Propaganda News - Myanmar Vows to T

[TheTruth@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Note: How many people in the Northern Shan state died in the so-called
poppy free zone?  How many will starve due to their crops being
destroyed?  How many people will suffer from DDT(or other chemical)
poisoning this time ???



Myanmar Vows to Totally Eliminate Drugs in 15 Years

            Xinhua
            25-JUN-98

            YANGON (June 26) XINHUA - Myanmar will totally
            eliminate poppy cultivation in 15 years, said
            Myanmar Minister of Home Affairs Colonel Tin
            Hlaing Friday. 

            Speaking at a ceremony marking the International
            Day Against Illicit Trafficking, Tin Hlaing, who is also
            chairman of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse
            Control, said the period can be shortened with
            assistance from external sources. 

            A baseline data collection project on poppy
            cultivation and drug addicts is being implemented in
            the whole country starting January this year, he
            said. 

            Myanmar has been doing its best to eradicate
            narcotic drugs with some achievements in recent
            years. 

            In the first four months of this year, the Myanmar
            authorities destroyed a dozen heroin refineries in
            Shan state in the northern part of the country,
            following the destruction of 33 refineries in the state
            in 1997, according to official statistics. 

            Over 2,600 kilograms of narcotic drugs including
            more than 170 kg of heroin were also seized in the
            country by the enforcement agencies with over
            8,000 hectares of poppy plantations destroyed in
            the same period. 

            In 1997, the authorities confiscated a total of
            15,146 kg of narcotics including 1,401 kg of heroin
            and 7,883 kg of opium as well as more than 5
            million tablets of amphetamine stimulant, and took
            action against 5, 361 people involved in 3,864
            drug-related cases. 

            In the same year, Myanmar was able to turn the
            Mongla region in eastern Shan state into an
            opium-free zone and efforts are being made to bring
            about more similar zones. 

            Myanmar has laid down a two-point national
            strategy for narcotic drug control -- to designate
            narcotic drug eradication and prevention as a
            national duty and to gradually eliminate poppy
            cultivation by raising the standard of living of the
            ethnic groups in the border areas. 

            Three tactics of supply elimination, demand
            elimination and law enforcement are employed to
            implement the strategies.