------------------------ BurmaNet ------------------------ "Appropriate Information Technologies, Practical Strategies" ---------------------------------------------------------- The BurmaNet News: June 5, 1997 Issue #742 Noted in Passing: '...NLD leaders might understand, that for Asean members, the greatest sin in this region is to win a democratic election.' -from The Jakarta Post (The Nation: A Regional Aversion To Democracy) HEADLINES: ========== BKK POST: BURMA RELEASES SUU KYI ACTIVISTS BKK POST: RANGOON MULLS THAI, SOUTH ASIA ALLIANCE BKK POST: CANADA TO UPHOLD 'CRITICAL ENGAGEMENT' THE NATION: CHETTHA FIRES BROADSIDE AT BURMA JUNTA BKK POST: PM WANTS MID-RIVER BORDER WITH BURMA BKK POST: PIPELINE FIRM IN PLEA TO QUEEN STRAITS TIMES: ASEAN-US SHOWDOWN NOT LIKELY THE NATION: S'PORE PAPER SAYS JUNTA ON PROBATION THE NATION: A REGIONAL AVERSION TO DEMOCRACY ABSL: STATEMENT ON ASEAN ASIA TIMES: YANGON OUT TO PROVE THERE'S SMOKE BURMANET: COMMENTS ON STEPHEN BROOKES' ARTICLE BKK POST: INFLUX OF BURMESE SEX WORKER VIA MAE SAI THE NATION: BURMESE TOP PATIENT LIST AT HOSPITAL ----------------------------------------------------------------- BKK POST: BURMA RELEASES SUU KYI ACTIVISTS June 4, 1997 AP Rangoon - Burma's military regime yesterday freed hundreds of supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained two weeks ago to stop her from holding a party congress. Opposition sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said most of the 316 activists believed to have been detained were released. But the status of several members detained in Irrawaddy Division, just west of Rangoon, was unclear. ***************************************** BKK POST: RANGOON MULLS THAI, SOUTH ASIA ALLIANCE June 4, 1997 Transport link vital to region cooperation Burma wants to join a new economic cooperation scheme with Thailand and South Asian nations, but not at its scheduled launching in Bangkok on Friday, a foreign ministry official said yesterday. Rangoon wants more time to study the details and is likely to be ready to join by the end of this year or early next year, said Kobsak Chutikul, Director-General of Economic Affairs. The "Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation", or Bist-Ec, is due to be launched at a ceremony to be attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Pitak Intrawityanunt and his counterparts from thr three South Asian countries. Burma conveyed to India its wish to join thr scheme after the May 31 decision by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers to admit Burma into the fold in July. Mr Kobsak said Thailand welcomed the participation of Burma as a transportation link between Thailand and Southeast Asian countries. But Burma's participation would require a change of name and this is one issue on the agenda of senior officials meeting in Bangkok today and tomorrow ahead of Friday's ministerial meeting. Option to be considered include "Panja Phaki", Sanskrit term meaning a five-member strong alliance, and the Bay of Bengal Economic Cooperation. Once Burma is admitted, Thailand wants the scheme consolidated before more members are admitted. Malaysia and Indonesia are among possible candidates, Mr Kobsak said. So far, members plan cooperation in nine fields: trade, investment, industry, production standards, human resources development, tourism, energy, transport and communication, fisheries, agriculture and natural resources, Mr Kobsak said. The new scheme will help facilitate cooperation between Asean and thr South Asian Association for Economic Cooperation (Saarc). (BP) ******************************************************* BKK POST: CANADA TO UPHOLD 'CRITICAL ENGAGEMENT' June 4, 1997 Canada will uphold its "critical engagement" policy toward Burma despite the country's scheduled admission to Asean this July, Canadian ambassador to Thailand Manfred von Nostitz said yesterday. Canada, a dialogue partner of Asean, would fully engage Burma only when there was significant progress in the country's democratisation process, Mr Nostitz told Foreign Minister Prachuab Chaiyasan yesterday. The ambassador, however, said the Canadian government did not bar its businessmen from investing in Burma. (BP) ******************************************************* THE NATION: CHETTHA FIRES BROADSIDE AT BURMA JUNTA June 4, 1997 Army Commander in Chief Gen Chettha Thanajaro yesterday criticised Burma's military leaders with whom Thailand is known to enjoy good relations. "Thailand has tried very hard to be good and has extended friendship towards Burma, but Rangoon seems not to respond positively to the friendship extended. I think there are many reasons behind such a response which I do not