotics officers raided the woman's house during the day..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Narinjara News |
| Format/size: | | html (8K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 June 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Two Bangladeshi Arakanese women have been arrested for dealing in heroin |
| Date of publication: | | 11 April 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Cox's Bazar, April 11:
"Two Bangladeshi Arakanese women were arrested by police in Cox'sbazar, a southern district town of Bangladesh near Burma, for heroin-dealing. The arrest occurred on April 7th, reported a Cox'sbazar-based Bangali newspaper..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Narinjara News |
| Format/size: | | html (9K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 April 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Arakan’s Border Security Chief accused of being involved in heroin traffic |
| Date of publication: | | 25 November 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Maungdaw, Nov 25: "The Acting Chief of the Burmese Border Security forces, or Nasaka, from Maung Daw has been charged with involvement in heroin traffic on November 13, said a police officer but he denied to disclose his name.
Lieutenant Colonel Myint Oo was detained at the base of the Light Infantry Division (233) at Buthi Daung Township, and the Chief of Arakan Police Nyo Win is heading the investigation on the Lt. Col’s involvement..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Narinjara News |
| Format/size: | | html (8K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 December 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Myanmar Opium Survey 2004 |
| Date of publication: | | 11 October 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Today, Myanmar, located in the heart of the “Golden Triangle,†is the main opium producer
in Southeast Asia. However, despite its reputation as a leading producer, during the last
decade, Myanmar has demonstrated a steady and remarkable reduction in opium poppy
cultivation. While the number of hectares devoted to opium cultivation was estimated at
160,000 in the mid-1990s, by early 2004, opium poppy cultivation stood at 44,200 hectares -
- a reduction of 73% from the peak in 1996.
Together with the parallel decline in opium cultivation in Laos, this trend, if sustained, signals
a potential end to more than a century of opium production in the Golden Triangle, a fitting
close to one of the most tragic chapters in the history of narcotic drugs.
However, as history has proved in other countries, often with tragic consequences, Myanmar
now faces a critical, two-fold challenge. First, the country needs to support the decline in its
opium supply. Second, Myanmar must strive to prevent the humanitarian disaster
threatening opium-growing families who at present live on, or below, the poverty line.
These two processes must be implemented simultaneously. Supply control will bring more
stability to a country that has been plagued by ethnic tensions, tensions that have often been
exacerbated by narco-trafficking. At the same time, without provisions designed to ensure
that the basic needs of affected families are met, without the necessary human rights
guarantees, the current opium reduction programme may prove unsustainable.
Democratization and national reconciliation in Myanmar, as well as a national commitment to
drug control, are goals the United Nations has re-affirmed on several occasions. I would thus
encourage the Government of Myanmar to adopt the steps recommended by the Secretary-
General in his report on the human rights situation in Myanmar, along with the reduction of
opium cultivation. The international donor community also carries a responsibility to support
this process by providing alternative sources of income to those families in Myanmar whose
livelihoods are affected by the loss of opium-generated revenue.
The world has watched as various countries have struggled to eliminate the cultivation of
opium. Some states have succeeded – others have failed. Those who were able to realize a
reduction in poppy cultivation brought both stability and progress to their nations and their
citizens. Those who failed at curtailing the production of opium also failed at providing the
security the citizens of these nations need and deserve, both within and beyond national
their national borders.
While the United Nations welcomes any significant progress in opium reduction, we are very
much aware that, in Myanmar, there remains a very fine line between success and failure.
We continue to believe, however, that the proposed compact between the Myanmar
government and the international community is a powerful alternative to failure, and that this
compact has both the potential and the support to turn the current crop reduction effort in
Myanmar into a sustainable and successful process..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (3.02MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 November 2005 |
|
| Title: | | About 30 smugglers killed each other before SPDC seized 830 kilograms heroin |
| Date of publication: | | 06 August 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | August 6, 2004:
"About 30 heroin smugglers killed each other in the Martaban Sea, southwestern part of Burma, before the the military regime SPDC authorities and Military Intelligence (MI) seized about 830 kilograms (1, 660 pounds) heroin from a Mon smuggler in Hnit-kayin, a coastal village, Ye township, southern Mon State, according to the villagers..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Independent Mon News Agency |
| Format/size: | | html (11K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 August 2004 |
|
| Title: | | MYANMAR Opium Survey 2003 |
| Date of publication: | | 18 June 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary:-
"In Myanmar, the problem of opium and heroin production has deep historical roots that reach
back to the 19th century. Second source of illicit opium and heroin in the world after
Afghanistan during the last decade, the country has recorded an encouraging decline of illicit
opium poppy cultivation since the mid-1990s.
Results of the extensive fieldwork and satellite imagery analysis conducted by the last
UNODC-supported opium survey confirm the continuation of the positive trend in 2003. With
a further one-year decline of 24%, opium poppy cultivation is now down to 62,200 ha
(against 81,400 ha in 2002). Since 1996, cultivation has declined by more than 100,000 ha,
or 62%...[chart]...
The largest cultivation decrease this year took place in the Northern Shan State (- 50%). It is
attributed to farmers’ compliance with the Government’s request not to plant opium poppy.
Important decreases also took place in the Southwestern (-18%) and Southeastern areas
(-26%) of the Shan State. By contrast, cultivation increased by 21% in the Wa Special
Region 2, and 6% in the Central Shan region. As a result, the Wa Special region 2 now ranks
first for opium poppy cultivation, with 34% of the national total, and the Northern Shan region
second with 29%, in 2003.
Based on an estimated harvest of about 810 metric tons of opium, and a price of
approximately 130 US$/kg, the total farmgate value of the 2003 opium production in
Myanmar would amount to around US$ 105 million.
The estimated 350,000 households who cultivated opium poppy in the Shan State this year
would earn an average of about US$ 175 from the sale of their individual opium harvest.
Although seemingly very small, this income makes opium by far the first source of cash for
those families, accounting for 70% of their total annual cash income (about US$ 230)"...
Table of contents:-
INTRODUCTION...
FINDINGS:
OPIUM POPPY CULTIVATION;
YIELD AND PRODUCTION
OPIUM PRICES AND CASH INCOME;
FIELD DAMAGE;
ADDICTION;
ERADICATION...
WA ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT SURVEY FINDINGS:
OPIUM POPPY CULTIVATION;
OPIUM YIELD AND PRODUCTION;
OPIUM PRICES
METHODOLOGY:
ORGANISATION AND STAFF;
OPIUM POPPY CULTIVATION ESTIMATES;
YIELD ESTIMATION...
ANNEXES:
Annex 1 Satellite images used for the 2003 Opium Survey;
Annex 2 Calculation for Opium Area Estimates;
Annex 3 Opium Cultivation Area and Production by township;
Annex 4 Opium Survey Results By Administrative Zones for 2002 and 2003...
Maps:
Map 1 2003 Survey Regions;
Map 2 2003 Distribution of Opium Poppy Cultivation over Agricultural Areas;
Map 3 2003 Opium Poppy Cultivation (by Township);
Map 4 Shan State - Change in Opium Poppy Cultivation 2002-03;
Map 5 2003 Opium Production (by township);
Map 6 WADP townships;
Map 7 Sampled village tracts in the Shan State;
Map 8 Landsat7 and IKONOS map used for the 2003 Myanmar opium survey;
Map 9 Shan State – Administrative Regions. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UN Office on Drugs and Crime |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.3MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 December 2003 |
|
| Title: | | REPLACING OPIUM IN KOKANG AND WA SPECIAL REGIONS, Shan State, Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | "In March 2003, a joint assessment team comprising international NGOs and UN
agencies operating in Myanmar traveled to the Kokang and Wa Special Regions in
north-eastern Shan State. Their purpose was to assess the humanitarian impact of the
opium ban in the Kokang region, and the potential impact of a similar ban due to go
into effect in the Wa region in June 2005.
The following is the report submitted by this team after their mission. It is unedited
and unabridged. Maps used in the report have been removed to reduce the file size.
They are available from the UNODC Myanmar Office upon request." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Joint Kokang-Wa Humanitarian Needs Assessment Team |
| Format/size: | | pdf (83K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 November 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Les territoires de l'opium: Conflits et trafics du Triangle d’Or et du Croissant d’Or (A paraitre chex Olizane) |
| Date of publication: | | October 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "Quelles réalités économiques, politiques et militaires se cachent derrière les phénomènes de société que sont la production de drogues illicites
dans les pays du Sud et leur consommation dans les pays industrialisés?
Si l'opium est produit et consommé depuis la plus haute Antiquité, sa production à large échelle en Asie est, quant à elle, étroitement liée à la colonisation
britannique d'abord et à la guerre froide par la suite. En effet, après la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, les troupes nationalistes chinoises dans le Triangle
d'Or et, plus récemment, les moudjahidins afghans puis les talibans dans le Croissant d'Or, ont eu recours à l'économie de l'opium pour financer leurs guerres, en
bénéficiant de l'appui bienveillant de la CIA dans leurs luttes contre le communisme.
Aujourd'hui, ces groupes, ayant perdu leurs motivations et apparences idéologiques, ont donné naissance à d'autres groupes, bien organisés et
puissamment armés et qui, à travers leur rôle dans l'économie des drogues illicites, demeurent plus actifs que jamais.
En Asie, l'opium, du nerf de la guerre en est devenu l'enjeu, avec ses multiples conséquences géopolitiques dans les pays du Sud et ses retombées sociales et
économiques dans nos sociétés occidentales.
En comparant l'Afghanistan et la Birmanie, à travers les deux espaces majeurs de production d'opium et d'héroïne que sont le Croissant d'Or et le Triangle
d'Or, l'auteur a effectué un véritable travail d'investigation et d'analyse pour identifier les acteurs, localiser les réseaux, évaluer les enjeux géopolitiques et expliquer les logiques
fondamentales d'une production qui alimente un marché aux profits vertigineux et aux implications mondiales..." Table des matieres, Introduction, cartes, Compte-rendus et critiques et liens a d'autres documents de l'auteur. |
| Author/creator: | | Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy |
| Language: | | Francais, French |
| Source/publisher: | | Editions d'Olizane |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Myanmar Opium Survey 2002 |
| Date of publication: | | 27 August 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "...The 2002 opium poppy survey was the first comprehensive survey implemented
throughout the Shan State of Myanmar by the Central Committee for Drug Abuse
Control (CCDAC) of the Government of Myanmar in co-operation with UNDCP, in the
framework of UNDCP?s Illicit Crop Monitoring Programme (ICMP)...The present report consists of three main chapters. Chapter one describes the
methodology and the implementation of the survey. Chapter two presents the main
findings of the opium survey. A third chapter presents a brief socio-economic profile of
the northern Wa Special Region which accounts 22% of the poppy cultivation in
Myanmar. This study, the first of its kind, could be used for planning activities to tackle
the supply and demand sides of opium use in this area. Several annexes present the
breakdown of the estimates as well as maps illustrating some of the survey findings..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UNDCP/CCDAC |
| Format/size: | | pdf (3.6MB) 77 pages |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Southeast Asian heroin smuggling methods: containerised cargo |
| Date of publication: | | September 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Drug Intelligence Brief.
"Southeast Asian (SEA) heroin traffickers have been operating and conducting drug activity in
Southeast Asia for centuries. Typically, these organizations control the cultivation and production
levels. They regulate prices, materials, and procedures, allowing for only a small degree of flexibility.
