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Albright Attacks Burmese Drug Trad



Subject: Albright Attacks Burmese Drug  Trade 



                         Albright Attacks Burmese Drug  Trade 

                         By Laura Myers 
                         Associated Press Writer 
                         Monday, July 28, 1997; 6:12 a.m. EDT 

                         KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Secretary of State
                         Madeleine Albright urged Southeast Asian nations
today to
                         attack the region's pervasive narcotics trade by
refusing to deal
                         with drug-tainted Burmese businesses. 

                         ``Narcotics production has grown in Burma year
after year,
                         defying every international effort to solve the
problem,''
                         Albright said in a statement at a post-ministerial
conference of
                         nations with a stake in Asia. 

                         ``As a result, drug traffickers who once spent
their days leading
                         mule trains down jungle tracks are now leading
lights in
                         Burma's new market economy and leading figures in
its new
                         political order.'' 

                         Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw responded with a
                         presentation on what his country is doing to halt
the drug trade,
                         but a European Union official, speaking on condition of
                         anonymity, said he and others were skeptical. 

                         In the closed meeting, Albright also urged
Southeast Asian
                         nations to liberalize trade in financial services
such as banking
                         and insurance. 

                         Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, in turn,
                         continued his days-long rampage against Western
speculators
                         he blames for recent currency plunges in the
region, said
                         officials at the meeting. Over the weekend he cited
American
                         businessman George Soros, saying Soros was punishing
                         Southeast Asia for its closer ties to Burma. Soros
denies the
                         charge. 

                         Albright, putting aside her prepared text, told
Mahathir it was
                         impossible for one person to achieve such damage,
said the
                         officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

                         In Burma, the country's $1 billion annual drug
trade -- mostly in
                         opium and its product heroin -- matches its legal
exports,
                         according to the U.S. embassy in Rangoon, the capital. 

                         The Clinton administration has tried to isolate
Burma's military
                         regime, which came to power in a 1988 coup and
refused to
                         recognize 1989 election results. In April,
Washington imposed
                         a ban on new U.S. investment in Burma. 

                         Albright charged that Burma's drug traffickers, with
                         government encouragement, are laundering profits
through
                         Burmese banks and companies, including some that
are joint
                         ventures with foreign firms. 

                         ``Drug money has become so pervasive in Burma that
it taints
                         legitimate investment and threatens the region as a
whole,''
                         Albright argued. ``This is a challenge we must face
together --
                         and another reminder that it will be hard to do
normal business
                         in Burma until a climate of law is restored.'' 

                         Albright praised efforts in Thailand and Laos -- whose
                         crossroads with Burma makes up the infamous ``Golden
                         Triangle'' of the narcotics trade -- for
eradicating drug plants
                         and encouraging cultivation of legal crops. 

                         Albright's statement came during a closed meeting
of the
                         foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast
Asian
                         Nations and their ``dialogue partners'' -- the
United States,
                         Canada, the European Union, Russia, India, China, South
                         Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. 

                         Members of the 30-year-old ASEAN are Brunei, Indonesia,
                         Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Singapore, Vietnam
and the
                         Philippines. 

                         In a separate U.S.-ASEAN meeting, Albright asked the
                         nations to consider allowing the 10 partner
countries to form a
                         ``Friends of Cambodia'' group to monitor progress
in South
                         Asia's mediation of the crisis. The coalition
government fell in a
                         coup July 5-6. Taking the lead role, ASEAN is
working on a
                         political settlement to ensure free elections next
May. 

                         Later in the day, Albright planned to meet with
South Korean
                         Foreign Minister Yu Chong-ha, partly to discuss the
upcoming
                         four-party peace talks with North Korea and China
in New
                         York in early August. 

                         She also intended to talk with Indonesian Foreign
Minister Ali
                         Alatas. The issue of human rights in East Timor was
expected
                         to come up. 

                         Today was the second day in a row Albright scored
Burma,
                         which this year joined ASEAN despite U.S. objections. 

                         On Sunday, she confronted Burmese Foreign Minister Ohn
                         Gyaw in a closed meeting in which the Burma
official defended
                         the military regime during a speech to his
counterparts that a
                         U.S. official called ``Orwellian.'' 

                         ``Burma is the only member of ASEAN singled out by the
                         U.N. General Assembly for refusing to honor
election results,
                         the only member where the state and society are
fundamentally
                         at odds,'' Albright said. 

                         Albright urged ASEAN nations to encourage reforms and
                         support Burma's democratic opponents, especially
Aung San
                         Suu Kyi. The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was
under
                         house arrest for six years, won election in 1989
but has not
                         been allowed to take office. 

                         The Burmese government, responding to criticism,
issued a
                         statement over the Internet that called its
admittance to
                         ASEAN a ``victory over the divisive legacies of
different
                         colonial masters that ruled the region.''