want to explain," Chettha said. Relations between the two countries were tested by a recent border dispute over an island in the Moei River, off Tak's Mae Sot province, which was sparked by Burma's decision to commence dredging on the island in an attempt to divert the course of the river. Tension escalated late last month when both countries deployed troops to the area. Both sides have since agreed, however, to withdraw their forces and let officials concerned negotiate the issue. "I want to insist that in negotiating with Burma over the dispute, the army will not put Thailand in a weaker position. However, I believe that it would be for the best if both countries could settle the issues peacefully and by compromising," Chettha said. He said negotiations are in the hands of a joint technical committee. "Now Burma is looking at its 1989 maps and Thailand will compare it with its 1992 maps to see the changes in the river," he said. The diversion of the river's course resulted from flooding tow years ago which cut into a portion of the river bank on the Burmese side, turning it into and island. "The joint committee will have discussions on relevant treaties that each side holds. Both sides will base [their findings] on facts so as to reach an agreement. I think that anyone would find this issue difficult due to the frequent changes to the river's course," the general said. (TN) ******************************************************* BKK POST: PM WANTS MID-RIVER BORDER WITH BURMA June 4, 1997 [abridged] Wassana Nanuam, Yuwadee Tunyasiri and Supamart Kasem Move to prevent future disputes Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has proposed that Thailand and Burma agree on a permanent border to prevent future disputes, according to Supreme Commander Mongkol Ampornphisit. Gen Mongkol said Gen Chavalit had asked him to propose to Burmese authorities to use the middle of the Moei River to demarcate the border to avoid problems resulting from changes in the river's course or different interpretations of the Thai-Anglo Treaty. He will soon discuss the proposal with Army Commander-in-Chief Chettha Thannajaro and ask the premier to assign Gen Chettha to lead a Thai delegation to Rangoon to settle the issue once and for all. ******************************************************* BKK POST: PIPELINE FIRM IN PLEA TO QUEEN June 4, 1997 Yuwadee Tunyasiri, Suebpong Unarat and Veera Prateepchaikul Builder says project should follow roads The company building the Yadana gas pipeline has petitioned Her Majesty the Queen to have the project re-routed, a source said yesterday. Prasit Supsakorn, chairman of the Tasco Mannesmann joint venture, wrote to the Bureau of the Royal Household on March 24, suggesting an alternative route along highways 3272 and 323i. In his letter, Mr Prasit said the slightly longer route would spare the environment in Kanchanaburi and avoid conflict with conservationists. He maintained the detour route would be worthy. The petition prompted the bureau to ask the prime minister to consider the project carefully. In the petition, Mr Prasit pointed out the existing route would cut a 50km strip 21m wide through national forest reserves, destroying the environment. He also said protests against the project by environment-conscious people might disrupt construction to the point the project would not be completed in time as specified in the contract with Burma. The source said it was strange the chairman of the company contracted by the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) was unaware of the pipeline route and its environmental impact in the first place. The source suspected Tasco wanted the deal with PTT re-negotiated because it was afraid it could not complete the project in time and thus be fined by PTT for breach of contract due to the opposition against the project. Under the contract, Tasco would be fined 3.66 million baht a day for the delay but not more than 365.9 million baht in total. Tasco, said the source, offered a bid of 3,659 million baht for the contract, about 726 million baht lower than the closest contender. If the pipeline was re-routed, Tasco would stand to benefit on two points: firstly, the construction period would be extended and the company would not have to pay the fine and, secondly, the company would earn more from the PTT because of the extended route. Tasco Mannesmann is a joint venture between Mannesmann Demag AG of Germany and Tipco Asphalt of Thailand. Meanwhile, Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh urged groups opposed to construction of the pipeline to meet and work out measures to minimise the environmental impact. After yesterday's cabinet meeting, Gen Chavalit