At the wholesale level, however, the trafficking process becomes fluid and diversified, and can involve any number of smuggling
groups and brokers. Brokers will often have close connections with a particular producer while also arranging transactions with
rival producers. Instead of maintaining continuing relationships with the same group every time, SEA heroin traffickers form
limited partnerships with different individuals or groups for the purpose of executing specific drug transactions. These
procedures ensure business flexibility as well as protection. One of many ways SEA heroin traffickers smuggle bulk quantities
of SEA heroin to international markets is by the use of commercial containerized cargo. Heroin processed in the Golden
Triangle (Burma, Laos, and Thailand) is smuggled overland to seaports in Burma, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam for
transshipment within containerized cargo through Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Korea. From these transit
countries in Southeast Asia, the heroin-laden containers are shipped to consumer markets in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States..." INACCESSIBLE, DECEMBER 2008 |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | How Junta Protects Mr Heroin |
| Date of publication: | | 08 April 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | John Sweeney in Rangoon uncovers the links between Burma's drug barons and a repressive regime that likes to trumpet to the world its tough anti-drugs policy |
| Author/creator: | | John Sweeney |
| Source/publisher: | | The Observer |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Opium Poppy Cultivation and Heroin Processing in Southeast Asia |
| Date of publication: | | March 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Contents: origin and history of the opium poppy, the opium poppy plant, Opium poppy growing areas, Field selection and land clearing, Land preparation and cultivation methods, opium harvesting methods, Cooking opium, Extraction of morphine from opium, Conversion of morphine to heroin base,
Conversion of heroin base to heroin No. 3, Conversion of heroin base to heroin No. 4. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Department of Justice. |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The price dynamics of Southeast Asian heroin |
| Date of publication: | | February 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Drug Intelligence Brief
Synopsis:
"This report provides an analysis of available data on opium and heroin prices in Mainland Southeast
Asia (Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam). The report is documented with detailed
descriptions of the general wholesale price structure of opium and heroin in Asia. While the heroin
market spans the globe, much of the Southeast Asian opium and heroin product is sold and
consumed within the region. Therefore, the focus in this report is on prices in Southeast Asia with
only limited reference made to United States prices. The data used to prepare this analysis are
drawn from numerous sources. Opium price data are derived from anecdotal reports provided by
confidential sources of the Thai police. Heroin price data are acquired from a variety of sources to
include law enforcement reporting, intelligence reports, and open sources of information. There are many factors impacting drug prices..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Intelligence Division, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the US Dept. of Justice |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Heroin and HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | December 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | Review of "Out of Control 2"..."...A new report, titled “Out Of Control 2”, issued by the Southeast Asian Information Network [SAIN] shows the involvement of Burmese regime officials in narcotics trafficking and the correlation of increased drug trade and rising HIV/AIDS rates in Burma and beyond its borders..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 6, No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | JUNTA FORCES FARMERS TO GROW OPIUM |
| Date of publication: | | 10 May 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burma's military junta is evicting thousands of villagers from previously
drug-free areas for refusing to transform their rice fields into poppy
plantations as part of a United Nations-backed "drug control" programme.
The regime has told its UN sponsors that it is moving villagers away from
regions where drugs are being produced and uprooting the poppy fields left
behind.
However, an investigation by The Sunday Times and two independent human
rights organisations, has found that the junta is secretly expanding the
number of opium farms in these designated drug control areas. Video footage
of burning poppy fields presented to the UN in support of funding
applications for schemes worth millions of pounds has been faked." |
| Author/creator: | | Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Sunday Times" |
| Format/size: | | html (10K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 January 2007 |
|
| Title: | | Birmanie, la dictature du pavot |
| Date of publication: | | 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | La drogue, petrole, la junte birmane, la France...Le livre de Francis Christophe (moins Introduction et Annexe).
DU ROI THEBAW A LA FRENCH-SLORC-CONNECTION; LA MONTEE DE l'OPIUM EN BIRMANIE; L'ARRIVEE EN FORCE DU SLORC;
LA REDDITION-REHABILITATION DE KHUN SA; LE SLORC, REINCARNATION DE LA DICTATURE PRECEDENTE; PARRAINAGES ET RESEAUX; LE PARAVENT DE L'ENGAGEMENT CONSTRUCTIF;
LES AMIS DU SLORC; INDE-BIRMANIE: L'HEROINE BOUSCULE LE STATU-QUO; NARCO-REACTION EN CHAINE; EXCEPTION FRANCAISE;
LA CHUTE de MANDALAY; MIRAGE ET TABOU SUR LA DROGUE;
DIPLOMATIE PETROLIERE TOTAL EN BIRMANIE, L'IMPLANTATION;
LE FARDEAU BIRMAN; SUCCES SUR LE TERRAIN, DIFFICULTES MEDIATIQUES; LES CIRCUITS POLITIQUES ET ECONOMIQUES;
UNE FRENCH-SLORC-CONNECTION? UN ENGAGEMENT DESTRUCTEUR. |
| Author/creator: | | Francis Christophe |
| Language: | | Francais, French |
| Format/size: | | 270K |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The Burma-Singapore Axis: Globalizing the Heroin Trade |
| Date of publication: | | 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | Singapore's economic linkage with Burma is one of the most vital factors for the survival of Burma's military regime," says Professor Mya Maung, a Burmese economist based in Boston. This link, he continues, is also central to "the expansion of the heroin trade.") Singapore has achieved the distinction of being the Burmese junta's number one business partner -both largest trading partner and largest foreign investor. More than half these investments, totaling upwards of $1.3 billion, are in partnership with Burma's infamous heroin kingpin Lo Hsing Han, who now controls a substantial portion of the world's opium trade. The close political, economic, and military relationship between the two countries facilitates the weaving of millions of narco-dollars into the legitimate world economy
Singapore has also become a major player in Asian commerce. According to Steven Green, llS Ambassador to Singapore, that city-states free market policies have "allowed this small country to develop one of the world's most successful trading and investment economies." Singapore also has a strong role in the powerful 132-member country World Trade Organization. Indeed, the tiny China Sea island of three and a half million people is known far and wide as the blue chip of the region-a financial trading base and a route for the vast sums of money that flow in and out of Asia. |
| Author/creator: | | Leslie Kean and Dennis Bernstein |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Third World Traveler |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 September 2010 |
|
| Title: | | The Opium Kings |
| Date of publication: | | 20 May 1997 |
| Description/subject: | | Film by Adrian Cowell |
| Author/creator: | | Adrian Cowell |
| Source/publisher: | | "Frontline", PBS USA |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Rethinking U.S. Heroin Strategy |
| Date of publication: | | April 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | Articles or extracts by Francis Casanier, Adrian Cowell, Maha San, "The New Light of Myanmar" and the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) |
| Author/creator: | | Francis Casanier, Adrian Cowell, Maha San |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Burma Debate", Vol.. III, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Opium and Heroin Production in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | Based on Ronald Renard's "The Burma Connection" UNRISD 1996 |
| Author/creator: | | Ronald Renard |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Global Hangover Guide |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | THE BONDAGE OF OPIUM: THE AGONY OF THE WA PEOPLE - |
| Date of publication: | | 1993 |
| Description/subject: | | THE PROPOSAL:
"We, the leadership of the United WA State Party (UWSP) and the United WA State Army (UWSA) propose to anyone who might be interested, that we eradicate opium growing and stop the production of heroin in all the territory controlled by the WA. This we are willing to do. It can be done very quickly. I have full authority to speak for the United WA State Party and the United WA State Army which has ample power to carry out this proposal...
THE PLEA"
The plea is a necessary part of the proposal. We need food for our people while we develop substitute crops. Our people are already so poor that to take away opium production without giving them food would mean starvation. Beyond that, we need help of every appropriate kind to make the transition from an opium-based economy to a new agricultural economy..." |
| Author/creator: | | Ta Saw Lu |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Wa State Party (UWSP) Foreign Affairs Department |
| Format/size: | | html (42K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 July 2003 |
|
-
Burma: HIV/AIDS-Heroin Nexus
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Drugs and HIV/AIDS Country Programme [Myanmar] (2009-2010) |
| Date of publication: | | December 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Explanatory notes...
Introduction...
1. Overview:
1.1. Background;
1.2. Institutionalized Population;
1.3. Human Trafficking;
1.4. UNODC Strategy;
1.5. United Nations Division of Labour;
1.6. UNODC Drugs and HIV/AIDS Policy;
1.7. HIV/AIDS Situation in Myanmar;
1.8. IDU and DU Situation in the Country;
1.9. Legal Environment;
1.10. Myanmar National Drugs and HIV/AIDS Strategy;
1.11. UNODC Country Office Myanmar Strategy...
2. Drugs and HIV/AIDS Country Programme:
2.1. Scope of the Programme;
2.2. Mission Statement;
2.3. Guiding Principles;
2.4. How We Work;
2.5. What Has to Be Achieved?;
2.6. Objectives and Strategies of the Country Programme;
2.6.1. Coverage;
2.6.2. Strategic Information;
2.6.3. Mainstreaming;
2.7. The Work Plan for 2009-2010;
2.8. Coordination and Partnership;
2.9. Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation;
2.9.1. Planning and Reporting;
2.9.2. Monitoring and Evaluation;
2.9.2.1. Monitoring;
2.9.2.2. Evaluation...
Bibliography...
Tables:
Table 1. Programme Portfolio |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Drug Demand Reduction, Drugs and HIV/AIDS Unit , United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Country Office Myanmar |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.42MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 June 2009 |
|
| Title: | | HIV/AIDS and drug use in Burma/Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | May 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | "...The simultaneous spread of HIV/AIDS and the growing number of injecting drug users is fuelling the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Current pro-grammes reach only a small proportion of IDUs with harm reduction interventions. There are no existing programmes available for IDUs who are sexually active to protect themselves and their sexual partners from HIV. The second major risk group are sex workers. Current programmes reach only a very small number of them, and the number of AIDS deaths among them is estimated to be high.
In order to effectively address the spiralling numbers of HIV/AIDS infected drug users, is it extremely important for all stakeholders involved to acknowledge the HIV/AIDS epi-demic and the need for harm reduction poli-cies. It is key for all sides to de-politicise HIV/AIDS.
The international community needs to make a firm international commitment to stem and reverse the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Burma. It should ensure sufficient and long-term financial support for HIV/AIDS and harm reduction programmes.
The SPDC needs to provide adequate space for humanitarian aid to take place. The new guidelines that have been proposed by the government should be amended to ensure direct and unhindered access for interna-tional aid agencies to local communities. The space for initial harm reduction initiatives is encouraging, but needs to be scaled up in order to be effective.
Perhaps the most serious shortcoming how-ever is the fact that local community-based organisations in Burma have not been able to participate in the debate about interna-tional humanitarian aid to Burma. In parti-cular, in the discussions about the funding for programmes on HIV/AIDS, People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), and drug users or the organisations that represent them, have not been consulted or been able to partici-pate in the formulation of polices and deci-sion-making processes that have such tre-mendous impact on their health, livelihoods and lives.
The international community should also support and strengthen efforts by drug us-ers and PLWHA to organise themselves. This will enable them to voice their opinion and represent their interests better at the local as well as international level. It will also contribute to civil society building and de-mocratisation in the country." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Institute/Burma Centre Netherlands |
| Format/size: | | pdf (354 KB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/brief17.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Kicking the Habit |
| Date of publication: | | October 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Drug use and harm reduction policies in Burma...
"The struggle to combat the twin threats of HIV/AIDS and drug use in Burma is an uphill battle.
With an estimated 500,000 drug users, half of whom are categorized as injecting drug users, or IDUs, Burma has a serious drug problem. To compound matters, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been spiraling simultaneously, and infection rates among drug users in Burma, especially in Shan and Kachin states, now rank among the highest in the world.
Burma, Thailand and Cambodia have been hit hardest by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Asia. Burma, however, is the only one of the three where the infection rate is still rising. This is mainly due to the high-risk behavior of IDUs, who commonly share needles and syringes and rarely sterilize them. Such high-risk behavior is especially widespread in the teashops, known locally as shooting galleries, where heroin is sold. Two of the major obstacles to combating the rise of HIV/AIDS and drug use are a general lack of resources and, maybe less predictably, the legal constraints of narcotics laws..." |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer (TNI) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 10 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Yunnan’s Sin City - Sex and Drugs Take Their Toll in Border “Playground†|
| Date of publication: | | January 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Moe Wai, a pretty 20-year-old Burmese, traveled to Ruili, a Chinese border town, from her home in Rangoon’s South Okkalapa township in 1997. She rapidly found work as a prostitute, touting for trade on Ruili’s infamous Jiegang Road.
Two years after taking up the sex trade she discovered she was HIV-positive. AIDS then took its toll, and last October she died.
It’s estimated that around 100 young women from Burma work as prostitutes on Jiegang Road, offering their services to a clientele of traders, truck drivers and drug traffickers from Mandalay, Lashio, Myitkyina and other Burmese cities, as well as from China.
