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       ALBRIGHT SAYS BURMA RULED BY DRUG TRAFFICKERS
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US launches fresh attack on junta 

Kuala Lumpur,  July 28:  The United States launched a fresh
attack  on Burma on Monday,  alleging that drug traffickers
now  held high- profile positions in the country's economic
and political life.

US  secretary of state  Madeleine Albright,  addressing the
annual  meeting between  Asean and  its traditional Western
and  regional partners,  called for joint action to prevent
the spillover of criminal activities.

"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 said.

She  was apparently referring to  former opium warlord Khun
Sa, among others. Khun Sa "retired" from his drug empire in
Burma's  northeast  Shan state  and is  now reported  to be
involved  in legitimate businesses  operating from Rangoon.
It was the second time in as many days that the US official
had  attacked Burma over its record  on drugs both times in
the   presence  of  Burmese   foreign  minister  Ohn  Gyaw.

Burma  and Laos were admitted last  week as full members of
the  Association  of Southeast  Asian Nations,   which also
includes  Brunei,  Indonesia,  Malaysia,  the  Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

But Ms Albright warned:  "With economies whose growth often
outpaces  government efforts at  regulation,  ASEAN nations
are vulnerable to criminals looking for a place to operate,
or a place to hide. Because international criminals respect
no law or border, it is in every nation's interest to fight
them together." (AFP)

                               The Asian Age July 29, 1997.
    News and Information Bureau, All Burma Studnets League

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