said he did not want the issue to develop into conflict. Non-governmental organisations opposed to the project, including a group of prominent Thai and foreigners led by Sulak Sivaraksa, the social critic, should discuss with concerned agencies ways to solve the problem, he said. Gen Chavalit also expressed concern Burma would impose a daily fine of 45 million baht if the pipeline was not completed by July next year. Korn Dabbaransi, the industry minister, has assigned the PTT to gather details of the project and environmental protection measures so he can discuss the matter with Chucheep Harnsawat, the agriculture minister. It was the previous government that signed a contract with Burma to complete the pipeline by July next year, he said. "If the pipeline is re-routed, construction may not be completed by July next year," Mr Korn said. Whether the pipeline would be re-routed or not depended on talks with Mr Chucheep, he said. On Monday, Mr Chucheep said the PTT had not obtained permission to build the pipeline through Kanchanaburi forests. He said the ministry would have to consider if the project would have adverse effects on the forests. The PTT, he said, would be asked to clarify its proposed environmental impact mitigation plan before approval could be made. The agriculture minister confirmed he had assigned Pitiphong Phuengboon, deputy permanent secretary for agriculture, to talk to the PTT, the Industry Ministry and National Environment Board. He said the ministry wanted details on the route of the pipeline from the PTT. "There have been petitions from various groups over environmental concerns. We will have to check if the claims are true. We will also see what the PTT has done to minimise the impact," Mr Chucheep added. (BP) ******************************************************* STRAITS TIMES: ASEAN-US SHOWDOWN OVER MYANMAR NOT LIKELY June 4, 1997 By Derwin Pe in Jakarta ASEAN has dismissed suggestions that it is heading for a showdown with the United States over admitting Myanmar next month to the seven-nation grouping. Asean Secretary-General Datuk Ajit Singh told a news conference yesterday that both Asean and the US wanted the same thing - positive developments in Myanmar and regional stability-but differed on how to achieve it. "The difference is that Washington wants to achieve these goals through enforcing sanctions," he said in response to a question. "Asean does not believe in that. We believe in the policy of constructive engagement." The US has led the way in putting pressure on Asean to delay admitting Myanmar over its human-rights record. Asean member states, however, have stressed that a longstanding policy of engaging Myanmar would reap better results. Datuk Ajit Singh said that Asean would have "very frank, very open and very engaging discussions" with Myanmar once it joined the group. "Myanmar is now in the same compound with the rest of Asean which makes it easier for us to talk to them," he said. He noted that Myanmar together with Cambodia and Laos were "working very hard" to fulfil the obligations of becoming Asean members. Asean had agreed last Saturday to admit the three countries into the grouping. He said he had submitted a report to Asean foreign ministers on the state of readiness of the three countries to join the grouping, which said the three would: Accede to the Bangkok Declaration of 1967, which established the grouping, and to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Contribute US$1 million (S$1.4 million) to the Asean fund. Assume responsibility for chairing Asean meetings. Establish diplomatic missions in all other Asean countries. Train government officials in the use of the English language. At the briefing, Datuk Ajit Singh also announced that Asean economic ministers would meet in Jakarta on June 14 to discuss the group's economic vision for the next century. He said older Asean member states, on their part, would help Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to standardise customs and immigration rules and harmonise laws on legal, taxation and tariff systems to integrate them into the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta). "This work is basic if the three countries want to implement Afta as quickly as possible," he said. To create Afta, Asean countries had agreed to eliminate tariffs altogether by 2003. He noted that Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar had already drawn a draft product list for the Common Effective Preferential Tariff scheme - a requirement under Afta in which Asean countries are given uniform preferential treatment in intra-Asean trade. (ST) ******************************************** THE NATION: S'PORE PAPER