A further 100 Burmese sex workers operate in the nearby town of Jiegong, which directly borders Muse in Burma..." |
| Author/creator: | | Kyaw Zwa Moe |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 August 2005 |
|
| Title: | | Sowing disorder: Support for the Burmese junta backfires on China |
| Date of publication: | | November 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | "In the early 1990s China’s sale of arms to Burma played a crucial role in keeping the Burmese military in power. But this support for the generals in Rangoon is now backfiring, as many of the negative consequences spill over the border into China, writes Andrew Bosson. While China has generally taken a passive stance towards international efforts to pressure Burma to improve its rights record, it would be in Beijing’s best interests to push Rangoon towards economic and political reform, he argues.
The relationship between Burma and China has been harmful to both countries, especially following the Chinese arms deals which preserved the junta in power and locked Burmese political and economic life into a stasis from which it has yet to emerge. The generals seem to have very little idea of how a modern economy functions and are essentially running the country as they would an army. Military expenditures continue to take up about 60 percent of the national budget. Thus it comes as no surprise that the economy is in an advanced state of failure. China also has been damaged economically: Burma’s lack of access to economic development assistance and its collapsed economy leave a gaping hole in the regional development projects the impoverished provinces of southwest China so badly need. China also suffers from the massive spread of HIV/AIDS, drug addiction and crime that have accompanied the massive quantities of heroin being trafficked from Burma into Yunnan Province. The growth of the drug economy in Burma may be traced directly to the lack of the necessary economic and political remedies, which is an indirect result of China’s intervention..." |
| Author/creator: | | Andrew Bosson |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | China Rights Forum Journal 2002-03 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (140K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://iso.hrichina.org/public/contents/article?revision%5fid=3346&item%5fid=3345 |
| Date of entry/update: | | May 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Life: Between Hell and the Stone of Heaven |
| Date of publication: | | 11 November 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "More than a million miners desperately excavate the bedrock of a remote valley hidden in the shadows of the Himalayas. They are in search of just one thing - jadeite, the most valuable gemstone in the world. But with wages paid in pure heroin and HIV rampant, the miners are paying an even higher price. Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark travel to the death camps of Burma...Hpakant is Burma's black heart, drawing hundreds of thousands of people in with false hopes and pumping them out again, infected and broken. Thousands never leave the mines, but those who make it back to their communities take with them their addiction and a disease provincial doctors are not equipped to diagnose or treat. The UN and WHO have now declared the pits a disaster zone, but the military regime still refuses to let any international aid in..." jade |
| Author/creator: | | Adrian Levy & Cathy Scott-Clark |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Observer (London) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | AIDS Denial |
| Date of publication: | | July 1999 |
| Description/subject: | | "The SPDC has finally acknowledged the AIDS epidemic in Burma. But even now, the junta spends more of the country’s dwindling resources on attacking democrats than it does on tackling the disease, Aung Zaw writes..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 7. No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Heroin and HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | December 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | Review of "Out of Control 2"..."...A new report, titled “Out Of Control 2”, issued by the Southeast Asian Information Network [SAIN] shows the involvement of Burmese regime officials in narcotics trafficking and the correlation of increased drug trade and rising HIV/AIDS rates in Burma and beyond its borders..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 6, No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Burma's AIDS Epidemic |
| Date of publication: | | February 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | Dancing alone oÂn the floor of a popular Rangoon nightclub in front of a huge video screen playing music videos, the young Burmese woman repeatedly glances at the very few western men in the disco. She approaches them and makes it clear her charms come at a price. Does she use condoms? |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 6. No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Out of Control 2: The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | A new report, titled “Out Of Control 2”, issued by the Southeast Asian Information Network [SAIN] shows the involvement of Burmese regime officials in narcotics trafficking and the correlation of increased drug trade and rising HIV/AIDS rates in Burma and beyond its borders.
The report states that the last several years have produced a mounting body of evidence indicating high-level involvement of some junta members in the illicit narcotics industry. Routes and methods of transportation and export of Burmese narcotics are described in this report. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Southeast Asia Information Network (SAIN) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.irrawaddy.org/print_article.php?art_id=1521 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 October 2010 |
|
-
Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) - Myanmar
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Patterns and Trends of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants and Other Drugs, Asia and the Pacific, 2012 (Myanmar section and full report) |
| Date of publication: | | December 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Emerging trends and concerns:
• Myanmar remains a major source of methamphetamine pills and opiates in South-East Asia, most of which
are manufactured in Shan State in the eastern part of the country.
• For the first time, a crystalline methamphetamine manufacturing facility was seized in 2012.
• Large amounts of methamphetamine in pill and crystalline form originating from Myanmar continue to be
seized in neighbouring countries.
• Precursor chemicals are trafficked from neighbouring countries to methamphetamine manufacturing
centres located near Myanmar’s eastern border, where Government control remains limited.
• Preliminary data for 2012 suggests that seizures of illicit drugs and their precursor chemicals have increased
significantly.
• Opium poppy cultivation has increased in Myanmar for six consecutive years |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (144K-Myanmar_section; 1.32MB-full report) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.unodc.org/documents/eastasiaandpacific/2012/12/ats-2012/2012_Regional_ATS_Report_FINAL_H... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 December 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Myanmar: Situation Assessment on Amphetamine-Type Stimulants |
| Date of publication: | | 20 December 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | "...According to the latest Myanmar Situation Assessment on Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS), the manufacture, trafficking and consumption of synthetic drugs in the country and region is worsening.
Published by UNODC, the report indicates that the impact of methamphetamine and other ATS trafficked from Myanmar affects not only the country's immediate neighbours but also parts of East and South-East Asia. Speaking on this, Deepika Naruka, East Asia and the Pacific Regional Coordinator for the Global Synthetics Monitor: Analyses, Reporting and Trends (SMART) Programme, noted: "There are indications that the methamphetamine problem in Myanmar is becoming more severe. In 2009, large seizures of high purity crystalline methamphetamine were made in Myanmar. Authorities in both Myanmar and Thailand confirm that the manufacture of crystalline methamphetamine is now occurring in the Golden Triangle..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.9MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs09/Myanmar_ATS_Report_2010_lowres.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 22 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Patterns and Trends of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants and Other Drugs in East and South-East Asia (and neighbouring regions) 2009 - Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | November 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Overview of drug use (Myanmar):
"The main drugs of use in Myanmar during the past decade have been heroin which is primarily injected
and opium which is primarily smoked. Prevalence estimates vary, but the number of opioid users are likely
in the hundreds of thousands (UNODC, 2004).
Emerging in the mid-1990s, methamphetamine has become a prominent drug of concern. Since 2004,
methamphetamine has ranked third in terms of use behind the two leading drugs. Since 2005, methamphetamine
has accounted for about a quarter of all drug related arrests, while heroin and opium together
have accounted for more than half.
A survey in 2005 conducted by the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) among high
school students in the towns of Tamu, Muse, Tachilek, Myawaddy and Kawthaung indicates low lifetime
prevalence rates for this sub-population of youth. With the exception of cough syrups, drug use prevalence
was less than 2%. However, the survey points out that results may have been higher had the survey
been expanded to include the significant number of youth who did not attend high school.
Illicit manufacture of methamphetamine, primarily in pill form (yaba), continues, particularly in the Shan,
Wa, and Kokang autonomous region.
The political situation in Myanmar in 2009 is unsettled, with open hostilities between government and
ethnic groups previously under cease fire agreement. This instability could affect the current illicit drug
production and trafficking dynamics in the region. There is a likelihood that these changing conditions
will serve as a push factor for increasing the trafficking of illicit drugs and could result in the relocation
of clandestine manufacturing sites across the border. Also, the areas along the Lao PDR and Cambodia
border could experience increased trafficking activity with the possibility that clandestine lab operations
may be established in these areas..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (516K; 5.8MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/UNODC-2009_Patterns_and_Trends-red.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 November 2009 |
|
| Title: | | A Crazy Business -- review of "Merchants of Madness" by Bertil Lintner and Michael Black |
| Date of publication: | | April 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Merchants of Madness: The Methamphetamine Explosion in the Golden Triangle by Bertil Lintner and Michael Black; Silkworm Press, 2009. P 176..."...FEW international policy makers care to look at a major reason for the decline of opium in Burma. The market shift in production from opiates to amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) saw syndicates in Burma manufacture hundreds of millions of cheap speed pills for sale to neighboring countries.
Merchants of Madness, by Bertil Lintner and co-author Michael Black, takes the reader on a wild ride through the history of that transition and exposes the main players behind it: ethnic Wa warlords, Chinese drug lords and local thugs, all protected by the Burmese military to sustain the country's largest export after natural gas..." |
| Author/creator: | | David Scott Mathieson |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 April 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Withdrawal Symptoms - Changes in the Southeast Asian drugs market |
| Date of publication: | | August 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | The Golden Triangle is closing a dramatic
period of opium reduction”, wrote UNODC
Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa in his
preface to the 2007 survey on Opium Poppy
Cultivation in South East Asia. “A decade long
process of drug control is clearly paying off.”
According to the survey, the region produced
one-third of world opium production in 1998,
now down to only about 5 percent. The once
notorious region “can no longer be called
Golden Triangle on the reason of opium
production alone.”
There has clearly been a significant decline in
opium production in Southeast Asia over the
past decade in spite of a resurgence in Burma
(Myanmar) in the last two years. In this study,
we try to assess the causes and consequences,
and come to the conclusion that the region is
suffering a variety of ‘withdrawal symptoms’,
leaving little reason for optimism.
The rapid decline has caused major suffering
among former poppy growing communities
in Burma and Laos, making it difficult to
characterise developments as a ‘success story’.
Meanwhile, the market of amphetamine-type
stimulants (ATS) has increased rapidly and
higher heroin prices are leading to shifts in
consumer behaviour. While the total numbers
of opium and heroin users may be going
down, many have started to inject and others
have shifted to a cocktail of pharmaceutical
replacements, representing largely unknown
health risks.
Confronted with harsh domestic repression
and little support from the international
community, both farmers and users in the
region are struggling to find coping strategies
to deal with the rapid changes. Drug control
officials have presumed that reducing opium
production would automatically lead to a
reduction in drug consumption and drugrelated
problems. The reality in Southeast Asia
proves them wrong. Had quality treatment
services been in place, more drug users may
have chosen that option. In the absence of
adequate health care and within a highly
repressive law enforcement environment,
however, most are forced to find their own
‘solutions’. Harm reduction services are still
only accessible to a tiny proportion of those
who need them in the region, even though
most countries have now adopted the basic
principles in their policy framework. China,
especially, has started to significantly scale up
needle exchange and methadone programmes
to prevent a further spreading of blood-borne
infections. In 1998, the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting signed
the declaration for a Drug-Free ASEAN by
2020 and two years later even decided to bring
forward the target year to 2015. Countries
elaborated national plans to comply with
the deadline putting huge pressure on rural
communities to abandon poppy cultivation
and traditional opium use and on police to
arrest as many users and traders as possible.
This also led to the 2003 ‘war on drugs’ in
Thailand in which thousands of drug users
and small-scale traders were killed. The 2008
status report on progress achieved towards
making ASEAN and China drug-free, “identifies
an overall rising trend in the abuse of drugs”,
however, and acknowledges that “a target
of zero drugs for production, trafficking and
consumption of illicit drugs in the region by
2015 is obviously unattainable”.
This TNI publication makes extensive use of
the research carried out by our team of fifteen
researchers working in Burma, Thailand, Laos
and Yunnan province in China. Hundreds of
interviews were conducted with farmers, users
and traders. We cannot thank them enough
for their motivation and courage. Most prefer
to remain anonymous and continue their
research to detect new trends and help fill
gaps in knowledge that have become apparent
while writing this first report. A more detailed
publication incorporating their latest findings
is due at the end of this year. We intend to
discuss our outcomes with authorities, civil
society and researchers in the region with a
view to contributing to a better understanding
of the changes taking place in the regional
drugs market and to design more effective and
humane drug policy responses for the future. |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer, Martin Jelsma |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Institute (TNI) Debate Papers No. 16 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (688K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.idpc.net/publications/changes-in-southeast-asian-drugs-market |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Alles nur Show Business - Rangoons “Krieg gegen die Drogen†im Shan Staat |
| Date of publication: | | 22 June 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Die vorliegende Untersuchung entlarvt den angeblichen “Krieg gegen die Drogenâ€, den Burmas Militärregime im Shan Staat zu führen vorgibt, als eine reine Farce. Er liefert Beweise dafür, dass die Drogenindustrie vielmehr einen integralen Teil der Regimepolitik darstellt, um das Gebiet des Shan Staats ruhigzustellen und zu kontrollieren.
