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Burma & Drugs
BURMA AND DRUGS
One reads about all this rhetoric , nearly every other day about the
drug trafficking government of Burma and wonder- what is really being
done about it ?
Numerous heads of states and government representatives scream their
heads off about the "impunity" of the drug dealing government of Burma,
the freedom and luxury drug lords are enjoying in Rangoon, the military
brass condoning and often participating in drug deals.
For heaven's sake , haven't we heard enough yet. Everyone , including
the constructively engaging ASEAN leaders know what is going on. Yet no
action seem to have been taken at all. You can talk till your tongue
withers away, those guys called SPDC may hear you but will not listen,..
may know what's right and wrong , but couldn't care less if it means
their pockets are well lined...., may see what's going on ,but prefer to
maintain their grip on power at all cost... and may tell you something
,but couldn't be bothered whether it's a blatant lie or cannot be
followed up in action. In other words - stop talking to them. Tell them
where to get off.
If Noriega can be plucked out of his own capital why can't Khun Sa and
Lo Hsing Han be whisked away. That's just for starters. How about taking
a few generals along just to let them know this is for real. If
Superpowers can come together and decide that the best language Saddam
Hussein understands is, smart bombs- how come they don't realise the
military boys in Burma can understand only the same language. Take out a
few drug villas. Then your army boys will really start listening.
As Jonathan Winer correctly points out ...." When you have governments
that aren't capable of working with other governments nothing is
possible. For us right now with Burma and Cambodia nothing is
possible"....
Start talking to them in the only language they will understand.
Cabaret
>INTERVIEW-US raps "impunity" of Myanmar drug lords
>07:53 a.m. Nov 19, 1998 Eastern
>By David Brunnstrom
>
>BANGKOK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. narcotics official on
Thursday
>criticised the climate of impunity which he said allowed big narcotics
>traffickers to live free in military-ruled Myanmar.
>
>"We can't allow people to have impunity anywhere," Jonathan Winer,
>Washington's
>deputy assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law
>enforcement, told Reuters.
>
>"One of the problems with Burma is there has been a lot of impunity in
Burma."
>
>Winer said he could not understand why big drug lords like Khun Sa, who
has
>been indicted for heroin trafficking in the United States, and Lo
Hsing-han
>were living free in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
>
>"What are they doing, wandering around, being left alone after moving
all the
>dope that they've moved?" he said.
>
>"If we can get the people who are growing dope and moving it out of
Burma;
>information on their front companies and financial interests; seize
their
>assets and indict them in the States or some other country; imprison
some of
>their network and shut that network down, it would be good for us, our
>communities and the region."
>
>The Myanmar part of Southeast Asia's "Golden Triangle"" opium growing
>region is
>reckoned to be the world's largest source of heroin, output of which is
>controlled by ethnic Chinese drug lords.
>
>Both Khun Sa, long considered the king of the Golden Triangle drug
lords, and
>Lo Hsing-han are widely believed to be living in the Myanmar capital
Yangon
>under the protection of the military government.
>
>Asked whether he thought elements of the Myanmar government were
involved in
>the drug trade, Winer replied:
>
>"Certainly there is a lot of reason to believe that drug corruption has
been a
>recurrent problem in Burma."
>
>Winer was attending a conference on a U.S.-Thai initiative to set up an
>academy
>for regional law enforcement officials aimed principally at encouraging
>international cooperation in combating the drug trade.
>
>He said Myanmar was not part of the conference as U.S. sanctions
prohibited
>assistance to the government there and also because past programmes had
not
>proved successful.
>
>"In the case of Burma, you've got a situation that any number of people
have
>tried to work with the Burmese against drugs with very little
success,"' he
>said. "We have not found them to be reliable partners."
>
>The United States is also barred from assisting law enforcement efforts
in
>Cambodia, a country identified by narcotics agents as a transit point
for
>heroin from Myanmar.
>
>Winer said even if this was not the case, he did not think using U.S.
money
>for
>law enforcement training in Cambodia would be an effective use of
resources.
>
>"Isn't the money better spent training countries that are in better
shape and
>have more stability?" he said.
>
>"When you have a government that has the political will to work with
other
>governments, everything is possible.
>
>"When you have governments that aren't capable of working with other
>governments nothing is possible. For us right now with Burma and
Cambodia
>nothing is possible."
>___________________________
>[Editor: The above reports are compiled and supplied by
CASANIER/France]
>
>****************************************************************
>
>THE BANGKOK POST: BURMA MUST END ITS DRUG DEALS
>1 February, 1999
>
>EDITORIAL
>
>BURMA IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PRODUCERS OF ILLICIT NARCOTICS IN
THE
>WORLD.
>RANGOON AUTHORITIES MUST BE INVITED TO TAKE PART IN INTERNATIONAL
ATTEMPTS TO
>FIGHT TRAFFICKING. BUT DIPLOMATIC NICETIES HAVE FAILED TO CONVINCE THE
BURMESE
>LEADERS THAT THEIR TROUBLES BEGIN AT HOME.
>
>Nations of three continents have begun an important meeting in Tokyo
which
>could revitalise the anti-drugs fight. For the first time, Asian
nations are
>taking the lead in directing drugs suppression work in their own back
yard. In
>addition, police from important drug-producing and consuming nations in
Asia,
>Europe and America are discussing subtle changes in emphasis, most
notably
>working to prevent drug demand in their own countries.
>
>The police meeting in Japan is the latest in a continuing series of
efforts to
>meet the dangers of international drug peddlers. Generally speaking,
nations
>are firmly committed to the ideal of cutting off the traffickers. But
one
>crucial subject is routinely bypassed by the diplomats and
international
>experts. In some nations, the government does business with the drug
>traffickers.