SAYS JUNTA ON PROBATION IN ASEAN June 4, 1997 [abridged] AFP Singapore - Military-ruled Burma is on "probation" in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and its ruling generals should be taught to stay in line, Singapore's leading newspaper said yesterday. Japanese Prime Minister Ruytaro Hashimoto's remarks that the Burmese State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc) should not regard Asean membership as a form of pardon "can be the grouping's watchword," The Straits Times said. "Burma is on probation; nothing more, nothing less," the daily, which often reflects official thinking in Singapore, said in an editorial on Asean's decision last week to induct Burma, along with Cambodia and Laos, in July. Rangoon, in welcoming its acceptance, only referred to economic cooperation but the generals should be "made to learn that it is not in their interest to let Asean down with actions that are beyond the pale," The Straits Times said. The inclusion of Burma, Cambodia and Laos would "bring to fruition theAsean founders' fond hope ... that all of Southeast Asia be banded together one day in advancing common interests," the paper said. The editorial, entitled "Not a pardon for Myanmar," said Burma simultaneous entry with Cambodia and Laos would benefit the grouping despite misgivings. "With the three newest members .., Southeast Asia will become a production centre and market of 500 million people when protective tariffs are brought down gradually," it noted. "But Asean is also about human decency," the paper opined. "Here, it essentially means the responsibility of member-governments to give their people the best deal possible, and to be respectful of their rights. "On its record of political persecution and denying the people that results of a free election in 1990, the military junta of Burma brings odium to Asean's fair name." (TN) ******************************************************* THE NATION: A REGIONAL AVERSION TO DEMOCRACY June 3, 1997 The Jakarta Post The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is to include Burma within its ranks despite the move colliding head-on with the international community's repeated berating of the country's ruling junta for its human rights record. The decision disillusioned many political observers because they had speculated that last week's crackdown on political dissent by the ruling junta, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (Slorc), would prompt Asean into delaying its decision to admit Burma. Asean's decision looks like a tragic irony if it is viewed from its "constructive engagement" standpoint, as this has not been successful in persuading Burma to respect human rights. Viewing the complicated nature of this issue, Asean at last reached its decision, which NLD leaders might understand, that for Asean members, the greatest sin in this region is to win a democratic election. They might also take into consideration that some Asean member countries have yet to fully respect the noble values of democracy. ************************************************ ABSL: STATEMENT ON ASEAN June 1, 1997 From: shar@league.unv.ernet.in 1st June 1997 ===================================================== STATEMENT ON THE DECISION OF ASEAN ===================================================== We, the All Burma Students League (ABSL), strongly denounce the decision of ASEAN to accept Burma as a member of ASEAN. The decision of ASEAN is an act of interference into Burma's internal matters as the military regime of Burma continues to neglect the result of the 1990 general elections. The ASEAN has deviated from the norms of international diplomacy with this decision. The Constructive Engagement Policy which has been being pursued by the ASEAN since 1991 is a failed policy as it could not make any positive changes towards the restoration of democracy in Burma. ASEAN has exploited the political crisis of Burma for their advantages by accepting Burma as its member. It encourages the military junta of Burma to continue its repression inside the country. The decision of ASEAN is a mistake which was committed against the long-term interest of the regional association. It could easily destroy the mutual cooperation and understanding amongst the countries in the region. Moreover, it threatens the unity of the regional countries in future. Central Committee All Burma Students League A B S L All Burma Students League 3, Krishna Menon Marg New Delhi - 110011 Ph : 91-11-3017172/3016035 Fx : 91-11-3793397 Email : shar@league.unv.ernet.in **************************************** ASIA TIMES: YANGON OUT TO PROVE THERE'S SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE IN THE