Burma To Auction Gems, Jewelry (fwd

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/* Written  1:38 am  Mar  8, 1994 by cesloane@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx in igc:bitl.seasia */
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        RANGOON, Burma (AP) -- The government plans to auction pearls,
jade, gems and jewelry worth nearly dlrs 25 million to foreign
buyers at its annual gem emporium beginning Saturday, a mining
official said Tuesday.
        But the government faces competition from a notorious drug
trafficker who has diversified into the gems business.
        Nearly 500 gems merchants from 16 countries, including more than
300 from Hong Kong and 50 from Thailand, are expected to attend the
31st annual auction, Deputy Minister for Mines Hline Win told
journalists.
        The annual emporium is the sole legal means for merchants to
sell stones for export. But smuggling is widespread, especially
across the eastern border into Thailand.
        Reputed drug lord Khun Sa, who is said to control a substantial
portion of the heroin trade in the Golden Triangle region where
Burma, Thailand and Laos meet, has recently expanded his activities
in the gem business, sources say.
        Khun Sa, a leader of the Shan ethnic minority who commands a
private army, moved into gems after taking control of some
important ruby mines around Mong Hsu, about 590 kilometers (370
miles) northeast of Rangoon.
        His gem stone business specializes in cheap, low-quality stones
that can be sold as mass market items abroad, a gems expert in
Bangkok told The Associated Press. Khun Sa has reportedly
established a workshop at his jungle headquarters of Homong, near
the Thai border, which employs 100 workers to cut stones and make
jewelry.
        Jade is the hottest item at the government's emporium and Hong
Kong buyers usually acquire almost all of it.
        Hline Win said more jade is being mined in northern Kachin State
since the Kachin ethnic minority recently concluded a cease-fire
with the government to put an end to a decades-old rebellion.
        The most notable jade piece on display is a one-and-a-half ton
jade boulder, which will be sold through a negotiated deal rather
than by auction.