Chinese Blood on Burmese Soil

By Tom Kramer
The Irrawaddy News

Peng Jiasheng is the Kokang leader whose residence was raided by government troops on August 8, setting off a regime offensive and leading to the loss of the Kokang region to junta troops. He was interviewed by The Irrawaddy on the reasons for the offensive, the role of China, the allegations of illegal drug trafficking, the borders guard force and the future of ethnic minorities in Burma.

Question: How would you describe the current situation in the Kokang region?

Answer: The incident on August 8 was the junta’s excuse. It wanted to do away with the local ethnic minority army a long time ago. A larger nationality wants to eliminate a smaller one. This is typical nationalistic chauvinism. This was a massacre.

Peng Jiasheng (Photo: Tom Kramer)

In order to avoid further harm to the Kokang people, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) retreated. This is not what we wanted and also it is not what the people in the international community who support our people would like to see.

Now the situation in Kokang is even more complicated. Currently, the situation is very bad.

The government troops took over the Kokang area for about 10 days, but there were many reported cases where their soldiers committed robbery, rape and killed civilians. Many people are still afraid to go back home. Most of the shops owned by Chinese businessmen were either destroyed or robbed. This is a calamity. The prosperous environment of Kokang of only a few months ago no longer exists. People are living in deep distress.

This conflict has brought great trauma to the Kokang people. The war will be long. It will be impossible to end soon.

Q: The ceasefire agreement you signed with the regime in 1989 has collapsed. What do you believe was the motive behind the offensive and the regime’s attempt to arrest you?

A: In March 1989, the Kokang people agreed to peace and development. In the same year, 17 other local ethnic armed forces also started peace talks with the junta. This brought to an end the large scale of armed conflict in the country.

The alliance army is also one of the legal ethnic armed forces that were recognized by the military government. Over the past 20 years of peace and development, the Kokang was the first group in the country to promise the international community that we would stop drug production. We enforced the ban on poppy cultivation in 2002 in our area. The anti-drug production effort and success were recognized by the UN and the international communities.

With help from the World Food Programme, the Chinese government and other international aid agencies, we implemented a lot of poppy substitution projects, mainly to grow sugar crane, tea, walnuts and other crops. We achieved very good progress in the poppy substitution.

Step by step, the people in our area began to work their way up from poverty. This can be seen by everybody. However, as the military government wants to achieve their goal of controlling the whole country, it felt it needed to take action against the peace and the ceasefire groups.

Q: Soon after the government troops captured Laogai, the state-run-media repeatedly accused you of involvement in illegal arms factories and drugs. How do you respond to those allegations?

A: Burma is still a country without a real government. The army cannot represent the government. After the election in 1990, the junta usurped power in the country. Ever since then, there has been no proper government in our country. The international community has never officially acknowledged them as the government. Burma is currently a country managed by a temporary council that was set up by the junta. It was called the State Law and Order Restoration Council and was later changed to the State Peace and Development Council. The government army is also an ethnic armed force, so it can not represent this country.

In 1989, for the sake of the peace and welfare of the country, the Kokang people took the initiative to approach the junta-controlled council. This was to protect peace in the country, and to let the people live in peace. Over the past 20 years, we trusted the junta and have been respectful of them. Our political proposition is always the same: support the central government, take the road to peace and development, maintain nationality unification, guard national unity and strive for the autonomous rights of the Kokang people. We never wanted to separate from the country; we only wanted a recognized position for the Kokang people among all of Burma’s nationalities.

Q: How many people were killed in the latest conflict?

A: In this conflict, the Kokang people suffered great loss. We had 14 alliance army soldiers killed in battle, but what we do not know is the number of civilians killed. For example, some na?ve young people joined with the traitor Bai Suocheng and his army. In the battles, they were to be used by the government troops to fight against us. These young people refused because they were Kokang and could not kill their own people. The government troops took their weapons away and shot them with machine guns. On Aug. 27, 27 Kokang youth were killed together.

Q: Why did the junta decide to single out your group? Was there any reason other than the regime’s allegation of your involvement in opium and illegal drugs?

A: A lot of things happened over the past month that we never thought could happen. The Kokang alliance army is one of the legal armed forces in the country. All our weapons are old and the ammunition is left over from the days of the Burmese Communist Party. Many of these weapons are in need of repair. It is reasonable to have a factory to repair weapons. This factory is well known by all the SPDC officials in Kokang. They have visited it before. But now they used it as an excuse to take action against us.