HEROIN TRADE June 3, 1997 Stephen Brookes, Yangon Rising out of the dust like a pink and gold hallucination, Myanmar's new Museum of Narcotic Drugs loomed above the crowd of soldiers, politicians, ambassadors and journalists as Khin Nyunt - one of the top leaders of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council - took the podium. "It is a well known fact," he said, "that in Myanmar, the government and the whole populace residing in the border areas have wholeheartedly committed themselves to eradicate the narcotics drugs problem. However, some Western countries who turn a blind eye to our successful efforts in this regard are still unfairly accusing Myanmar by disseminating untrue reports and exaggerated news." The April 22 museum opening in northeastern Shan state was part of a broad counterattack by SLORC against charges that it was not cooperating in the fight against drugs - and, according to some United States officials, is even involved in the trade itself, from trafficking to money-laundering. "Burmese authorities have made no discernible efforts to improve their performance," senior US narcotics official Robert Gelbard stated last November. "From a hardheaded, drug-control point of view, I have to conclude that SLORC has been part of the problem, not the solution." In May, US Secretary of State Madelaine Albright took up the fight, saying drug money had penetrated all reaches of society and traffickers were becoming "leading lights" in Myanmar. "Drug money is so pervasive in the Burmese economy that it taints legitimate investment," she warned. And in April, journalists Leslie Kean and Dennis Bernstein wrote in the Boston Globe: "Burma is swiftly becoming a full-fledged narco-dictatorship, with all aspects of the government either heavily influenced by or directly incorporated into the burgeoning drug trade." Is there really a "narco-dictatorship" in Myanmar, reaping riches on the backs of American junkies? Drug experts in Myanmar have said that was nonsense - and argued that SLORC was being made the scapegoat for America's failed war on drugs. "The State Department says that opium production has doubled since SLORC came to power in 1988, therefore SLORC is responsible," one Western official in Yangon said. "But that's a phony argument. The key factor in 1988 was that the US decertified Burma and stopped its drug assistance. The US was providing about 80 percent of the funding for fighting drugs, so naturally when that money dried up, opium production increased. But rather than admit their error, the US is blaming SLORC. It's a witch hunt." Other drug enforcement officials agree. "The Burmese were extremely cooperative with US law enforcement during the time I was there," said Barry Broman, who spent two years at the US embassy before retiring last year. "They provided major assistance. The problem was the limited amount of assistance we could give the Burmese." Broman, who spent several decades investigating the narcotics trade in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam before being posted to Myanmar in 1994, is one of America's most knowledgeable experts on the complex world of Asian drug trafficking. "There are a lot of accusations that SLORC is involved in narcotics, but no one's produced any evidence - so where's the smoking gun?" he said, during a recent trip to Yangon. "In my experience, the trade is not institutional in Burma. That's not to say that people aren't profiting - there's indirect profiting from the narcotics trade. But across the border, you find Thai politicians and generals in bed with the traffickers. That's not the case here." But critics like Albright point to the new role that former drug lords like Lo Hsing Han and Khun Sa are allegedly playing in the Myanmar economy. SLORC's refusal to extradite Khun Sa to the US, they said, is proof of its complicity in the drug trade. But Broman takes a different view. "On their own, the Burmese effected the capture of Khun Sa," he said. "They made a major dent in the drug trade, and we gave them no credit. The human rights people say they cut a sweetheart deal, but I don't believe that. In the US, we call it a plea bargain. And in this case, justice was served, because Khun Sa is out of the drug business. And that means 12,000 armed men [soldiers in Khun Sa's army] are no longer in the drug business." Moreover, said Broman, it's unlikely that Khun Sa is as rich as many people assume. "It's a mistake to think of him as a megabucks guy, like the Columbian cocaine lords," he said. "With cocaine, you have cartels that control everything from the coca fields to the dealers in New York, so the profits are huge," he explained. "But unlike