Myanmar abetting drug trafficking

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Myanmar abetting drug trafficking: US
The Hindu (29/07/97)
By V. Jayanth
 
>From security issues, the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN countries and their
dialogue partners today shifted their focus to inter-regional and global
problems relating to economic affairs, but tended to come back to Myanmar
and regional stability as well.
 
Most of the dialogue partners used the platform to voice their concerns
and perceptions, but also dealt with their healthy and growing interaction
with ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific.
 
For China, it was the problem of market access and accession to the WTO:
for Russia, it was NATO's expansion, for Canada it was the upcoming APEC
summit and for Japan it was enhancing the credibility of the Japan-US
security arrangements.
 
Canada, the European Union and the US continued their tirade against
Myanmar and stepped up their pressure on ASEAN to use its influence and
start showing results in the process of political reforms in that country.
 
The US Secretary of State, Ms Madeline Albright, gave the Myanmar question
an economic and drug trafficking angle today. She said: "The primary
source of drugs is Burma, which is itself experiencing an alarming rise in
drug abuse and AIDS infection. Narcotics production has grown in Burma
year after year, defying every international effort to solve the problem.
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."
 
Ms. Albright alleged that Burma's drug traffickers were laundering their
profits, with "official encouragement" through Burmese banks and
companies. "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 there."
 
She argued that it would be hard to imagine a lasting solution to the
region's narcotics problem without a lasting solution to Burma's political
crisis. "This is one reason why President Clinton has barred future US
investment in the country," the Secretary of State added.
 
Commending ASEAN's role in market reforms and in the APEC process, Ms
Albright urged the grouping to play a similar role in the opening up of
the financial services sector. "Significantly improved offers from all
ASEAN States will help generate the momentum needed to reach a global
agreement by the December 12 deadline," she said.
 
The Chinese vice Premier and Foreign Minister, Mr. Qian Qichen, committed
his country "to a stronger global multilateral trading regime. China is
serious and responsible when it comes to fulfilling its international
commitments. Regrettably, China has still been excluded from the WTO. An
early solution to China's membership not only serves our reforms and
opening up, but also helps strengthen the global multilateral trading
regime and advance economic and trade cooperation in this region.
 
He referred to the challenges facing Asia-Pacific, including "uneven
development within the region, wide gap between the developing and
developed countries in economic, scientific and technological levels and
continued constraints from the unjust and unreasonable external factors on
such issues as market access, terms of trade and transfer of technology".
 
The Russia Foreign Minister, Mr. EM Primakov, explained: "Our attitude to
plans of NATO enlargement has been and continues to be extremely negative,
as any military alliance is, in our view, an anachronism. We fear the
focus on bloc expansion would once again create dividing lines. NATO
enlargement and decisions adopted in Madrid create, unfortunately, new
problems without solving existing ones."
 
Mr. Yukihiro Ikeda, Japanese Foreign Minister, focused on the Korean
situation and emphasized: "Japan believes that the Japan-US security
arrangements provide solid basis for the maintenance of stability and
economic prosperity in the region. Japan intends to continue its efforts
in enhancing the credibility of security arrangement"- something china was
not convinced of in the first place.
 
Speaking on behalf of EU, the Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, Mr. Jacques
Poos, expected the accession of Myanmar to ASEAN would contribute to the
improvement of the internal situation there. While wanting to continue and
strengthen ties and interaction with ASEAN, he made it clear that these
benefits or exchanges would not be available to Myanmar unless it restored
democracy.