The motivation behind this is obvious. They want to eliminate the Kokang and other ethnic armed forces and achieve their goal of a junta-managed “unified” country. It goes without saying that the junta will not stop with the Kokang.

They will take the war to other groups with all kinds of excuses. If you want to condemn something, you can always find a charge. The government army is the strongest in the country. It can crack down on whichever ethnic groups it wishes. It can accuse any ceasefire group of drugs, or weapons…anything. The current situation on drugs, for example, in the four special regions in Shan State is that there is no poppy cultivation, according to investigations by the international agencies. However, in SPDC-controlled areas, there is more than 250,000 mu [Chinese land unit: 667 square meters] of poppy cultivation. This is the work of the junta, and this is how it behaves.

Q: Several ethnic ceasefire groups including the MNDAA rejected the junta's proposal for a Border Guard Force (BGF). Why did you reject the BGF plan?

A: We are not really against the idea of transferring the army to a BGF, but the terms and conditions were too rigorous. For example, all the officers above 50 would be forced to retire and find their own livelihood. The key leaders of the local government and the commanders of the army would also be appointed by the junta. These proposals are not acceptable to any of the ceasefire groups. It is also not acceptable to the local people. Our requirements were simple: we want to have a high level of national autonomy to protect the interests of the Kokang people.

Q: The Kokang and other ethnic groups are unhappy with the 2008 constitution. What do you see as its faults?

A: Regarding the constitution proposed by the junta in 2008, it is all about the power and interest of the junta. We do not believe that any rights and interests of the minorities are ensured in the constitution. How can we accept such a constitution that does not represent the people of the country? on the approval of this constitution, there are things that happened that few people know about. For example, in some of the Kokang villages, the junta sent people to vote in the referendum. The local people did not want to participate, so the junta officials themselves wrote [out] all the votes. There were villages where about 100 people voted No, but on their ballots it was reported that more than 3,000 people voted Yes. This is how it was approved.

Q: You merged with the CPB in the past and led the successful mutiny in 1989. You went to Beijing and you were closely associated with Chinese officials in the past. Today, China is the closest ally of the regime as well as a good friend of ethnic groups along the Sino-Burmese border. What was China's role in the recent conflict in the Kokang region?

A: During the Aug. 8 incident planned by the junta and the armed conflict afterwards, the Chinese government did not give us assistance. We could not talk to the Chinese government about protection and asylum. However, as the Kokang are in fact Chinese, when the refugees fled to China the local authorities took very good care of them. That we really appreciate.

Q: What is your message to Chinese leaders who plan to build a gas pipeline through the Kokang region?

A: What I want to say here is no matter what happens in Burma, we are ethnic Chinese and our roots are in China. This we will never forget. For the sake of the rights and position of the Chinese in Burma, we will continue our struggle.

Q: How do you see the future of Burma and the ethnic minorities?

A: Regarding the future of the ethnic minorities in Burma, this is a complicated issue. If Burma does not set up a democratic government that is elected by the people and therefore really represents the people, the future of the minorities in Burma will get worse.

Q: Did you receive any political backing or military support from other ethnic groups along the border? Are they united in their goals?

A: All the minority ceasefire groups along the China-Burma border areas have good relations with each other and have supported each other over a long period of time. Our fate and experiences are the same. But due to certain difficulties, our alliance is not as strong as it should be. Therefore the junta had its opportunity, and now the Kokang area is under junta control.

Q: Are you worried about losing your personal property and your businesses in Burma and China?

A: Currently, all my personal property has been confiscated by the junta. My property in China was also taken away by the relevant department of the Chinese government. This is a problem that I can not solve by worrying about it.

Q: Please describe the refugee situation. There were reports of government officials and soldiers attacking Chinese nationals? Was the recent attack designed to demonstrate that the government is not a puppet of China?

A: I think the reason why the junta attacked the Kokang is because of the following:

First, the junta wanted to develop better relationships with America, India and some Western authorities, in particular with America. In order to improve the relationship with America, the junta is eager to prove that the junta is not a puppet government supported by the Chinese government. That is why the junta chose the Kokang to fight against.

They also wanted to test the response of the Chinese government. The Kokang and the Chinese have a blood relationship. The Kokang people are basically Chinese; they are part of the Chinese family. The Chinese in Burma were not officially recognized by the Burmese and therefore for centuries they lived in a very low economic and social position. Only after the meeting in Ninakan in 1947, after the national government’s recognition, were the Chinese living in these areas called Kokang. But as a matter of fact, the Kokang people are Chinese. We are the descendants of the Yellow emperor. The anti-Chinese movement in 1967 in Burma feels like yesterday.