cocaine, heroin changes hands many times before it gets to the buyer. Khun Sa would buy the opium from producers, then process it and sell it to a politician or a general in Thailand, who would sell it to someone else in Hong Kong or Vancouver. The big profit is all outside Asia." Myanmar government officials also discount the idea of drug lords as the new economic kingpins. When asked how much money Khun Sa was pumping into the economy, one officer from the Defense Ministry just laughed. "They cost us money!" he said. "We have to support all those former Mong Tai army soldiers. After Khun Sa surrendered, they were on their own - we gave them money and resettled them. We don't want to fight them anymore, so we have to find something else for them to do." What the Western critics fail to understand, a number of diplomats and drug officials say in Yangon, is that the opium-producing areas are controlled not by SLORC, but by armed ethnic insurgent groups along the border like the Wa, the Kokan and the Shan. SLORC is primarily interested in exerting political control over these areas, so has had to come to political settlements with the insurgent groups who have traditionally funded themselves with drug profits. "These guys were shooting Burmese for a living," said Broman. "The drug profits buy bullets that kill Burmese soldiers. So it's in the Burmese interest to control drugs." But to get rid of the existing opium economy and replace it with something new, time is needed. "The US wants an instant solution to the problem, but that's not realistic," said one drug expert in Yangon. Is Myanmar's anti-narcotic campaign real, or just an exercise in public relations? Broman and others have said it's real, and is now getting encouragement from an unexpected source. "The Chinese are putting pressure on Burma," he said. "China has a growing addiction problem, and they've told the Burmese they want them to get a handle on it. China and the US both have the same message," he added, "but the Chinese are doing a lot more in terms of helping." ************************************** BURMANET: COMMENTS ON STEPHEN BROOKES' DRUG ARTICLE June 4, 1997 BurmaNet Editor's Note: Several individuals have written responses to Stephen Brookes' recent article in the Asia Times entitled "Yangon out to prove there's smoke without fire in the heroin trade". Brookes makes the argument that the SLORC has been trying to control drug production and trafficking in Burma but drug production has increased because the US government ceased giving assistance for drug eradication in 1988. Barry Broman, formerly posted at the US embassy in Rangoon, is Brookes' primary source of information for the article. Interviews conducted by BurmaNet indicate that the SLORC army has been involved in the transport of heroin to India and has in many cases allowed, if not encouraged, local production. According to a source in Mandalay, large scale drug dealers in Mandalay pay SLORC army personnel to transport heroin in army trucks to the Indian border at Tamu. The drug dealers then have their men pick up the drugs there for distribution in India. In Kachin State, the Kachin Independence Organization was able to eradicate opium cultivation in areas under its control. Since the 1993 ceasefire, farmers living in areas close to new SLORC military posts have begun growing poppies again and have told KIO officials that the KIO cannot stop them because they have the protection of the SLORC. In areas of Shan State where opium poppies were never grown before, large areas are now under cultivation. These areas were previously under the control of armed ethnic groups but are now controlled by the SLORC. Other people interviewed by BurmaNet in the past six months have attested that regional Military Intelligence units and army units have received bribes for not checking specified vehicles when they pass through checkpoints. SLORC personnel are also paid off to not enter areas where heroin factories are operating. The factories are regularly moved to different places. The opium museum that Brookes talks about is located in Lin Min Xian's territory in Eastern Shan State. Lin Min Xian is reputed to be deeply involved in many aspects of the drug business. He is said to have a monopoly on heroin production in his territory. Middlemen bring opium to him, his men refine it into heroin, he handles the sale of the heroin and returns a percentage of the profit in shares. Below are excerpts from responses by other Burma watchers. FROM BERTIL LINTER, FEER CORRESPONDENT AND LONGTIME BURMA WATCHER: Re: BARRY BROMAN (who is now a "consultant" trying to put together business deals in Burma, through his company Raintree