"Pseudo"-War against drugs in Shan-State; Neutralitaion of the Shan |
| Language: | | German, Deutsch |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Riders |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 August 2007 |
|
| Title: | | Hand in Glove - The Burma Army and the drug trade in Shan State |
| Date of publication: | | August 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | "...In a way, this report starts off from where our last report
"Show Business: Rangoon's War on Drugs in Shan State"
(2003) left off.
It describes the unimaginable extent of corruption in Burma, and the live-off-the-land policy
of Burmese military units that has forced local authorities to turn a blind eye to drug activities.
It also exposes how cultivation of opium poppies has increased, and gives insight into the
production and trade of methamphetamines, better known as yaba in Thailand and yama in
Shan State.
The major difference is that whereas "Show Business" focused mostly on opium and its
derivative heroin, Hand in Glove puts the spotlight more on yaba. It also highlights the
growing role of pro-Rangoon militia in the drug trade, as the regime has begun openly
favouring them over the ceasefire groups..."
1. Military collusion in the drug trade:
- Rain leaking from the roof;
- Military expansion and "self reliance"...
2. Opium trends:
- Poppy upsurge since 2004;
- Bumper 2005-2006 crop;
- Selective slashing;
- Opium output decreasing or increasing?...
3. Churning out the pills:
- Factories;
- The precursors;
- Brands...
4. Shipping out...
5. Militia on the rise:
- New faces...
6. Crackdown charades...
7. Drug use in Shan State:
- Rehabilitation efforts...
8. Conclusion...
Appendix:
Burma Army units reported to be involved in the drug trade. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.9MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/HandinGlove.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 August 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Yaa Baa: Production, Traffic and Consumption of Methamphetamine in mainland Southeast Asia |
| Date of publication: | | 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | This Google Book "Preview" presents snippets of the full text, including the Table of Contents and selected end-notes...
Book overview:
"This book's main contribution is that it is the first to deal with methamphetamines in Southeast Asia, the abuse of which is spreading rapidly, especially in Thailand. Until only about a decade ago, the drug, known in Thai as yaa maa (horse medicine), was used mainly by truck drivers and construction workers. But in the early 1990s, large-scale production of cheap methamphetamines (now known as yaa baa, or madness medicine) in Burma began."...addiction amphetamine amphetamine-type stimulants Army baht Bangkok Post become behaviour border Burma Burmese Cambodia cent Chiang children China Chinese Communist consumption country culture dealers Dovert drogues Drug Control drug trade drug trafficking du economic ecstasy effects Ephedra ephedrine et family Farmers Research Centre geopolitical Geopolitique Global Golden Triangle groups heroin Illegal Drugs illicit drug increase individuals International Interview jao pho junta Khun Koong la laboratories labourers Laos Laotian Les Mae mainland Southeast Asia market methamphetamine pills methamphetamine production military Narcotics Control Board Nualnoi Treerat number Office of Narcotics opium production parents Paris Phongpaichit police population prostitution province psychotropic region school Shan social students Study on Illegal substances tablets take Thai Farmers Research Thai society Thailande contemporaine United Nations urban users UWSA village wholesalers workers yaa baa consumers young Thais |
| Author/creator: | | Pierre-Arnoud Chouvy, Joel Meissonier |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | National University of Singapore |
| Format/size: | | pdf? |
| Date of entry/update: | | 19 July 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Yaa baa: Production, trafic et consommation de méthamphétamine en Asie du Sud-Est continentale. |
| Date of publication: | | October 2002 |
| Description/subject: | | A PARAITRE (Octobre 2002). Yaa baa, "le médicament qui rend fou". En Thaïlande le surnom de la méthamphétamine sonne comme un avertissement, mais il n'a pas dissuadé des centaines de milliers de Thaïlandais, jeunes pour la plupart, de s'y adonner avec plus ou moins de retenue. "Drogue de travail" ou "drogue de loisir", il s'agit d'un véritable phénomène de société qui n'est pas étranger aux évolutions économiques et aux mutations culturelles qu'à connu le royaume au cours de ces dernières décennies.
Ce livre s'efforce de donner des explications à un engouement qui touche également d'autres pays de la région. Il replace la consommation de méthamphétamine dans les logiques du narcotrafic dont les ressorts sont à rechercher aux marges orientales de la Birmanie, en plein cœur du Triangle d'Or." Table des Matieres et INtroduction. |
| Author/creator: | | Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy et Joël Meissonnier |
| Language: | | Francais, French |
| Source/publisher: | | IRASEC - L'Harmattan |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Yaa Baa Finding New Users |
| Date of publication: | | July 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | Methamphetamines, or yaa baa, as the latest scourge of Thai society is known locally, are claiming new victims amongst the country's huge Burmese refugee and migrant communities, according to numerous sources. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | War on Drugs, War on the Wa |
| Date of publication: | | April 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | In April, Thailand and Burma held a high-level meeting in Tachilek, where Burmese officials agreed to cooperate in fighting the flow of drugs into Thailand. But as it becomes increasingly apparent that Rangoon has no intention of delivering on its promise, Thailand may be looking to take matters into its own hands. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 4-5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | "Mad Pill" Takes Its Toll in Northern Shan State |
| Date of publication: | | August 1999 |
| Description/subject: | | A report on the situation of amphetamine abuse in Shan State along the northern borders with China, contributed by the Shan Herald Agency for News. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 7. No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
-
Burma: drug production and trafficking
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Burmese Daze |
| Date of publication: | | November 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | The decline of opium production in the Golden Triangle masks serious flaws in the effectiveness of drug eradication efforts in the region....
"...To prevent exacerbating the hardships already being suffered by rural communities and undermining the sustainability of achievements to date, drug-control policies should be development-oriented. They should take a longer-term perspective and concentrate on putting alternative livelihoods in place for opium farmers. It is vital that the international community does not abandon the Golden Triangle at this crucial time. Without such approaches, it is unlikely that the reduction in opium production will be sustainable..." |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 11 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Doing Wrong to Do Good - review of Tom Kramer's "The United Wa State Party: Narch-Army or Ethnic Nationalist Party?" |
| Date of publication: | | December 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | The ethnic Wa party says its nationalist agenda is not funded by the drug trade, but is that the real story? ..."The title of this book is somewhat misleading. It is not either/or: it is perfectly possible to be both. Fifteen years ago, observers argued whether Khun Sa’s Mong Tai Army was a narco-army or a basically political organization. It was also both..." |
| Author/creator: | | Bertil Lintner |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 15, No. 12 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 27 April 2008 |
|
| Title: | | The Chinese Connection: Cross-border Drug Trafficking between Myanmar and China |
| Date of publication: | | April 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary:
This report presents findings from a two-year field study of drug trafficking activities between Myanmar (formerly Burma) and China. Interviews were conducted with law enforcement officials, community contacts and informants, incarcerated drug traffickers, active street drug dealers, drug addicts, as well as with other researchers in the field. Observations were made both inside the Golden Triangle and the surrounding regions.
People of diverse backgrounds participate in the business of drug trafficking and distribution. Our data showed that most drug traffickers are poorly educated, with few employable skills or alternatives to make a living comparable to their aspirations. Drug traffickers in general do not belong to street gangs, organized crime groups, or terrorist organizations. Most are simply bold risk takers who work with family members, or form alliances with friends or other social contacts whom they come to trust. Drug trafficking operations are carefully planned with ingenious disguises and strategies to evade law enforcement activities. The business of drug trafficking, although dominated by groups of entrepreneurs, resembles a “learning†organism surprisingly adaptive to law enforcement interventions and market uncertainties. Traffickers continue to develop ingenious concealment and transportation schemes to stay ahead of the authorities. As a result, most drug seizures as reported by government news releases or the media are not the result of checkpoint stops or random inspections but of careful cultivation of intelligence from informants.
Trafficking is mainly considered a way to make money, although earnings vary tremendously according to the roles individuals play in trafficking operations. We do not believe that, based on our data, large criminal organizations or terrorist groups are systematically involved in the drug trafficking business. Nor did we find signs of turf wars or competition among trafficking groups or street dealers. Drug trafficking and street dealing in China as well as in most parts of Southeast Asia appear to remain entrepreneurial in nature and fragmented in practice.
Over the past few decades, drug trafficking between Myanmar and China has evolved in several directions. Shipments of drugs in large quantities have largely disappeared (or perhaps are better concealed) and most drugs are moved in small quantities by large numbers of individuals, or “mules,†who know little about the organizers behind the scene. Between drug manufacturers and end users are multiple and often overlapping layers of transportation and distribution networks, each involving only a few people. These groups of “mules†and their organizers work much like ants moving the contraband piece by piece successively from one location to another.
The vast majority of our subjects were involved in heroin transportation. Therefore, our observations and conclusions were mostly based on heroin traffickers, although there is no reason to believe that traffickers of other illicit drugs were much different organizationally and operationally.
Harsh punishment and the totalitarian political regimes appear to have hindered the development of large trafficking organizations in China and Myanmar. International pressure and China’s draconian anti-drug policy have also significantly reduced the scale of opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar, making any sustained supply of heroin in the future doubtful. By official and addicts’ accounts, heroin trafficking and use have been on a steady but slow decline for years. The street price of heroin has skyrocketed in the past decade or so in China and other parts of the Golden Triangle, making heroin the least affordable illicit substance on the market. This suggests that heroin supply has become scarce. However, the production of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) such as ice and ketamine has increased rapidly in recent years, suggesting changes in the makeup of the addict population as well as changing market demand in the Golden Triangle region. Countries in the Golden Triangle region have all reported widespread availability of ATS, with those made in Myanmar commanding the highest price.
Many factors may have contributed to the decline of heroin production and trafficking as well as the sharp rise of ATS in the region. The U.S. and other international involvement in the regional anti-narcotics efforts appear to have produced measurable impact in reducing opium poppy cultivation and heroin manufacturing. Findings from this study underscore the importance of continued collaboration and mutual assistance in international efforts. However, counter-narcotic efforts in the region in recent years have either stalled or been disrupted due to Myanmar’s political situation, despite the recent progress. The United States’ near total cessation of involvement in Myanmar’s anti-drug effort has not produced any intended political outcomes, but has served to diminish whatever influence the U.S. may have had from its past efforts. Continued financial as well as technical assistance through third country programs should be explored for the United States to remain engaged and monitor regional illicit drug manufacturing and distribution activities. Ample intelligence suggests that Southeast Asia is well on its way to become a major ATS supply source in the world. If one thinks the red-hot Asian economy has flooded North America with cheap consumer goods, wait till Asian drug manufacturers and traffickers show off their entrepreneurial prowess. It will happen in due time. |
| Author/creator: | | Ko-lin Chin, Sheldon X. Zhang |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The United States Department of Justice |
| Format/size: | | pdf (643K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 December 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Bizarre Night Bazaar |
| Date of publication: | | June 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Burma’s contraband trade flourishes in a floating market...
"Beyond prying eyes on shore, the dark waters of the Andaman Sea off the island-dotted coast of southeast Burma’s Mon State frequently host a bizarre night market. Scores of fishing vessels line up side by side, switch on their neon lights and begin buying and selling. The crews and vessel owners trade in everything from women to Mercedes Benz cars.
Most of the trade is coming into Burma illegally, but the most prized commodity is outgoing—drugs.