Even today, many Chinese living in Burma still do not dare to declare that they are Chinese. In 1989, when the Kokang Alliance Army was established, all the Chinese in Burma looked at the Chinese armed forces as the “lighthouse.” Now the ‘”lighthouse” has gone off.

The second reason I think is that the SPDC forces were already in Kokang for more than 10 years, and they understood the situation in Kokang, including the relationships among the Kokang leaders.

They therefore bought off the traitors Bai Suocheng and Wei Chaoren. This resulted in an internal split in Kokang before the war broke out. Bai Suocheng and Wei Chaoren betrayed their people and surrendered to the junta.

Now the junta has taken over the Kokang area, and it is clear about the response of the Chinese government. So their next step will be to reinforce the policy of cracking down on other minority groups along the border. The junta will act recklessly and become more unbridled.

Q: Where are you living now?

A: For many years, I worked in Kokang. I never had a chance to travel to the big cities in Burma. Now that I have more time, I am travelling in the big cities in Burma. I really feel that my country is beautiful, and it deserves a government that can represent the people by building and developing the country. I currently have no plans to go back to Kokang.

Burma Newscasts - Chinese Blood on Burmese Soil
Monday, September 14, 2009

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Junta issues tall order to eradicate poppy cultivation

Hseng Khio Fah

(SHANLAND) -Naypyidaw has issued a directive to destroy all poppy fields in the upcoming poppy 2009-2010 season, according to sources close to the official circle.

The order was passed by the Minister of Home Affairs in late June after seeing survey report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime that Burma still remains the world’s second largest source of opium poppy cultivation.

According to the UNODC figures, 68,446 acres of poppies were grown in Burma during the 2007-2008 season of which 11,948 were destroyed during the period. In the last poppy season (2008-2009), there were 70,423 acre of poppy fields and again only 9,607 acres were destroyed. (Up to 50% were destroyed by bad weather-Editor)

However, the directive had not taken into consideration the reliance placed by the local army and police units on the local populace, according to an official source in eastern Shan State. “If people are not allowed to grow, they will have nothing and the junta men will also go hungry,” he said.

The Lahu National Development Organization (LNDO) also said that poppy cultivation could increase in the coming season (2009-2010) as most poppy areas are under the control of the junta-backed militia units.“For one thing, the militia forces have to share opium tax with the local military units,” he said. “For another, local authorities are relying on the people to vote for the government party in the upcoming elections.”

President Barack Obama has said that the War on Drugs, launched by President Nixon in 1971, is an “utter failure.”

READ MORE---> Junta issues tall order to eradicate poppy cultivation...

Wa crashes, militia booms

S.H.A.N.

The growing tensions between the Burma Army and the ceasefire groups since April have practically put a stop to the United Wa State Army’s drug operations along the Thai-Burma border, according to an informed source from eastern Shan State.

“All those previously working with the Wa in Mongton, Monghsat and Tachilek (the three townships facing Maehongson, Chiangmai and Chiangrai) are either closing shop or moving up to the north,” he said.

The resulting vacuum is being filled up by the junta-backed militia forces that are being expanded, trained and armed by the Burma Army to be employed in the event of war with either the UWSA or Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’, or both. The best known among them are Punako and Kya Tey in Monghsat township and Nampong in Tachilek township.

Each of them is said to have one heroin factory in their respective areas assigned by the Burma Army. “Anyone who wants to grow poppies has to get himself/herself registered with the local militia,” he said. “And if any of them needs a starting capital, they will furnish it on condition that the loan will be repaid in kind. The crop is also not to be sold to outsiders except those authorized by the group concerned.”

The “king of kings” among them appears to be Punako, led by Ai Long, his younger brother Kyaderh and their brother-in-law Kya Ngoi. The group first came to the attention of the Thai media when its drug market cum transit point at Maejok, opposite Hmong Kaolang, Mae Fa Luang district, Chiangrai province, was overrun by the SSA ‘South” on 8 February 2002. (Saraburi Coal Mining, a company from Thailand that had won a local contract in Monghsat has been recently assigned by the Burma Army to build a road across the Maejok-Hmong Kaolang border)

Aside from producing and trading in drugs, the group is also running a protection racket for drugs coming from outside its territory. “Not unlike Naw Kham (who is running another racket in the Golden Triangle, between Burma, Laos and Thailand),” he remarked. “Also like Naw Kham, the group is also paying kickbacks to the junta commanders from the local up to the regional command.”