Consulting) Barry Broman is the former Rangoon station chief of the CIA and as such he was in charge of the CIA's anti-narcotics work in Rangoon, which often was at loggerheads with official US drug policy as expressed by the State Department. Rangoon was Broman's retirement posting after having spent years doing clandestine work in Cambodia. FROM LARRY DOHRS, FREE BURMA COALITION SEATTLE, WASHINGTON Broman might read the reports put out by the State Department for starters. He might note the satellite survey evidence that areas under SLORC control, in Kachin State for instance, show a dramatic rise in opium production. The US Embassy Rangoon estimates that income from opiates equals income from all legitimate sources in the Burmese economy. This estimate is derived by taking the production figures from the satellite surveys, subtracting the amount of local consumption and wastage, and multiplying by the "farmgate" price of opium at Burma's borders. How strange that the drug business is the one aspect the SLORC claims not to be able to affect. FROM AN ANALYST WHO HAS DONE EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON SOUTHEAST ASIAN DRUG TRAFFICKING I find it most interesting that Brookes starts off with a colorful reference to a ceremony recently stage-managed by the SLORC in Mong La to honor one of the Golden Triangle's up-and-coming heroin and amphetamine dealers -- Lin Ming Xian. Other traffickers, including the head trafficker and commander of the United Wa State Army, Pao Yu-Chiang were also in attendence. To establish a museum to heroin and opium at such a spot is entirely fitting, as Mong La has come to symbolize SLORC-sanctioned drug trafficking. In this town, the headquarters of one of Burma's largest drug armies, are several heroin and amphetamine labs. Imagine if the event had taken place in Colombia, the key source of another major hard drug. President Ernesto Samper flies the US ambassador and other top Bogota-based diplomats to Cali, where under the kleig lights, he bestows awards on the Cali Cartel's top traffickers. The US ambassador would probably be recalled instantly . .and later sacked. Aid to Colombia would be cut off instantly. Only in Burma, where the names of the major players hide in obscurity to most of the international community, can such bizarre ceremonies go unanswered. That Brookes neglected to mention this key fact behind the opening of the "Museum of Narcotic Drugs" is not surprising. He displays no understanding of the history of the Burmese Communist Party and the new ethnic drug factions which emerged from the BCP's internal split in 1989. These groups, referred to euphamistically by the SLORC as "legal fold members" include some of Asia's biggest drug traffickers. Lin Ming Xian, aka Sai Lin, murdered the leader of the BCP's old 815 area, a Shan-Welsh named Michael Davies when Davies refused to go along with Sai Lin's plan to expand the group's involvement in the heroin trade. Soon thereafter, Sai Lin formed the Eastern Shan State Army, also known as the Myanmar National Alliance Army -- Eastern Shan State, and diversified his criminal businesses to include the smuggling of Fujianese migrants from Yunnan through the eastern Shan State to Mae Sai, Thailand for onward illegal transport to the US through Bangkok. It's odd that in a Burma so rigidly controlled by a omnipresent Military Intelligence network, the drug trade somehow eludes the SLORC's otherwise super-efficient police effort. As shown recently during the NLD's attempts at convening a National Convention to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 1990 elections, the SLORC's ability to identify, find and round up political dissidents is extremely good and carried out with lightening speed. Why can't this skill be put to more productive use in finding and arresting drug traffickers? They are clearly operating in plain view in Mandalay, Taunggyi, Lashio and Rangoon? But they do have a marked advantage over political dissidents. They have drug money to line SLORC pockets and fund the SLORC's investment projects. Just look at Lo Hsing Han's Asia World, which has secured over 60 percent of Singapore's investment in Burma -- all of that committed by Lo Hsing-han ally Robert Kuok. Is the SLORC profiting from the drug trade? You bet. Benefits from Khun Sa's supposed surender have been illusory. He's deep in the drug trade, but now protected by his newly-afforded status of SLORC ally and his new name - U Htet Aung. Brookes, I would urge you to learn a bit more about the drug issue from a broader pool of sources. Until then, your work will continue to be mistaken for a supplement to the New Light of Myanmar. ******************************************* BKK