Despite claims by the junta that it is curbing opium and methamphetamine production, and an acknowledgement by the US State Department that poppy growing in Burma is today less than 20 percent of mid-1990s levels, Burmese drug manufacturing is still a multi-million dollar-a-year business. Burma remains the world’s second-largest opium producer, after Afghanistan, and last year processed about 380 tonnes, said a State Department report earlier this year..." |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Zaw |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No. 6 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 December 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Die Wa in Gefahr. Nach dem Opiumbann droht in der Special Region 2 eine humanitäre Katastrophe |
| Date of publication: | | 29 December 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | In den Grenzregionen des Shan State im Nordosten Burmas, die seit 1989 unter der Kontrolle der United Wa State Army (UWSA) ist, werden 65 Prozent des gesamten Opiums des Landes angebaut. Trotz der Bereitschaft der Landwirte konnten wegen minderwertiger Bodenbeschaffenheit und klimatischer Bedingungen bisher noch keine Erfolg versprechenden Alternativen zum Opiumanbau realisiert werden. Seit dem kompletten Bann im Jahre 2005 werden tiefgreifende humanitäre Konsequenzen für die Region in Form von Menschenhandel, Armut und mangelnder Sicherheit befürchtet.
keywords: ethnic minorities, Wa, Shan State, opium production, opium trafficking, resettlement |
| Author/creator: | | Michael Tröster |
| Language: | | Deutsch, German |
| Source/publisher: | | Asienhaus Focus Asien Nr. 26; S. 45-55 |
| Format/size: | | pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 20 March 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Trading Against Allah |
| Date of publication: | | February 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Koranic law proscribes using money earned from trading in drugs. But many Burmese Muslims in China can’t resist the benefits of joining in.
By Naw Seng/Ruili, China
Picture this: Two young Burmese Muslims are hanging out, wearing neat, bright clothes and American Ray-Ban sunglasses with golden hand chains. Near them is a Chinese-made chopper, and around them are bustling Chinese and Burmese Muslims stealthily unwrapping pieces of cloth to reveal their wares of jade. Are they jade traders, or Mafiosi?
At the corner of the market, a thirty-something Burmese Muslim named Bushi sits in his small store and sells seasonal fruits on the street. He was once like the traders, but last year he lost nearly all of his property. He has no friends and no money. "No one wants to talk to me," he says. "I have been Hkali." In Burmese Muslim usage, Hkali means zero or nil.
Bushi came to China thirteen years ago. For five years he had trafficked heroin, but he stopped after taking a big loss. Before last year, he was a respected leader of the Muslim community in Ruili, a Chinese town on the border with Burma. At that time he had dozens of aides and spent more than 5,000 yuan (US $600) per day in drug earnings. "I understand heroin kills people," he said. But then he had no choice. Now he does. "I don’t want that hell."..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 2 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 09 June 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Southeast Asian heroin smuggling methods: containerised cargo |
| Date of publication: | | September 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Drug Intelligence Brief.
"Southeast Asian (SEA) heroin traffickers have been operating and conducting drug activity in
Southeast Asia for centuries. Typically, these organizations control the cultivation and production
levels. They regulate prices, materials, and procedures, allowing for only a small degree of flexibility.
At the wholesale level, however, the trafficking process becomes fluid and diversified, and can involve any number of smuggling
groups and brokers. Brokers will often have close connections with a particular producer while also arranging transactions with
rival producers. Instead of maintaining continuing relationships with the same group every time, SEA heroin traffickers form
limited partnerships with different individuals or groups for the purpose of executing specific drug transactions. These
procedures ensure business flexibility as well as protection. One of many ways SEA heroin traffickers smuggle bulk quantities
of SEA heroin to international markets is by the use of commercial containerized cargo. Heroin processed in the Golden
Triangle (Burma, Laos, and Thailand) is smuggled overland to seaports in Burma, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam for
transshipment within containerized cargo through Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, and Korea. From these transit
countries in Southeast Asia, the heroin-laden containers are shipped to consumer markets in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States..." INACCESSIBLE, DECEMBER 2008 |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Opium Poppy Cultivation and Heroin Processing in Southeast Asia |
| Date of publication: | | March 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Contents: origin and history of the opium poppy, the opium poppy plant, Opium poppy growing areas, Field selection and land clearing, Land preparation and cultivation methods, opium harvesting methods, Cooking opium, Extraction of morphine from opium, Conversion of morphine to heroin base,
Conversion of heroin base to heroin No. 3, Conversion of heroin base to heroin No. 4. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Department of Justice. |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The price dynamics of Southeast Asian heroin |
| Date of publication: | | February 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Drug Intelligence Brief
Synopsis:
"This report provides an analysis of available data on opium and heroin prices in Mainland Southeast
Asia (Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam). The report is documented with detailed
descriptions of the general wholesale price structure of opium and heroin in Asia. While the heroin
market spans the globe, much of the Southeast Asian opium and heroin product is sold and
consumed within the region. Therefore, the focus in this report is on prices in Southeast Asia with
only limited reference made to United States prices. The data used to prepare this analysis are
drawn from numerous sources. Opium price data are derived from anecdotal reports provided by
confidential sources of the Thai police. Heroin price data are acquired from a variety of sources to
include law enforcement reporting, intelligence reports, and open sources of information. There are many factors impacting drug prices..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Intelligence Division, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the US Dept. of Justice |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Opium and Heroin Production in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 1996 |
| Description/subject: | | Based on Ronald Renard's "The Burma Connection" UNRISD 1996 |
| Author/creator: | | Ronald Renard |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Global Hangover Guide |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | THE BONDAGE OF OPIUM: THE AGONY OF THE WA PEOPLE - |
| Date of publication: | | 1993 |
| Description/subject: | | THE PROPOSAL:
"We, the leadership of the United WA State Party (UWSP) and the United WA State Army (UWSA) propose to anyone who might be interested, that we eradicate opium growing and stop the production of heroin in all the territory controlled by the WA. This we are willing to do. It can be done very quickly. I have full authority to speak for the United WA State Party and the United WA State Army which has ample power to carry out this proposal...
THE PLEA"
The plea is a necessary part of the proposal. We need food for our people while we develop substitute crops. Our people are already so poor that to take away opium production without giving them food would mean starvation. Beyond that, we need help of every appropriate kind to make the transition from an opium-based economy to a new agricultural economy..." |
| Author/creator: | | Ta Saw Lu |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Wa State Party (UWSP) Foreign Affairs Department |
| Format/size: | | html (42K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 July 2003 |
|
-
Cease-Fires With Drug Armies
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Whither the Wa? |
| Date of publication: | | October 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Statements of intent aren’t enough to make the UWSA respectable...
"This year’s international anti-drugs day was supposed to be a special occasion for the United Wa State Army, reputedly the world’s largest armed drug trafficking group. The shadowy outfit, said to control a sizeable portion of the Burmese sector of the Golden Triangle, was supposed to announce in front of some 200 diplomats, aid workers, journalists and anti-narcotics officials at its Panghsang headquarters on the Sino-Burmese border that the organization has officially kicked the habit.
Opium would from now on be prohibited in the UWSA-controlled region, officially known as Special Region 2. The UWSA planned to announce that this past season was the last opium harvest for the poor farmers who for generations had grown poppy because there was nothing much else they could cultivate in this mountainous region. Hundreds of invitations were sent out to various international agencies and VIPs, but there was one slight problem. The language wasn’t right.
The Burmese government didn’t have anything against the fact that the invitation cards were written in Chinese. What irked the generals in Rangoon was that the invitation for the event, which was supposed to coincide with the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26, explicitly stated that the host of this event was the “Government of the Wa State.†For the generals in Rangoon, there is only one government in Burma. And so they called off what was to be an historic event for the Wa and possibly a turning point in the history of Burma’s opium politics. The wording on the invitation cards was the UWSA’s way of telling the junta that Special Region 2—together with areas along the Thai border that they had taken from former drug warlord Khun Sa after they defeated his Mong Tai Army in 1996—was their turf..." |
| Author/creator: | | Don Pathan |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 10 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2006 |
|
-
Drug bans and poppy crop substitution
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Financing Dispossession - China’s Opium Substitution Programme in Northern Burma |
| Date of publication: | | February 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | "Northern Burma’s borderlands have undergone dramatic changes in the last two decades. Three main and
interconnected developments are simultaneously taking place in Shan State and Kachin State: (1) the increase
in opium cultivation in Burma since 2006 after a decade of steady decline; (2) the increase at about the same
time in Chinese agricultural investments in northern Burma under China’s opium substitution programme,
especially in rubber; and (3) the related increase in dispossession of local communities’ land and livelihoods
in Burma’s northern borderlands.
The vast majority of the opium and heroin on the Chinese market originates from northern Burma. Apart
from attempting to address domestic consumption problems, the Chinese government also has created a
poppy substitution development programme, and has been actively promoting Chinese companies to take
part, offering subsidies, tax waivers, and import quotas for Chinese companies. The main benefits of these
programmes do not go to (ex-)poppy growing communities, but to Chinese businessmen and local authorities,
and have further marginalised these communities.
Serious concerns arise regarding the long-term economic benefits and costs of agricultural development—
mostly rubber—for poor upland villagers. Economic benefits derived from rubber development are very
limited. Without access to capital and land to invest in rubber concessions, upland farmers practicing swidden
cultivation (many of whom are (ex-) poppy growers) are left with few alternatives but to try to get work as
wage labourers on the agricultural concessions.
Land tenure and other related resource management issues are vital ingredients for local communities to
build licit and sustainable livelihoods. Investment-induced land dispossession has wide implications for drug
production and trade, as well as border stability. Investments related to opium substitution should be carried
out in a more sustainable, transparent, accountable and equitable fashion. Customary land rights and institutions
should be respected. Chinese investors should use a smallholder plantation model instead of confiscating
farmers land as a concession. Labourers from the local population should be hired rather than outside
migrants in order to funnel economic benefits into nearby communities.
China’s opium crop substitution programme has very little to do with providing mechanisms to decrease
reliance on poppy cultivation or provide alternative livelihoods for ex-poppy growers. Chinese authorities
need to reconsider their regional development strategies of implementation in order to avoid further border
conflict and growing antagonism from Burmese society. Financing dispossession is not development." |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer & Kevin Woods |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Institute (TNI) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (2.7MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/tni-financingdispossesion-web.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 February 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Alternative Development or Business as Usual? China’s Opium Substitution Policy in Burma and Laos |
| Date of publication: | | November 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Conclusions & Recommendations:
• The huge increase in Chinese agricultural
concessions in Burma and Laos is driven by
China’s opium crop substitution programme,
offering subsidies and tax waivers
for Chinese companies.
• China’s focus is on integrating the local
economy of the border regions of Burma and
Laos into the regional market through bilateral
relations with government and military
authorities across the border.
• In Burma large-scale rubber concessions is
the only method operating. Initially informal
smallholder arrangements were the dominant
form of cultivation in Laos, but the topdown
coercive model is gaining prevalence.
• The poorest of the poor, including many
(ex-) poppy farmers, benefit least from these
investments. They are losing access to land
and forest, being forcibly relocated to the
lowlands, left with few viable options for
survival.
• New forms of conflict are arising from
Chinese large-scale investments abroad. Related
land dispossession has wide implications
on drug production and trade, as well
as border stability.
• Investments related to opium substitution
plans should be carried out in a more sustainable,
transparent, accountable and equitable
fashion with a community-based approach.
They should respect traditional land
rights and communities’ customs. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational InstituteDrug (Policy Briefing No. 33) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (304K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.tni.org/node/595/by-country/Burma |
| Date of entry/update: | | 15 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | From Golden Triangle to Rubber Belt ? - The Future of Opium Bans in the Kokang and Wa Regions |
| Date of publication: | | July 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "In the Kokang and Wa regions in northern Burma opium bans have ended over a century of poppy cultivation. The bans have had dramatic consequences for local communities. They depended on opium as a cash crop, to buy food, clothing, and medicines. The bans have driven poppy-growing communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security. Very few alternatives are being offered to households for their survival...
Conclusions & Recommendations:
• The opium bans have driven communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security and access to health care and education. • The Kokang and Wa authorities have promoted Chinese investment in mono-plantations, especially in rubber. These projects are unsustainable and do not significantly profit the population. • Ex-poppy farmers mainly rely on casual labour and collecting Non-Timber Forest Products as alternative source of income. • Current interventions by international NGOs and UN agencies are still limited in scale and can best be described as “emer-gency responses”. • If the many challenges to achieving viable legal livelihoods in the Kokang and Wa regions are not addressed, the reductions in opium cultivation are unlikely to be sustainable.
The Kokang and Wa cease-fire groups have implemented these bans following international pressure, especially from neighbouring China. In return, they hope to gain international political recognition and aid to develop their impoverished and war-torn regions. The Kokang and Wa authorities have been unable to provide alternative sources of income for ex-poppy farmers. Instead they have promoted Chinese invest-ment in monoplantations, especially in rubber. These projects have created many undesired effects and do not significantly profit the population.