One of the trio, Kya Ngoi, is often seen playing golf with the Military Operations Command (MOC) #14 commander in Monghsat. “While the Burmese commander has only 4 armed bodyguards, he always comes to the golf course with around 10 bodyguards of his own,” he said, “leading to a joke that he must be senior to the MOC commander.”

The Wa, meanwhile, are not completely out of the game. “Their high quality heroin and yaba (methamphetamine) are coming to Thailand via the Mekong and Laos,” he maintained. “With ready cash, you’ll be able to buy any amount you wish to order.”

According to the official media, the regional command in Kengtung, 160 km north of Tachilek, put to the torch drugs worth K 20,177 million ($ 20 million) on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on 26 June. Much to the surprise of observers, no flippant statements against the ceasefire groups, all of whom are reportedly involved in the trade were issued by Naypyitaw.

President Barack Obama has called the War on Drugs, waged since 1971, an “utter failure”, according to Newsweek, 1 June 2009 issue.

READ MORE---> Wa crashes, militia booms...

Students mark World Anti-Drugs Day with 200 posters in Myitkyina

by KNG

Students marked the World Anti-Drugs Day of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) under the United Nations today with 200 hand-written posters in Myitkyina, the capital of Burma's northern Kachin State. They demanded that the military junta make Kachin State a drug free state, student activists said.

Burma is the world's second largest opium producing country, according to the UNODC.

A-4 size papers pasted by the students carried two slogans --- "Drug free zone" and "No elections 2010", said Shadang Tu Awng, who organized this morning’s movement.

Shadang Tu Awng said, the posters were pasted on roadside electric poles, walls in seven main quarters in Myitkyina--- Yuzana, May Myint, Shatapru, Myothit, Ayeyar, Tatkone (Dapkawng in Kachin) and Du Kahtawng (or Du Mare) including State High Schools in these quarters.

The posters were also put up on the walls in front of the Government Education College and Office of the Township Director of Education, added Tu Awng.

The idea of pasting posters was to highlight the students demand to the ruling junta to make Kachin State a drug free state, another student activist Shadang Naw Naw said.

Several Myitkyina University students took part in this morning’s poster movement in the town. It was organized by the All Kachin Students' Union (AKSU), an underground student organization based in Kachin State, said student activist Tu Awng.

Today the Thailand-based Kachin News Group (KNG) also released a first mini drug report on Kachin State titled "Authorities feed on heroin epidemic in Hpakant" (Read report here).

The report pointed out that the junta allows the rampant use of all kinds of drugs in Hpakant jade mining area in Kachin State where fortune seekers from the whole of Burma come. Most jade miners and workers of jade mining companies are into drugs.

The report also pointed out that Myitkyina University once known as the "Center of learning is now a heroin haven" because students have drugs freely inside in the campus. The Myitkyina-based MDM (Medicin Du Monde – France) has placed a 'Waste Bin' in the university toilet for intravenous drug users among students for discarding used syringes.

The junta's Northern Command or Kachin State Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win has promised that he will completely eradicate drugs in the state during his tenure. However, locals said drug users and distributors are having much more of a free run than during the tenure of his predecessor Maj-Gen Ohn Myint.

Residents of Manhkring quarter in Myitkyina said, they do not go to the nearby bank of the Irrawaddy River (Mali Hka in Kachin) and crop fields near the river because they are scared of hurting their feet on the abundance of syringes littered in these places.

At the moment, in the big prison in Zion (also pronounced Zee Lon) quarter in Myitkyina, most prisoners related to drug cases are Kachins. Some of the prisoners are being sent to the frontline as porters in the current war with the Karen National Union (KNU) near Thailand-Burma border, said prison sources.

READ MORE---> Students mark World Anti-Drugs Day with 200 posters in Myitkyina...

Germany has just approved heroin assisted treatment - should we?

by Croakey

Dr Alex Wodak, President of the Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation, reports on the implications of Germany’s recent decision to allow heroin assisted treatment:

Last week by a majority vote of 63%, the Bundestag decided to allow heroin assisted treatment to become available in Germany as a therapeutic option for severely dependent heroin users who had not benefited from any previous treatment.

At present, heroin assisted treatment is an option for treatment resistant patients in three countries (England, Switzerland and the Netherlands). Later this year, Denmark will start making heroin assisted treatment available after all nine political parties agreed in 2008 (without requiring additional research).