POST: INFLUX OF BURMESE SEX WORKER VIA MAE SAI ON THE RISE June 2, 1997 Aphaluck Bhatiasevi Chiang Rai An increasing number of young Burmese women have been crossing into Thailand through the checkpoint in Mae Sai district of this border province to work in the flourishing flesh trade business. According to World Vision's Bansit Thathorn, who is a coordinator at the Mae Sai-based non-governmental organisation, most of the women were coming into the country on a day-to-day basis to work in restaurants, bars, karaoke clubs, massage parlours and brothels, and more than 60% of them were under 18 years of age. According to the recently-passed anti-prostitution law, people involved in procuring children under 18 years are liable to a prison term ranging from 4-20 years plus a fine of 80,000-100,000 baht. Mr Bansit said World Vision helps women working at brothels in the province by providing counselling and educating them about safe sex but progress has been slow because most of them do not understand the Thai language. To overcome the language barrier, Mr Bansit said, World Vision has now started talking to their clients who are mostly local motorcycle-taxi drivers. "It's difficult to change their behaviour because they were driven here by poverty at home. The best we can do is provide counselling. We can't stop them from coming here," he said. Most of these sex workers ply their trade in Mae Sai for about two years, sometimes less, and then move on to other parts of the country where rewards are higher. Dr Sura Kunkongkaphan, director of Mae Sai District Hospital, said Burmese make up 30 percent of the patients at the hospital. According to him, out of 103 sex workers tested at the hospital this year, 37.8 percent were HIV positive, most of them from Burma's Shan state. Dr Sura said though some 2,000 illegal immigrants registered with authorities under the amnesty programme granted last year, an equal number, perhaps more, work illegally in Mae Sai. Director of Burma's Health Ministry, Dr Rai Mra, said his government was trying to expand facilities at the Tachilek Hospital which is just 100 metres from the Thai border. According to him, the incidence of Aids is high in Burma's eastern states bordering Thailand with Shan state registering the highest number of 243 cases last year. U Min Han, assistant director of Burma's Immigration and Population Department, said the main factors driving young Burmese girls to work in Thailand was poverty, illiteracy, changing social norms, the low value of the Burmese currency, and the high demand in the sex industry in Thailand. (BP) *************************************************** THE NATION: BURMESE TOP PATIENT LIST AT HOSPITAL June 3, 1997 THE Public Health Ministry's latest report shows that Burmese labourers were the largest group of foreigners who received medical treatment from Thai hospitals from August to December last year. The ministry's permanent secretary, Withoon Saengsingkaew, said that according to the report, 77 per cent of 6,449 foreigners (4,939) were Burmese labourers who were allowed to work m the country on a temporary basis in 42 provinces since August 1, 1996. Of the 6,449, forty-five per cent were treated for malaria, 15 per cent for severe diarrhea, six per cent each for elephantitis and sexually transmitted diseases and four per cent for tuberculosis, he said. Withoon said after the Burmese, Laotians were the second largest group to receive medical care at hospitals during the period of the survey. A total of 1,607 foreigners received 4 treatment in Kanchanaburi, 1,241 were treated in Mae Hong Son, and 1,611 sought treatment in Ranong province from August to December last year. Since the government allowed in workers from Laos, Cambodia and Burma to work on a temporary basis, Withoon said, there have been reports of diseases that were previously rarely found in the country, including severe diarrhea, polio leprosy and rabies. In the first two months of this year, about 2,000 migrant workers received treatment from 19 border hospitals. The majority were treated for malaria and severe diarrhea. Most of the foreign workers sought treatment at hospitals in Tak, Ranong, Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi provinces. Withoon said it was likely that border hospitals will see an increase in the number of foreigners it treats this year compared to last year as more Burmese escape fighting in their country. "I have already instructed hospitals in the border provinces to keep a close watch on the possible spread of diseases mainly from the displaced persons in order to prevent an epidemic," Withoon said. ***********************************************