The Burmese military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has also been unwilling and unable to provide assistance. The international community has provided emergency aid through inter-national NGOs and UN agencies. However, current levels of support are insufficient, and need to be upgraded in order to provide sustainable alternatives for the population. The international community should not abandon former opium-growing communities in the Kokang and Wa regions at this critical time..." |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Insititute (Drug Policy Briefing Nr 29) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (217K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.tni.org/briefing/golden-triangle-rubber-belt
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/Golden_Triangle_to_Rubber_Belt.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Country Studies on Mainstreaming Drug Control: Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | 22 September 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive summary:-
Key Findings:
1. Trends. There are credible reports that poppy cultivation, and production, has
rapidly declined over the last 8 years. From 2006 – 2007 there has been an
increase in poppy production. South and East Shan State are the main
producers...
2. Policy coherence. Drug Control (DC) policy is largely incoherent in Myanmar.
This has had dire humanitarian consequences on its population...
3. Controversies. There are many examples of controversies surrounding DC in
Myanmar. There are considerable tensions between DC targets achieved through
compressed and time-bound poppy bans and development objectives...
4. Experiences with mainstreaming. The Kokang and Wa Initiative (KOWI)
represents an effort to bring coherence and coordination to multi-sectoral
integrated programming in a poppy-growing area. It is evolving into an
organisation that could support mainstreaming in a strategic manner.
Mainstreaming is happening in a promising, albeit embryonic fashion, from the
demand-side. There has been an encouraging expansion of Harm Reduction
(HR) programs in the last few years. Mainstreaming is perhaps best exemplified
by a contemporary shift from HR to a ‘Drugs and Society’ approach...
5. ‘Mainstreaming without a stream’. Government of the Union of Myanmar (GOUM)
expenditure on social sector spending is amongst the lowest in the world.
Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) in Myanmar is very limited. It is
problematic, perhaps impossible, to mainstream in a meaningful fashion without
social sectors to mainstream through:
6. Dedicated funding. Allocations of funding to supply-side. initiatives are miniscule.
Allocations to HR and Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) are more generous but
radically inadequate to deal with the scale and magnitude of needs.....
Key Recommendations:
1. ODA. Increase ODA for social development sectors with great urgency. This will
avert a humanitarian crisis. In addition, increased financing for social
development sectors provides programs through which drugs mainstreaming can
be achieved...
2. ODA allocated to DC and development. Allocate ODA to DC measures. In
contemporary Myanmar DC, from the supply-side, is receiving radically
inadequate funding allocations...
3. A multi-sectoral, multi-institutional partnership should be established in South and
East Shan State where there are upward poppy cultivation/production trends. Its
goal would be similar to KOWI’s in Wa and Kokang...
4. There should be a move away from the politicisation of DC. Efforts should be
made to ensure that DC is more humane, evidence based and depoliticised...
5. The ‘Drugs and Society’ approach should be supported and funded. |
| Author/creator: | | Marc THEUSS |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (185K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 14 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Access Denied |
| Date of publication: | | April 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | "Thai opium crop substitution program in Burma hits problems...
A Thai project under royal patronage to wean farmers in Burma's Shan State away from opium production is encountering problems because of political changes in Rangoon.
Since the fall of prime minister and military intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt, staff of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation in northern Thailand have been denied direct access to the project, known as Doi Tung 2, established at Yong Kha in southeastern Shan State. Project staff say the four-year-old crop substitution project is still functioning, but with local supervision..." |
| Author/creator: | | Michael Black and Roland Fields |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 14, No. 4 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 28 December 2006 |
|
| Title: | | A Downward Spiral |
| Date of publication: | | October 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Proposed opium bans could spark a humanitarian crisis in Burma's drug-rich north...
"United Wa State Army chairman Bao Yuxiang said on June 24, after proclaiming Special Region 2 a �drugs source free zone"How are the farmers going to survive after the poppy ban? This is the big question that every level of local authorities encounters."The lives of the people will become more difficult, and we do expect the international community will give us more assistance to let the people be able to overcome the difficulties and achieve the historical commitment."
The Wa and Kokang regions in northern Shan State have traditionally been the major opium-producing areas in Burma, but this could change. The UWSA has declared the areas under their control opium free as of June 26, 2005. In the Kokang region an opium ban has been in effect since 2003, while the Mong La region in eastern Shan State has had a similar ban since 1997.
The implementation of these opium bans in one of the world's largest opium-producing areas may sound promising to international anti-narcotics officials, but for the opium farmers living there it could spell disaster..." |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer (TNI) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 10 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Downward Spiral: Banning Opium in Afghanistan and Burma |
| Date of publication: | | June 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "...Opium farmers in Afghanistan and Burma are
coming under huge pressure as local authorities
implement bans on the cultivation of poppy.
Banning opium has an immediate and profound
impact on the livelihoods of more than 4 million
people.These bans are a response to pressure
from the international community. Afghan and
Burmese authorities alike are urging the
international community to accompany their
pressure with substantial aid.
For political reasons, levels of humanitarian
and alternative development aid are very
different between the two countries. The
international community has pledged several
hundred millions for rural development in
poppy growing regions in Afghanistan. In sharp
contrast, pledged support that could soften the
crisis in poppy regions in Burma is less than $15
million, leaving an urgent shortfall.
Opium growing regions in both countries will
enter a downward spiral of poverty because of
the ban.The reversed sequencing of first forcing
farmers out of poppy cultivation before
ensuring other income opportunities is a grave
mistake.Aggressive drug control efforts against
farmers and small-scale opium traders, and
forced eradication operations in particular, also
have a negative impact on prospects for peace
and democracy in both countries.
In neither Afghanistan nor Burma have farmers
had any say at all in these policies from which
they stand to suffer most. It is vital that local
communities and organisations that represent
them are given a voice in the decision-making
process that has such a tremendous impact on
their livelihoods..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Institute (TNI) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (340.59 K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | REPLACING OPIUM IN KOKANG AND WA SPECIAL REGIONS, Shan State, Myanmar |
| Date of publication: | | 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | "In March 2003, a joint assessment team comprising international NGOs and UN
agencies operating in Myanmar traveled to the Kokang and Wa Special Regions in
north-eastern Shan State. Their purpose was to assess the humanitarian impact of the
opium ban in the Kokang region, and the potential impact of a similar ban due to go
into effect in the Wa region in June 2005.
The following is the report submitted by this team after their mission. It is unedited
and unabridged. Maps used in the report have been removed to reduce the file size.
They are available from the UNODC Myanmar Office upon request." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Joint Kokang-Wa Humanitarian Needs Assessment Team |
| Format/size: | | pdf (83K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 November 2005 |
|
-
Drug rehabilitation programmes
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Smacking of Irony |
| Date of publication: | | January 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "It used to be home to the Golden Triangle’s most infamous drug lord, now it’s a place where addicts come to kick the habit. As northern Thai mountain towns go, Baan Thoed Thai is thriving—the legacy of piles of cash made from the heroin trade not so long ago..." |
| Author/creator: | | Shawn L. Nance |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 12, No. 1 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 April 2008 |
|
-
Drugs and money laundering
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Drugs, Generals and Neighbors |
| Date of publication: | | June 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | Drug production, once the domain of insurgents fighting against Rangoon, has become the cornerstone of the mainstream economy. Burma's reputation as a major drug producer is well earned, despite the ruling junta's insistence that it is doing everything in its powers to combat the trade in narcotics. Aung Zaw finds out from drug-industry insiders how the business flourishes under military rule, and examines its impact on relations with Burma's neighbors. |
| Author/creator: | | Aung Zaw |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol 9. No. 5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | How Junta Protects Mr Heroin |
| Date of publication: | | 08 April 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | John Sweeney in Rangoon uncovers the links between Burma's drug barons and a repressive regime that likes to trumpet to the world its tough anti-drugs policy |
| Author/creator: | | John Sweeney |
| Source/publisher: | | The Observer |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Above it all |
| Date of publication: | | February 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burmese banks are thriving, even as the country’s economy suffers its worst slump in years.
Their secret, say businessmen in the know, is the nexus of generals and drug lords..." |
| Author/creator: | | Maung Maung Oo |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 9, No. 2 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Betting on the Border |
| Date of publication: | | September 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | "The popularity of cross-border casinos is proving to be problematic for the Thai Government, which is having enough trouble controlling the local gambling industry. |
| Author/creator: | | Helen Anderson & Pat Brown/Chaeng Saen, Poipet |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 9 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Labor Practices Draw Fresh Fire |
| Date of publication: | | July 2000 |
| Description/subject: | | A month after the United Nations' International Labor Organization issued an ultimatum to Burma's ruling junta to end its use of forced labor within five months or face expulsion, the country's dismal labor record has come under renewed scrutiny on other fronts. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy", Vol. 8. No. 7 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
-
Drugs by State and Division
-
Shan Drug Watch Newsletter
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Shan Drug Watch Newsletter, Issue 5, June 2012 |
| Date of publication: | | 26 June 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | Political settlement: A win-win solution for all...
2011-12 opium season: More output...
More poppy destroyed, more grown...
Mekong godfather run down ...
Burma Army makes record seizure but owner gets away...
Chemists displaced by war moving east...
Drug use unstoppable in Shan State North...
SSA: Cooperation from Burma Army essential against drugs...
Drug production and abuse come together...
Book Review: The Hunt for Khun Sa |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.49MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 July 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Shan Drug Watch Newsletter, Issue 4, October 2011 |
| Date of publication: | | October 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Message to the Reader...
Countdown to 2014...
Results of SDW opium survey: 2010-2011 season...
2010-2011: The best output in 3 years ...
Poppy fields return to the north ...
How to deal in drugs without fear ...
Naw Kham: Who is he serving? ...
Druglords in Parliament ...
Restless neighbors ...
Loan wolves ...
Crop substitution for whom? ...
Rising drug use ...
How drugs are taken ...
Taking action against offenders |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.85MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 July 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Shan Drug Watch Newsletter Issue 3, October 2010 |
| Date of publication: | | October 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Contents: Message from the Editor;
Acreage up, output down;
Junta’s drug elimination plan way behind schedule;
Results of S.H.A.N.’s survey of opium cultivation during the 2009-2010 season;
Burma Army “draws pay from the hills”;
Drug-free Burma by 2014?;
Lower opium prices despite poor harvest;
Junta militias stepping into the Wa vacuum;
Poor addicts face jail, rich go free;
Wa still the whipping boy of the Triangle;
Rise of the new “politically correct” drug bosses;
Yaba flooding Shan State;
Crop substitution for whom?
Drug smugglers using ever new tricks |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.27MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.english.panglong.org/images/stories/independence/Shan-Drug-Watch-2010.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 October 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Shan Drug Watch Newsletter Issue 2, June 2009 |
| Date of publication: | | June 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | Contents:
Ten Years After (S.H.A.N evaluates the first decade of the 15-year drug eradication policy undertaken by
Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council in 1999)...
Evaluating SPDC’s 15-year master drug elimination plan (After ten years, according to S.H.A.N research, the regime has failed to eradicate opium in
29 of the 51 targeted townships)...
Update for 2007-2008 (S.H.A.N summarizes developments in Burma’s drug trade from June 26, 2007 to June 26,
2008 so as to provide an update to our 2007 Drug Watch newsletter)...
Wa vow to hang on ("According to a Shan Drug
Watch interview on 18 April,
2009, the Wa are finding it
increasingly difficult to return
to poppy cultivation...")...
Want to pluck the moon? Try glue sniffing ("Glue sniffing has been becoming
a new phenomenon
among youth in Shan State
replacing other drugs, according
to several sources...")...
Generals’ offspring involved in drug scandal ...
Naw Kham - Back in action ("On 18 February 2009, a Chinese
cargo ship on the
Mekong was shot up and one
of its crew members killed
and at least three others
wounded: The blame was
placed on Naw Kham, 48, a
former Mong Tai Army (MTA)
officer, who has been running
a protection racket in the
Golden Triangle, where
Burma, Laos and Thailand
meet. Until 2007, the Burmese side
of the Triangle was an operational
area of the anti-
Naypyitaw Shan State Army
(SSA) “South”. But during the
year, the SSA was chased
out by the Burma Army. The
resultant vacuum was filled
up by Naw Kham, who had
become a pro-junta militia
chief, and later went underground
in 2006...") |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.6MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.english.panglong.org/images/stories/reports/shan-drug-watch-2009.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 June 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Shan Drug Watch Newsletter Issue 1, June 2007 |
| Date of publication: | | June 2007 |
| Description/subject: | | Wa sacrifice at what price?