Randomised controlled trials of heroin assisted treatment have now been conducted in five countries (Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Canada). All had very favourable results which showed that this treatment is effective, safe and cost-effective.

In the trial in the Netherlands, 55% of patients receiving heroin assisted treatment showed at least 40 % improvement in at least one of the outcome domains (physical, mental or social) compared to 22% of patients receiving only methadone treatment. When heroin assisted treatment was withdrawn from therapeutic responders, 82% deteriorated substantially within two months. Spain decided not to permit heroin assisted treatment despite the favourable results of their trial. The trials in Canada have not yet been published but positive results have been presented at conferences. Randomised controlled trials of heroin prescription treatment are now underway in the United Kingdom and Belgium.

Heroin assisted treatment has been provided to 5% of the 20,000 heroin dependent individuals undergoing treatment in Switzerland at any time. That proportion has been very stable for some time. Although heroin assisted treatment is more expensive than methadone treatment, it is reserved for more severe cases where the full range of treatments have been tried but without success. Economic benefits are about twice the cost of this treatment.

In the United Kingdom, a confidential 2003 report commissioned by the Blair Cabinet (later leaked to the public), estimated that the highest offending 10% of heroin and crack users account for more than half the drug related crime committed in the country. There are very compelling arguments for far greater flexibility of treatment options to ensure that this most severely dependent group of drug users are attracted , retained and benefited by treatment. This would benefit these individuals, their families and the entire community.

Perhaps reflecting the growing international scientific evidence for heroin assisted treatment, community support for heroin trials in Australia jumped in the absence of any sustained advocacy from 26% in 2004 to 33% in 2007. Almost half the community supported heroin trials when Federal Cabinet blocked further scientific research on this treatment in August 1997 on the grounds that such research would ‘send the wrong message’.

Annual heroin overdose deaths peaked at 1,116 in 1999. The number of these deaths has declined since the commencement of the heroin shortage in Australia in late 2000 and has been less than 400 per year for several years.

However, there is increasing evidence that heroin availability is starting to increase in Australia. Heroin use and overdose deaths are certainly increasing in the USA. If heroin availability continues to increase in Australia, it is inevitable that the number of heroin overdose deaths will unfortunately also increase.

Sooner or later, discussion will inevitably turn once again to an Australian trial of heroin assisted treatment or, like Denmark, accepting that the evidence is strong enough after half a dozen major trials without the need for more research. Australia should also substantially expand methadone and buprenorphine treatment.

Afghanistan is now producing more than 90% of the world’s heroin. World production of heroin more than doubled in the last ten years. Virtually all the heroin reaching Australia comes from Burma (Myanmar) where production has been increasing again in the last few years. According to the theory of market balance, markets in glut usually eventually start supplying markets with scarcity. This suggests that there is always a risk that some of the stockpiles from production in Afghanistan may soon start heading our way.

This issue should be debated in Australia. Let’s hope that the next debate on this issue will be more rational, more based on evidence and more compassionate than the disgraceful ‘debate’ in 1997.

READ MORE---> Germany has just approved heroin assisted treatment - should we?...

Detained drug suspects released after paying millions - Naw Kham

By Hseng Khio Fah

Shanland - The chase launched on “Druglord” Naw Kham by the Burma Army following the shootings at a Chinese cargo ship on the Mekong on 18 February had resulted in the massive arrest of suspects including businessmen, but most of them were released after paying millions, according to reliable sources.

Over 20 people suspected of connection with Naw Kham who has been active in the Golden Triangle area, where Burma’s Shan State, Laos and Thailand meet, were detained by the Burma Army during the operation.

Among these were Ko Thiha, from Wan Hwe Waw Khoke, Kengphawng village tract, and Ko Maung Tint from Quarter #3 of Namkhet, Kengtung township, eastern Shan State.

Maung Tint was a former soldier in the Burma Army’s signal battalion. He has been reportedly dealing in drugs and arms together with Naw Kham with the help of local authorities in Tachilek since his retirement.

Naw Kham

“Almost all of the Naw Kham’s dealers know about of the relationship between the junta authorities and Naw Kham,” said a businessman who was also involved in the drug trade. “The area commanders and local authorities are receiving kickbacks from Naw Kham.”

Maung Tint was reported to have disclosed in detail of Naw Kham’s relationships with the authorities to the police during the interrogations.

