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Bangkok Post -Feb
20, 2000.
BORDER New club big lure for Thai gamblersMajor
shareholder has drug connection
Supamart Kasem, Mae
Sot, Tak Anew casino aimed at Thai gamblers opened over
the Burmese border on Friday and immediately attracted players. The 140-million-baht Casino Club operates under the flagship of the Myawaddy
Riverside Resort. Htoo Than Kyaw, 50, a close aide of former drug baron Khun Sa,
is the casino's major shareholder with the co-investors being Thai and Taiwanese
businessmen. The 50-rai club is only a stone's throw north of the Thai-Burmese Friendship
Bridge. It is the second casino to be built right next to the Burmese border to
cater to Thais, following the opening of the Andaman Club Hotel opposite Ranong.
Many others operate along the Cambodian border. The opening of the casino flies in the face of a statement by National
Security Council chief Kachadpai Burusphat last month that Thai authorities
would try to dissuade people from leaving the country to gamble. He admitted they could not stop people exercising their right to cross the
border legitimately, but urged officials to enforce currency regulations. Thais are allowed to take a maximum of 500,000 baht over the border at
Myawaddy. The border is only open during the day and day-trippers are forbidden to stay
in Burma overnight. The Associated Press reported that one of the Burmese
investors in the casino was from the Wa ethnic minority, said an unnamed
businessman. The Wa are heavily involved in drug production and trafficking in eastern
Shan state which lies further to the north. Burma is a leading producer of heroin and methamphetamines. Meanwhile, Burma's Myawaddy authorities yesterday closed seven piers along
the Moie river leaving the Thai-Burmese Friendship Bridge as the only crossing
point. The action was taken following a request from Thai authorities to improve
the monitoring of the crossing of people and goods. The bridge is open between
6am to 6pm. Aphaluck Bhatiasevi
The type of malaria which is currently causing
problems in provinces bordering Burma and Cambodia is the same drug-resistant
strain found in the country for many years and is not caused by a new parasite,
Mahidol University's Tropical Diseases hospital has confirmed. Dr Polrat Wilairatana, director of the hospital said of the two common
malaria parasites found in the country, P.falciparum causes drug resistance
which can lead to death. The other type of malaria, P.vivax, which is found among 50 percent of the
patients in the country, is not as severe as P.falciparum. Dr Polrat said malaria became drug resistant in recent years because of a
lack of understanding about the consumption of drugs, many of which are used for
malaria control in the country. "Some people unnecessarily consume the drugs, thinking it would prevent them
from malaria, but it actually causes drug resistance," he said, adding that
another reason is that people with malaria do not complete their course of
medicine as recommended by doctors. Health Ministry spokesman Amphon Jindawathana said no drugs should be taken
to prevent malaria because there is no drug that can completely prevent
infection. After exposure to the parasite, it takes between two weeks to two
months for the person to develop malaria. Now that Thailand's armed forces have shown the
world what kind of stuff they're made of, perhaps they are ready to go the whole
nine yards and "resolve" another hostage-taking crisis. I am referring, of course, to the dozen-year-old siege of Burma by a group of
terrorists known as the SPDC (State Pillage and Destroy Council). I understand that these desperados on Thailand's doorstep have infringed on
the Kingdom's sovereignty on a number of occasions. If I am not mistaken, Thai
lives have actually been lost in a number of raids carried out by SPDC troops on
Thai soil. How much more provocation does Thailand require? And what of the
SPDC's well-publicized practice of harbouring known drugrunners on Burmese soil,
whence they flood Thailand with their weapons against the minds of the kingdom's
youth. Patriotic Thais should be furious. If Thais are really in the mood for a bit of Burma-bashing, why not take
their grievances straight to the source? Perhaps there is some vicarious
satisfaction in harassing Karen refugees and a handful of Burmese dissidents
unlucky enough to be stuck on Thai soil; but if the Thai army really wants to
right some historical wrongs, perhaps a pre-dawn raid on Rangoon would be more
effective. Of course, there are risks involved: what if, for instance, the goons
in Rangoon do not simply put their hands up and surrender? Are the Thai
commandos prepared for such a contingency? But this is not the time for doubts
and dawdling. If Thailand wants to heal the wounds of Ayutthaya (and,
incidentally, liberate fifty million hostages) then it should be prepared for
another display of heroism like the one the world witnessed in Ratchaburi. Gustav Lerner,
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