Two years on, the opium ban in the Wa region is causing
growing social problems...
Smell of drug trade lingers in Panghsang:
Millions of pills continue to be traded behind closed doors in the
Wa capital...
Burma Army members increasingly turning to poppygrowing:
Cash-strapped Burmese soldiers are now not only taxing but
also growing opium...
Opium ban drives Wa into drug fugitive
Wei's hands:
Facing financial difficulty after the opium ban, Wa leaders have
resorted to appointing druglord Wei Hsuehkang in charge of
trade in the Wa area...
Druglord given public land:
Wei Hsuehkang has been presented 2,000 acres of land seized
from local farmers by the junta...
Flying the Burmese flag to sell drugs:
A pro-junta militia on the China-Burma border is openly selling
drugs to Chinese customers...
The politics of drug eradication in Shan State:
A map showing political divisions in northern Shan State gives
the lie to UNODC claims that areas under Burma Army control
are mostly poppy-free...
Really poppy-free?
A random survey by SHAN finds ongoing poppy-growing in
northern Shan townships designated as "poppy-free" by
UNODC...
More opium output in the north:
Opium output has increased in areas of northern Shan State
controlled by the Burma Army and its allies...
Druglord appointed Namkham USDA leader:
Notorious Chinese druglord Pansay Kyaw Myint is rewarded for
his loyalty to SPDC leaders...
A model of SPDC drug eradication?
Photos of Special Region # 4 in E Shan State reveal the
continuing gulf between rich and poor despite being proclaimed
a successful drug eradication area by SPDC...
Poppy areas swell in Shan State deep south:
Opium growing areas have swelled by 50% in Hsihseng,
Mawkmai and Faikhun townships during the past season. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (627K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.english.panglong.org/images/stories/independence/shan-drug-watch-2007.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 June 2007 |
|
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Drugs: domestic consumption - Burma/Myanmar
Individual Documents
| Title: | | MYANMAR: Producing drugs for the region, fuelling addiction at home |
| Date of publication: | | 25 June 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | "...In the 1990s, Min Thura regularly shared needles with other drug users in Mandalay.
"About 50 drug users were queuing up and giving their arms to inject heroin with only one needle. Many of my friends with whom I shared needles to inject drugs have already died," said Min Thura, who has been clean for four years.
Now, he said, there is more awareness about HIV and clean needles..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.irinnews.org/PrintReport.aspx?ReportId=89622 |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Withdrawal Symptoms |
| Date of publication: | | November 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | The days of the opium pipe are passing. Nowadays, more Burmese drug users are injecting heroin—while youngsters opt for methamphetamines |
| Author/creator: | | Martin Jelsma |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 11 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 16 November 2008 |
|
| Title: | | Burnt Dreams |
| Date of publication: | | September 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | "Burma’s drug traffickers rake in cash from the ashes of destroyed narcotics...
RANGOON — PICTURES of seized illegal drugs being burnt by Burmese authorities make good publicity. But they don’t tell the full story.
More than 60 public ceremonies in which confiscated drugs are burnt have been held in Burma in the past two years, 20 of them in Rangoon. What the authorities fail to mention in the publicity surrounding the ceremonies, however, is that the drugs aren’t totally destroyed.
The charred remains of the burnt drugs are recovered and resold as joe kyan, meaning “burnt remnants.†A vial of ashes fetches 5,000 kyat (US $4.17), while a small block of charcoal sells for 3,000 kyat ($2.50).
“The charcoal and ashes of joe kyan are then ground into powder,†a market trader said. “Users mix this with cheroot tobacco and smoke it.â€..." |
| Author/creator: | | Kyi Wai |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 16, No. 9 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 13 November 2008 |
|
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The humanitarian impact of opium bans
Individual Documents
| Title: | | From Golden Triangle to Rubber Belt ? - The Future of Opium Bans in the Kokang and Wa Regions |
| Date of publication: | | July 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "In the Kokang and Wa regions in northern Burma opium bans have ended over a century of poppy cultivation. The bans have had dramatic consequences for local communities. They depended on opium as a cash crop, to buy food, clothing, and medicines. The bans have driven poppy-growing communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security. Very few alternatives are being offered to households for their survival...
Conclusions & Recommendations:
• The opium bans have driven communities into chronic poverty and have adversely affected their food security and access to health care and education. • The Kokang and Wa authorities have promoted Chinese investment in mono-plantations, especially in rubber. These projects are unsustainable and do not significantly profit the population. • Ex-poppy farmers mainly rely on casual labour and collecting Non-Timber Forest Products as alternative source of income. • Current interventions by international NGOs and UN agencies are still limited in scale and can best be described as “emer-gency responses”. • If the many challenges to achieving viable legal livelihoods in the Kokang and Wa regions are not addressed, the reductions in opium cultivation are unlikely to be sustainable.
The Kokang and Wa cease-fire groups have implemented these bans following international pressure, especially from neighbouring China. In return, they hope to gain international political recognition and aid to develop their impoverished and war-torn regions. The Kokang and Wa authorities have been unable to provide alternative sources of income for ex-poppy farmers. Instead they have promoted Chinese invest-ment in monoplantations, especially in rubber. These projects have created many undesired effects and do not significantly profit the population.
The Burmese military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has also been unwilling and unable to provide assistance. The international community has provided emergency aid through inter-national NGOs and UN agencies. However, current levels of support are insufficient, and need to be upgraded in order to provide sustainable alternatives for the population. The international community should not abandon former opium-growing communities in the Kokang and Wa regions at this critical time..." |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Insititute (Drug Policy Briefing Nr 29) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (217K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.tni.org/briefing/golden-triangle-rubber-belt
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs07/Golden_Triangle_to_Rubber_Belt.pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Withdrawal Symptoms - Changes in the Southeast Asian drugs market |
| Date of publication: | | August 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | The Golden Triangle is closing a dramatic
period of opium reduction”, wrote UNODC
Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa in his
preface to the 2007 survey on Opium Poppy
Cultivation in South East Asia. “A decade long
process of drug control is clearly paying off.”
According to the survey, the region produced
one-third of world opium production in 1998,
now down to only about 5 percent. The once
notorious region “can no longer be called
Golden Triangle on the reason of opium
production alone.”
There has clearly been a significant decline in
opium production in Southeast Asia over the
past decade in spite of a resurgence in Burma
(Myanmar) in the last two years. In this study,
we try to assess the causes and consequences,
and come to the conclusion that the region is
suffering a variety of ‘withdrawal symptoms’,
leaving little reason for optimism.
The rapid decline has caused major suffering
among former poppy growing communities
in Burma and Laos, making it difficult to
characterise developments as a ‘success story’.
Meanwhile, the market of amphetamine-type
stimulants (ATS) has increased rapidly and
higher heroin prices are leading to shifts in
consumer behaviour. While the total numbers
of opium and heroin users may be going
down, many have started to inject and others
have shifted to a cocktail of pharmaceutical
replacements, representing largely unknown
health risks.
Confronted with harsh domestic repression
and little support from the international
community, both farmers and users in the
region are struggling to find coping strategies
to deal with the rapid changes. Drug control
officials have presumed that reducing opium
production would automatically lead to a
reduction in drug consumption and drugrelated
problems. The reality in Southeast Asia
proves them wrong. Had quality treatment
services been in place, more drug users may
have chosen that option. In the absence of
adequate health care and within a highly
repressive law enforcement environment,
however, most are forced to find their own
‘solutions’. Harm reduction services are still
only accessible to a tiny proportion of those
who need them in the region, even though
most countries have now adopted the basic
principles in their policy framework. China,
especially, has started to significantly scale up
needle exchange and methadone programmes
to prevent a further spreading of blood-borne
infections. In 1998, the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting signed
the declaration for a Drug-Free ASEAN by
2020 and two years later even decided to bring
forward the target year to 2015. Countries
elaborated national plans to comply with
the deadline putting huge pressure on rural
communities to abandon poppy cultivation
and traditional opium use and on police to
arrest as many users and traders as possible.
This also led to the 2003 ‘war on drugs’ in
Thailand in which thousands of drug users
and small-scale traders were killed. The 2008
status report on progress achieved towards
making ASEAN and China drug-free, “identifies
an overall rising trend in the abuse of drugs”,
however, and acknowledges that “a target
of zero drugs for production, trafficking and
consumption of illicit drugs in the region by
2015 is obviously unattainable”.
This TNI publication makes extensive use of
the research carried out by our team of fifteen
researchers working in Burma, Thailand, Laos
and Yunnan province in China. Hundreds of
interviews were conducted with farmers, users
and traders. We cannot thank them enough
for their motivation and courage. Most prefer
to remain anonymous and continue their
research to detect new trends and help fill
gaps in knowledge that have become apparent
while writing this first report. A more detailed
publication incorporating their latest findings
is due at the end of this year. We intend to
discuss our outcomes with authorities, civil
society and researchers in the region with a
view to contributing to a better understanding
of the changes taking place in the regional
drugs market and to design more effective and
humane drug policy responses for the future. |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer, Martin Jelsma |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Transnational Institute (TNI) Debate Papers No. 16 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (688K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.idpc.net/publications/changes-in-southeast-asian-drugs-market |
| Date of entry/update: | | 11 August 2010 |
|
| Title: | | A Downward Spiral |
| Date of publication: | | October 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | Proposed opium bans could spark a humanitarian crisis in Burma's drug-rich north...
"United Wa State Army chairman Bao Yuxiang said on June 24, after proclaiming Special Region 2 a �drugs source free zone"How are the farmers going to survive after the poppy ban? This is the big question that every level of local authorities encounters."The lives of the people will become more difficult, and we do expect the international community will give us more assistance to let the people be able to overcome the difficulties and achieve the historical commitment."
The Wa and Kokang regions in northern Shan State have traditionally been the major opium-producing areas in Burma, but this could change. The UWSA has declared the areas under their control opium free as of June 26, 2005. In the Kokang region an opium ban has been in effect since 2003, while the Mong La region in eastern Shan State has had a similar ban since 1997.
The implementation of these opium bans in one of the world's largest opium-producing areas may sound promising to international anti-narcotics officials, but for the opium farmers living there it could spell disaster..." |
| Author/creator: | | Tom Kramer (TNI) |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 13, No. 10 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 April 2006 |
|
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The human impact of drugs in Burma
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Woman raped and killed in Pa'an District, October 2012 |
| Date of publication: | | 11 December 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | "This report information was submitted to KHRG in November 2012 by a community member describing events occurring in Pa'an District, during October 2012. On October 14th, a 21-year-old M--- villager, named Naw W---, was killed after being raped by a 23-year-old man from P--- village, Saw N---. Saw N--- reportedly used amphetamines that were manufactured and distributed by Border Guard Battalion #1016. According to villagers in T'Nay Hsah Township, the drug has caused problems for local communities, which are looking for ways to control use and distribution." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (38K), html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.khrg.org/khrg2012/khrg12b85.html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 23 December 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Voices for Change: Domestic Violence and Gender Discrimination in the Palaung Area (Burmese) |
| Date of publication: | | 25 November 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: "This report documents how women in the Palaung area are affected by domestic violence and gender discrimination. Survey results collected by PWO show that almost all respondents had experienced or seen physical violence within families in their community, and that physical violence is occurring with alarming frequency, in many cases on an almost daily basis. PWO’s research shows that gender discrimination is widespread in the Palaung area, and that many people’s attitudes conform to traditional gender stereotypes which assume that women must fulfil the role of homemaker and accept sole responsibility for childcare duties. Since the 2010 election, Burma’s military-backed regime has failed to take any effective action to promote women’s rights and gender equality, or to uphold its commitments to CEDAW. Burma remains one of only two ASEAN countries lacking a specific law criminalising domestic violence, and PWO’s research has found that there are no government-led projects to raise awareness of domestic violence and women’s rights in the rural areas of northern Shan State, where the vast majority of the Palaung population live. The ‘new’ regime has yet to address the economic and social crises fuelling domestic violence in the Palaung area. The economic crisis afflicting the Palaung people as a direct result of the state’s monopoly of the tea industry, as well as the increase in opium cultivation and addiction in the Palaung area since the 2010 election have directly contributed to the problem of domestic violence, as males resort to physical violence as a means of expressing their anger and frustration with their situation. More than five decades of civil war have bred a culture of male domination, fear, and violence in Burma. Palaung people, especially males, have been socialised into this culture, and see violence as a necessary means of asserting their authority over their wives, in the same way as the state uses violence to assert its authority over Burma’s ethnic nationalities. The regime appears to have no intention of bringing an end to Burma’s culture of violence, and continues to wage war against ethnic rebels in northern Shan State. 5 Domestic violence has a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities. Apart from the obvious physical impact of domestic violence, women also suffer psychologically. Domestic violence threatens the stability of the family unit, often has a negative impact on children’s education, and acts as an obstacle to community development. Burma’s military-backed regime needs to recognise domestic violence and gender discrimination as obstacles to achieving a peaceful society in Burma, and to embark upon a program of genuine political reform which addresses the social and economic factors fuelling domestic violence and gender discrimination." |
| Language: | | Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization (PWO) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.91MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.palaungwomen.com |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 January 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Voices for Change: Domestic Violence and Gender Discrimination in the Palaung Area (English) |
| Date of publication: | | 25 November 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: "This report documents how women in the Palaung area are affected by
domestic violence and gender discrimination. Survey results collected by
PWO show that almost all respondents had experienced or seen physical
violence within families in their community, and that physical violence is
occurring with alarming frequency, in many cases on an almost daily basis.