Their disclosures had led to the police releasing them after paying Kyat 20 million (US$ 20,000) each, said the source.

To date, even though Naw Kham has been under “hot pursuit” by the Burmese forces since 18 February, he still remains free. In addition, his cross border drug dealings have also recovered.

Naw Kham, a former officer in the late Khun Sa’s Mong Tai Army (MTA), surrendered with his boss to become a militia leader in Tachilek in 1996. Ten years later, he went underground, following a raid that resulted in seizure of a large amount of arms and drugs.

READ MORE---> Detained drug suspects released after paying millions - Naw Kham...

Northern commander amasses wealth fleecing drug smugglers

The junta's new Northern Regional Command Commander Maj-Gen Soe Win promises people in Kachin State that he will eradicate drugs in the State. Photo: Kachin News

Maj-Gen Soe Win, the northern regional or Kachin State command commander of the Burmese ruling junta has amassed a huge amount of money by fleecing drug smugglers, said sources close to him.

In Kachin State, every northern regional command (Ma Pa Kha) commander has earned money from jade mines, gold mines, timber, illicit drugs, and giving out a variety of business permits. Now, however, the amount of income from illicit drugs has topped the list for northern commanders starting from former northern regional commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint to the present commander Maj-Gen Soe Win.

According to local Kachin businessmen, the northern regional commander is the most powerful man in the command. However they cannot make vast amounts of money from other business ventures in Kachin State except from illicit drug trade because other business ventures are directly under the control of Naypyidaw, the capital of the country.

Local reliable sources close to Maj-Gen Soe Win said, he has already received some 600 million kyats in cash which is equivalent US $ 606,061 each from two major drug smuggling gangs in the country as bribe. And the bribes are for permission from the commander Maj-Gen Soe Win to freely distribute different kinds of drugs in Kachin State.

The two drug smuggling syndicates trade in heroin, Yama or also called Methamphetamines and other kinds of drugs except opium from the Burma’s northeast Shan State bordering China to Hpakant jade mining city in Kachin State. This is one of the largest drug markets in the country, said local sources close to drug smugglers.

According to sources close to drug smugglers in Kachin State, heroin and Yama are mainly transported from Muse, the country’s largest border trade zone with China to Hpakant jade mining city along three main tracks such as Muse-Mandalay-Mogaung (Hopin during Summer)-Hpakant, Muse-Pyi Oo Lwin-Mogaung (Hopin during Summer) and Kambaiti-Myitkyina-Hpakant.

A Kachin businessman in Hpakant told KNG, “There are tens of thousands of jade miners from different areas in Burma in Hpakant jade mining areas and they all consume heroin or Yama or opium, daily. The illicit drugs are available everywhere in Hpakant and easy to get hold of. It is impossible to have an abundance of such drugs in Hpakant without the involvement of the local Burmese military from top to bottom.”

Local sources close to drug smugglers said, Kachin State has to import drugs from other areas because now there are “higher number of drug users and less local drugs.” The number of local farmers and businessmen in Kachin State turning to cultivating poppy in Hukawng (Hugawng) Valley, Sadon or also known as Sadung areas and Putao district is also on the rise.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) also said, poppy cultivations has increased in Burma’s Shan and Kachin States.

READ MORE---> Northern commander amasses wealth fleecing drug smugglers...

Drugs – junta’s short and straight road to Obama

By SHAN
Shan Herald Agency for News

Drugs-again-appear to be a key factor in the ruling military junta’s attempt to influence a change in the new US administration’s Burma policy in its favor.

The regime had already tried at least once during the first years of George W. Bush who came to office in 2001. Well-known DCI Associates was contracted to lobby for it. Violent crackdown on poppy cultivation in northern Shan State was launched. The campaign culminated in the visit to Washington by Brig-Gen (then Col) Kyaw Thein on 13 May 2002 to meet with the drug officials there.

However, feelings against the junta were high in the US capital, especially after the 20-June 2002 publication of License to Rape by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) and Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN), a scathing report on the regime’s use of sexual violence in the war against the armed opposition in Shan State. Which finally led to call it quits by Gen Khin Nyunt, the lobby’s mastermind.

Now, 7 years after, with the election of Barack Obama who has arrived amid the Hamburger crisis on the world’s stage with a vow for change, the leaders in Naypyitaw are dusting off their old lobbying strategy.

The first indication came with persistent directives to the commanders in Shan State for an all out war against poppy cultivation. They came at a time when earlier warnings by local army units, whose survival depends on the local people’s monetary and food contribution, to grow poppies “only on the nape (out of sight) and not on the forehead (in sight)” had largely become too routine to the point of being ignored by both the warners and warned.