>
>It is unfortunate for all of us, and particularly for Burmese and
Thais, that
>the Rangoon leadership has formed a series of partnerships with major
drug
>dealers. Three of the world's top drug dealers live under the direct
>protection
>of the Burmese junta. In addition, the regime has failed to slow drug
>production even by rebel forces. It gained direct control of huge areas
of the
>north after the defection of Khun Sa, but neither the opium nor heroin
output
>has been set back.
>
>But the major Burma flaunting of the international battle against
narcotics
>trafficking is its cooperation with three major drug dealers: Khun Sa,
Lo
>Hsing-han and Surachai "Bang Ron" Ngernthongu.
>
>Khun Sa lives in a lakeside villa and rubs shoulders with his
neighbours,
>members of the ruling State Peace and Development Council, formerly
Slorc.
>Since his sensational defection three years ago, the regime has refused
to try
>or extradite Khun Sa.
>
>LO Hsing-han, has been the Opium Warlord since a TV documentary of that
>name in
>the 1960s. Today, he is the premier heroin exporter in Burma, and thus
in the
>world. From his luxurious home Rangoon, the favoured Lo controls a
network of
>some of the world's most organised and dangerous drug traffickers. He
also
>controls virtually all of the important opium refineries in the eastern
Shan
>state near the Chinese border. His partners include well-known ethnic
Chinese
>drug lords Lin Ming Xian and Peng Jia Sheng.
>
>Surachai, known as Bang Ron, has found a secure home in Burma since
fleeing
>across the border a few steps ahead of Thai authorities. He is the king
of
>amphetamines in Southeast Asia. He is arguably the single greatest
threat to
>the security of Thailand today. Not only is he the biggest drug dealer
to Thai
>youth, he is closely tied to armed Burmese rebels on and near the Thai
>frontier.
>
>Bang Ron's case shows the problems of corruption in fighting the rich
and
>violent drug traffickers. His minions inside the Thai police helped him
to
>escape to Burma. Although no country at the Tokyo meeting is without
its
>problems of police and official corruption, Burma remains the only
reliable
>friend of world-class drug lords.
>
>If international drug trafficking is to be combated, sweet deals
between
>narcotics peddlers and government must end. Most nations recognise that
>corruption of their anti-drug forces is the second most dangerous
threat to
>attempts to halt narcotics trafficking.
>
>But only one country in our region is known to keep close ties with the
top
>narcotics dealers. So long as Burma continues to encourage and protect
the top
>international drugs traffickers, there is no hope that Thailand or any
>neighbour can halt the growing problem. The time has come to talk
straight to
>Burma, and to publicize its close links with narcotics dealers.
>
>****************************************************************
>
>DAILY YOMIURI (JAPAN): 6 NATIONS SAY NO TO DRUGS AT SEMINAR
>2 February, 1999
>
>Officials in charge of drug control from six Asian countries attended a
>conference in Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss ways of preventing drug
smuggling in
>Asia.
>
>The seminar, sponsored by the Foreign Ministry and the National Police
Agency,
>was attended by members of the U.N. International Drug Control Program
and
>law-enforcement officials from Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar,
Thailand, and
>Vietnam, all neighbors of the so-called Golden Triangle--an infamous
illicit
>drug-manufacturing area.
>
>The attendees discussed methods of drug control in their countries.
Also, the
>UNDCP unveiled its strategy on preventing drug smuggling near the
borders of
>the six countries.
>
>A government official speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Prime
Minister
>Keizo
>Obuchi said at the outset of the meeting that drug problems must be
seriously
>addressed as the problems affect "human well-being."
>
>At the end of the meeting, the participants adopted a statement calling
for
>redoubled efforts in fighting drug problems.
>
>****************************************************************
>
>SHAN DEMOCRATIC UNION: STATEMENT ON INTERPOL MEETING
>29 January, 1999
>
>No. 1/199
>
>We are flabbergasted and dismayed, as are decent people everywhere, by
the
>irresponsible behaviour of the Interpol in holding its annual narcotics
>conference in Rangoon, the seat of an illegitimate regime which has
colluded
>with drug kingpins and are their partners in laundering profit from the
>narcotics trade. It is incredible that the Interpol is unaware of the
Rangoon
>regime's well-documented drug connections and involvement in laundering
drug
>money. No doubt Interpol is aware of the documented facts of the
matter. Its
>convening of a narcotics conference in Rangoon must as such be judged
as
>propelled by an agenda that is totally unrelated to narcotics
suppression or
>any concern with the evils of narcotics. It is a transparently
political ploy,
>and a very cynical one at that, aimed at white-washing the narco regime
in
>Rangoon. Interpol's decision to hold a narcotics conference in Rangoon
is not
>only disgraceful, but simply obscene. It is an act of moral rape
against
>humanity.
>
>We therefore welcome the decision of the government of Denmark not to
attend
>the conference in the narco capital of Southeast Asia, Rangoon. We hope
that
>more governments will follow Denmark's example.
>
>We call upon the United Nations to censure the Interpol, and appeal to
the
>United States and other governments who have spend billions of
taxpayers hard
>earned money to stem the outflow of drugs from Burma, to boycott the
>ridiculous
>conference.
>
>We also hope -- hope against hope -- that senior Interpol officials
will
>regain
>their common sense and cancel the conference, and moreover hope that
they will
>look into who is responsible for choosing Rangoon, the narco capital of
the
>region, as the site for such and important conference, and the reason
why.
>
>SHAN DEMOCRATIC UNION/SDU
>Shan States
>January 29, 1999.
>(Kham Zam, General Secretary)
>
>****************************************************************
>
>
>
>
______________________________________________________
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