PWO’s research shows that gender discrimination is widespread in the
Palaung area, and that many people’s attitudes conform to traditional gender
stereotypes which assume that women must fulfi l the role of homemaker
and accept sole responsibility for childcare duties.
Since the 2010 election, Burma’s military-backed regime has failed to take
any effective action to promote women’s rights and gender equality, or
to uphold its commitments to CEDAW. Burma remains one of only two
ASEAN countries lacking a specifi c law criminalising domestic violence,
and PWO’s’ research has found that there are no government-led projects to
raise awareness of domestic violence and women’s rights in the rural areas
of northern Shan State, where the vast majority of the Palaung population
live.
The ‘new’ regime has yet to address the economic and social crises fuelling
domestic violence in the Palaung area. The economic crisis affl icting the
Palaung people as a direct result of the state’s monopoly of the tea industry,
as well as the increase in opium cultivation and addiction in the Palaung area
since the 2010 election have directly contributed to the problem of domestic
violence, as males resort to physical violence as a means of expressing their
anger and frustration with their situation.
More than fi ve decades of civil war have bred a culture of male domination,
fear, and violence in Burma. Palaung people, especially males, have been
socialised into this culture, and see violence as a necessary means of asserting
their authority over their wives, in the same way as the state uses violence
to assert its authority over Burma’s ethnic nationalities. The regime appears
to have no intention of bringing an end to Burma’s culture of violence, and
continues to wage war against ethnic rebels in northern Shan State.
5
Domestic violence has a devastating impact on individuals, families and
communities. Apart from the obvious physical impact of domestic violence,
women also suffer psychologically. Domestic violence threatens the stability
of the family unit, often has a negative impact on children’s education, and
acts as an obstacle to community development.
Burma’s military-backed regime needs to recognise domestic violence
and gender discrimination as obstacles to achieving a peaceful society in
Burma, and to embark upon a program of genuine political reform which
addresses the social and economic factors fuelling domestic violence and
gender discrimination." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organisation |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.5MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.palaungwomen.com |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 January 2012 |
|
| Title: | | Still Poisoned - Opium cultivation soars in Palaung areas under Burma’s new regime (English, Burmese press release) |
| Date of publication: | | October 2011 |
| Description/subject: | | Summary:
"Almost one year after Burma’s long-awaited elections were held in November
2010, Palaung communities in northern Shan State are suffering from the
effects of an even greater upsurge in opium cultivation than in previous years.
Local paramilitary leaders, some now elected into Burma’s new parliament,
are being allowed to cultivate and profi t from drugs in return for helping the
regime suppress ethnic resistance forces in Burma’s escalating civil war. As a
result, drug addiction has escalated in the Palaung area, tearing apart families
and communities. Burma’s drug problems are set to worsen unless there is
genuine political reform that addresses the political aspirations of Burma’s
ethnic minority groups.
Research carried out by Palaung Women’s Organisation in Namkham
Township shows that:
􀂃 Opium cultivation across 15 villages in Namkham Township has increased
by a staggering 78.58% within two years.
􀂃 12 villages in the same area, which had not previously grown opium, have
started to grow opium since 2009.
􀂃 A signifi cant number of these villages are under the control of government
paramilitary “anti-insurgency” forces, which are directly profi ting from
the opium trade.
ô€‚ƒ The most prominent militia leader and druglord in the area, “Pansay”
Kyaw Myint, from the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development
Party, was elected as an MP for Namkham in November 2010; he promised
voters that they could grow opium freely for 5 years if they voted for him.
􀂃 Government troops, police and militia continue to openly tax opium
farmers, and to collect bribes from drug addicts in exchange for their
release from custody.
􀂃 Drug addiction in Palaung communities has spiralled out of control. In
one Palaung village, PWO found that 91% of males aged 15 and over were
addicted to drugs. Drug addiction is causing huge problems for families,
with women and children bearing the burden of increased poverty, crime
and violence." |
| Language: | | English, Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization (PWO) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (417K; Burmese press release 68K; English press release 85K)) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.palaungwomen.com
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs12/Still_Poisoned-PR(bu).pdf
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs12/Still_Poisoned-Press_Release(en).pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 October 2011 |
|
| Title: | | Poisoned Hills - Opium cultivation surges under government control in Burma (Burmese) |
| Date of publication: | | 26 January 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: Community assessments by the Palaung Women's Organisation during the past two years reveal that the amount of opium being cultivated in Burma's northern Shan State has been increasing dramatically. The amounts are far higher than reported in the annual opium surveys of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and are flourishing not in "insurgent and ceasefire areas," as claimed by the UN, but in areas controlled by Burma's military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Between 2007-2009, PWO conducted field surveys in Namkham and Mantong townships, and found that the total area of opium cultivated increased almost fivefold over three years from 964 hectares in the 2006-7 season to 4,545 hectares in the 2008-9 season. Namkham and Mantong are both fully under the control of the SPDC. The areas have an extensive security infrastructure including Burma Army battalions, police, and pro-government village militia. These militia are allowed to engage in illicit income-generating activities in exchange for policing against resistance activity, and are being expanded in the lead up to the regime's planned 2010 elections. Local authorities, in "anti-drug teams" formed by the police in each township, have been systematically extorting fees from villagers in exchange for allowing them to grow opium. During the 2007-8 season in Mantong township, at least 37 million kyat (US$37,000) in bribes in total were collected from 28 villages. PWO data shows that the "anti-drug teams" are leaving the majority of opium fields intact, and are filing false eradication data to the police headquarters. PWO found that only 11% of the poppy fields during the 2008-9 season had been destroyed, mostly only in easily visible places. The fact that authorities are profiting from drug production is enabling drug abuse to flourish. In one village surveyed in Mantong, it was found that that the percentage of men aged 15 and over addicted to opium increased from 57% in 2007 to 85% in 2009. Around the town of Namkham, heroin addicts flock openly to "drug camps," and dealers sell heroin and amphetamines from their houses. PWO's findings thus highlight the structural issues underlying the drug problem in Burma. The regime is pursuing a strategy of increased militarization in the ethnic states to crush ethnic resistance movements, instead of entering into political negotiations with them. For this, it needs an ever growing security apparatus, which in turn is subsidized by the drug trade. The regime's desire to maintain power at all costs is thus taking precedence over its stated aims of drug eradication. Unless the regime's militarization strategies are challenged, international funding will make little difference to the drug problem in Burma. A negotiated resolution of the political issues at the root of Burma's civil war is urgently needed to seriously address the drug scourge which is impacting the region..." |
| Language: | | Burmese |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization |
| Format/size: | | pdf (3.9MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/Poisoned_Hills-PWO.pdf (English) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 29 January 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Poisoned Hills - Opium cultivation surges under government control in Burma (English) |
| Date of publication: | | 26 January 2010 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: Community assessments by the Palaung Women's Organisation during the past two years reveal that the amount of opium being cultivated in Burma's northern Shan State has been increasing dramatically. The amounts are far higher than reported in the annual opium surveys of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and are flourishing not in "insurgent and ceasefire areas," as claimed by the UN, but in areas controlled by Burma's military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Between 2007-2009, PWO conducted field surveys in Namkham and Mantong townships, and found that the total area of opium cultivated increased almost fivefold over three years from 964 hectares in the 2006-7 season to 4,545 hectares in the 2008-9 season. Namkham and Mantong are both fully under the control of the SPDC. The areas have an extensive security infrastructure including Burma Army battalions, police, and pro-government village militia. These militia are allowed to engage in illicit income-generating activities in exchange for policing against resistance activity, and are being expanded in the lead up to the regime's planned 2010 elections. Local authorities, in "anti-drug teams" formed by the police in each township, have been systematically extorting fees from villagers in exchange for allowing them to grow opium. During the 2007-8 season in Mantong township, at least 37 million kyat (US$37,000) in bribes in total were collected from 28 villages. PWO data shows that the "anti-drug teams" are leaving the majority of opium fields intact, and are filing false eradication data to the police headquarters. PWO found that only 11% of the poppy fields during the 2008-9 season had been destroyed, mostly only in easily visible places. The fact that authorities are profiting from drug production is enabling drug abuse to flourish. In one village surveyed in Mantong, it was found that that the percentage of men aged 15 and over addicted to opium increased from 57% in 2007 to 85% in 2009. Around the town of Namkham, heroin addicts flock openly to "drug camps," and dealers sell heroin and amphetamines from their houses. PWO's findings thus highlight the structural issues underlying the drug problem in Burma. The regime is pursuing a strategy of increased militarization in the ethnic states to crush ethnic resistance movements, instead of entering into political negotiations with them. For this, it needs an ever growing security apparatus, which in turn is subsidized by the drug trade. The regime's desire to maintain power at all costs is thus taking precedence over its stated aims of drug eradication. Unless the regime's militarization strategies are challenged, international funding will make little difference to the drug problem in Burma. A negotiated resolution of the political issues at the root of Burma's civil war is urgently needed to seriously address the drug scourge which is impacting the region..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization |
| Format/size: | | pdf (3.38MB) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/Poisoned_Hills-PWO-bu-red.pdf (Burmese) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 January 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Poisoned Flowers: The Impacts of Spiraling Drug Addiction on Palaung Women in Burma, |
| Date of publication: | | 09 June 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | "'Poisoned Flowers: The Impacts of Spiraling Drug Addiction on Palaung
Women in Burma', based on interviews with eighty-eight wives and mothers of drug
addicts, shows how women in Palaung areas have become increasingly vulnerable due
to the rising addiction rates. Already living in dire poverty, with little access to
education or health care, wives of addicts must struggle single-handedly to support as
many as ten children.
Addicted husbands not only stop providing for their families, but also sell off property
and possessions, commit theft, and subject their wives and children to repeated verbal
and physical abuse. The report details cases of women losing eight out of eleven
children to disease and of daughters being trafficked by their addicted father.
The increased addiction rates have resulted from the regime allowing drug lords to
expand production into Palaung areas in recent years, in exchange for policing against
resistance activity and sharing drug profits. The collapse of markets for tea and other
crops has driven more and more farmers to turn to opium growing or to work as
labourers in opium fields, where wages are frequently paid in opium.
The report throws into question claims by the regime and the UNODC of a dramatic
reduction of opium production in Burma during the past decade, and calls on donor
countries and UN agencies supporting drug eradication programs in Burma to push
for genuine political reform..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Palaung Women's Organization |
| Format/size: | | pdf (632K), Word (360K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.womenofburma.org/Report/PoisonedFlowers.pdf
http://www.womenofburma.org/Report/PoisonedFlowers.doc |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 June 2006 |
|
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