Many fields in Southern Shan State grown within eyesight from the motor roads were thus struck down by the Army. “We have already paid our taxes for the season,” complained a farmer in Namzang, who was unaware of the orders from above. “Why are they doing this?”

Knowing the dilemma the local troops were facing, Naypyitaw even dispatched its own security units to the Shan-Kayah border to destroy several fields, reported border-based Karenni Anti-Drugs Action Committee (KADAC) in December.

Unfortunately for the farmers, though many more fields were spared by the local army columns, they were not by the gods who appeared to be in favor of the regime. According to sources from southern Shan State, a large number of fields were either washed away or sunk by the late monsoon downpours. Some of those that survived the rains were later stunted by intense frost bite.

Bu all accounts, only fields in eastern Shan State came through. “Little damage by the rains and frost,” said a pro-junta Lahu militia member in Mongton township opposite Chiangmai. “And by the time Burmese columns arrived to destroy the fields, most of them were already harvested.”

“The columns slashed down whatever that was left anyway,” he added.

Another indication came from Col Tin Maung Swe, area commander in Kunhing township, 140 miles east of Shan State capital Taunggyi, who told a meeting of government officials on 2 January that whether or not the 2010 elections would go according to plan depended on 4 factors.

* Disruptive actions by the opposition
* Continued tension with Bangladesh over territorial dispute
* Completion of national census
* Success of the drug eradication project vital in convincing the new administration in Washington

The latest haul in Rangoon on 25 January of 118kg of heroin stowed on a Singaporean flagged cargo ship involved increased cooperation not only with Chinese narcs but also with the United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), according the National League for Democracy’s Foreign Affairs Officer Nyo Ohn Myint. Not only that, he said, but a return to Washington of Lin Myaing, Burmese ambassador who was recalled following Khin Nyunt’s ouster in 2004, could be a strong indicator of the resumption of the drug lobby.

The real test of Naypyitaw’s seriousness of course would be its policy toward the United Wa State Army (UWSA), many leaders of whom are already on Washington’s blacklist.

Tension between the two sides have been on the upsurge since the termination of the nationwide referendum on the “Nargis Constitution” in May.

The group has been under heavy pressure to “exchange arms for peace,” an official euphemism for surrender, in contrast to the other main ceasefire group in Shan State, the Shan State Army (SSA) North. The latter has already been informed at least twice that talks on the “exchange arms for peace” issue will be reopened only after a new government has been installed.

Obviously, this is still a big gamble.

On 18 February, Washington, through its new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has already signaled possibility of a major shift in its Burma policy.

The question remains how Beijing will respond to it. In the meanwhile, the Opposition will be having its hands full trying to tackle with the rather uphill job for continued international support.

READ MORE---> Drugs – junta’s short and straight road to Obama...

Fight against drug menace with synergy

By Mizzima News

The apparently rising drug production is bad news and a menace not only for Burma, but the whole world. All organizations must tackle this problem with synergy.

The declining prices of crop substitutes, the domino effects of global financial crisis, the falling demand of these substitute crops in Chinese market severely affected the former poppy farmers compelling them to return to their poppy fields because of these irresistible factors.

Burma, the second largest drug producer in the world after Afghanistan, achieved some victories in drug its eradication programme in the past. The sown acreage of poppy was 120,000 hectares at the peak which declined to only one fourth of that amount in 2008. The poppy production also declined to just over 400 metric tons. After achieving all these successes, we are seeing the sign of returning to the previous situation.

A UN survey found that the poppy cultivation rising in eastern and northern Shan State, Kachin and Kayah States. Moreover the current political tension might turn to rearmament of 'United Wa State Army' (UWSA) which will encourage poppy growing in these UWSA controlled areas besides the rising production in ATS drugs such as 'Yaa baaa'.

In fact the drug problem is closely linked with politics in Burma. The military regime, which assumed power by killing peaceful demonstrators brutally in the 1988 nationwide uprising, survived because of drug money of drug kingpins and heavyweights, allowing them free investment and free money laundering. This drug money helped much in building and arming its growing army.

The pressure on Burma for drug eradication is being mounted only after this menace overshadowed not only the US and Europe, but also neighbouring countries, especially China.

The recent big haul of 118 kilograms of heroin from a ship owned by Chinese-Burmese hybrid businessman U Kyaw Sein after the vessel left Asia World port was the result of a tip off by Chinese drug enforcement agencies directly to Burmese Prime Minister's Office.

The port and drug authority recalled the ship to the jetty when it was anchoring at a buoy waiting for the rising tide. They found a lot of white, golden and brown poppy and narcotic drugs packed with newsprint, carbon paper and lead foil in the outermost layer, hidden in container carrying logs and wood conversions.

Two similar tip-offs in the past to Burmese drug enforcement agencies didn't work due to alleged non-cooperation by the Burmese side an evidence of the possible nexus between the authorities and drug gangs, and corruption in junta's administrative machinery.

Now we are witnessing the drug menace reemerging which will take the lives of many people again in Burma. Only the synergy efforts by regional countries can deter money laundering and ensuring the rule of law, an independent justice in the region.

READ MORE---> Fight against drug menace with synergy...

Burma’s Drugs Trade Unaffected by Global Slowdown

By YENI
The Irrawaddy News

A series of recent raids in Rangoon has again thrown the spotlight on the narcotics trade and the roles played by high profile businessmen and members of the Burmese military regime.

In one raid, two weeks ago, at least 28 kilograms of heroin were found in a container on the Singaporean-flagged ship Kota Tegap, which was docked at Rangoon's Asia World Port Terminal.

The terminal is owned by Tun Myint Naing, the son of former drug kingpin and militia leader Lo Hsing Han, whose name is on the US Treasury Department sanctions list. The container, which was bound for Singapore, is reportedly owned by the Myanmar Timber Enterprise, a government-owned business that is also on the US sanctions list.

Sources in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that in a subsequent sting operation, the anti-narcotics police force also discovered another large cache of heroin in FMI City, an upscale residential area in the city’s Hlaing Tharyar Township, and arrested Kyaw Kyaw Min, a crab exporter in Bogalay Township, Irrawaddy Division, for attempting to smuggle 32 kilograms of heroin out of the country aboard a container ship.

The police special intelligence department, known as the Special Branch, is now questioning the port employees, high-ranking government officials and prominent businessmen in connection with the case.

Unconfirmed reports said that the owner of Rangoon's popular club BME, a Kachin-Chinese businessman, known as Hsaio Haw, who has close links with leaders of the infamous United Wa State Army, is implicated, together with some family members of the Burmese ruling generals.

The case follows the leveling of charges against Maung Weik, one of the richest men in Burma and a powerful friend of the country’s ruling military elite, and his associate, Aung Zaw Ye Myint, son of the chief of the Bureau of Special Operations No. 1, Lt- Gen Ye Myint, for drug abuse and involvement in trafficking.

Burma uses the occasion of the annual International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking to announce drug seizure statistics and to expose offenders. But high-profile cases are never publicized.

At the governmental level, Burma emphasizes its engagement with such neighbors as China, India and Thailand in efforts to control drug trafficking, and its implementation of a 15-year plan (1999-2014) to totally eradicate poppy growing in three phases, each running for five years. (JEG's: but it is going unnoticed into Singapore's hub... so much for SP's honesty)

The drugs, however, continue to flow across Burma’s borders in all directions. Tough suppression campaigns by neighboring countries such as Thailand and China have led to drug traffickers turning increasingly to maritime routes to smuggle drugs out of Burma.

According to a report by Washington-based Radio Free Asia, Interpol in Singapore asked the Burmese police to seize the Singapore-flagged ship at the Asia World Port Terminal. Without the intervention of Interpol, it’s unlikely that the authorities would deal effectively with the problem.

At a news conference last year, the US Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement, David Johnson, charged that the military government has done little to deal with what has become Asia’s largest illegal drug industry.

“Their efforts to reduce demand, interdict drug shipments and combat corruption and money laundering continue to be lackluster,” he said.

In their book "Merchants of Madness," Bertil Lintner, one of the most-respected analysts of Burma's drugs trade, and Michael Black, a security writer with Jane's Intelligence Review, have also noted that Burma's production of illicit drugs such as methamphetamines and heroin could not proceed without at least the involvement, if not active participation, of the Burmese military rulers.

It’s a bitter irony—while Burma’s exports such as rice, teak, beans, rubber and palm oil have obviously suffered from the falloff in trade due to the global economic slowdown, the demand for Burmese-produced drugs, an export that doesn’t figure in the national income accounting, is still buoyant.

READ MORE---> Burma’s Drugs Trade Unaffected by Global Slowdown...