How Should the Narcotic Drug Problem at the Burma-Thai Border Area be Resolved?
source : MIC
by Kyaw Kyaw
( which appeared in the December 11th Kyei-mon (Mirror) and Myanma-Ahlin (The Light of Myanmar) Myanmar Newspapers )
Myanmar, a country in the South-East Asia Region, is one, which makes every endeavour to cooperate and live in amity and good will with neighboring countries in accordance with the Five Principles of Co-existence of the Bandung Conference. She shares common borders with China, India, Bangladesh, Thailand and Laos.
The border she shares with Thailand is over 2,000 kilometers long and the terrain along it is mountainous and thickly forested. Access on the Myanmar side of the border is difficult because proper roads for transportation have yet to be developed.
As is generally known, the internal insurgencies erupted together with independence in Myanmar. Moreover, in 1949 the Kuomintang White Chinese Forces, (KMT) which had been defeated in the battle of Southern Yunnan in China, in their retreat, crossed the border into the northeastern border area of Myanmar. After this incursion, they established themselves in the area and began refining and trafficking in opium, thus sowing the evil seeds of the current narcotic drug problem.
During the years, 1961/62/63, the KMT groups were withdrawn but the majority did not return to Taiwan and instead established villages and settled in Chiengmai and Chiengrai provinces along the Thai side of the border. They then conspired with the Myanmar insurgent and terrorist groups to carry on production and trafficking of narcotic drugs. The motley groups of insurgents exploited not only the long border shared with Thailand and the difficult communications of the thickly forested and mountainous terrain, but also the fact that arms, ammunition and other supplies were easily available from Thailand.
They thus established armed strongholds in the border areas from which they carried out their terrorist attacks and drug production cum trafficking activities. These insurgent groups then formed unholy alliances with the KMT groups and established contacts with some financiers and entrepreneurs in Thailand, and through them illegally imported narcotic drugs abroad to reach the world market. With funds earned from drug trafficking, they were able to buy more modern arms and ammunitions via Thailand and their narcotic drug enterprises expanded in proportion to their armed strength.
The Armed Forces Government which assumed State responsibilities on 18th September 1988, have given top priority in its agenda to border area development and consolidation of national unity as the most effective means of reducing and ultimately total eradicating narcotic drug production in the border areas. Due to the endeavors made by the Government, 17armed ethnic groups have relinquished the path of armed insurrection, to abide by laws of the state and work diligently with the Government for comprehensive development in their respective regions.
Furthermore, in 1996, the Mong Tai Army (MTA) led by Khun Sa, whose main function was the wholesale production and trafficking of narcotic drugs, unlike the other armed ethnic groups, surrendered unconditionally and turned over all areas under its control to the Government. The fact that this strong and well-equipped drug army which had been in operation for so many years and its leader Khun Sa who had been dubbed the "Drug King" of the world, had chosen to surrender unconditionally led to a significant reduction of production and trafficking in the drug trade.
With the unconditional surrender of Khun Sa’s MTA and their return to the legal fold, the illegal drug trade at the Myanmar-Thai border should have been totally wiped out. But the MTA group of Mong Htaw/Mong Hta region led by Ywet Sit, a Shan national, had refused to abide by the surrender and instead set up his own headquarters under the name Shan United Revolutionary Army (SURA) in Pein Lon of Thailand.
Likewise another MTA remnant group led by Kyauk Sitt Hsu Laing established his group at Ma Hein Tet in Thailand. There was also the Wa National Army (WNA) led by Maha Hsan with headquarters in Mae Aw in Thailand. These renegade groups joined up with the KMT remnants along the Thai border to continue terrorist activities and the illegal drug trade.
Another group, the Kayinni armed group had also set up an encampment at Mae Hong Song on the Thai side of the border to trade illegally in narcotic drugs. Thus, as long as these MTA remnants, the KMT remnants and armed terrorists continue to survive and flourish along the Thai-Myanmar border the illegal trade in narcotic drugs in the Thai-Myanmar border areas will surely continue to thrive.
The Myanmar Government on its part has demonstrated its firm commitment to the eradication of narcotic drugs by designating it as a National Task, and in the post-1988 period accelerated its drug interdiction activities. When the drug trade entered a new phase with the appearance of stimulant tablets on the drug scene, the Government gave even higher priority to stepping up interdiction and eradication.
Moreover the narcotic drug issue is not simply the affair of a single nation and confined only within its territorial boundaries. Drug trafficking knows no frontiers nor does it respect the sovereignty of nations. To counter this, the Government is working towards drug eradication in cooperation with local and foreign non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, sub-regional authorities, countries in the region and with neighboring countries.
Myanmar regularly attends a bi-annual meeting of senior officials from Thailand, China, and India on drug interdiction, and regular monthly meetings at the lower echelon where views are exchanged and cooperative action is taken. Of special note is the Myanmar-Thai cooperation, which includes the conduct of training courses, the exchange of technology and experiences, and return visits of the two sides for further observation and study. Such cooperation between the two countries has led to marked improvement in the momentum of interdiction and much has been achieved.
It is therefore highly regrettable that news reports contrary to fact about Myanmar have appeared in the Thai English language newspapers, the Bangkok Post and the Nation. The newspaper reports said in effect that – Along the Thai-Myanmar border, stimulant tablets and heroin were being produced within Myanmar and that the Government was feigning ignorance of the drug trafficking being perpetrated by armed ethnic groups.
They also claimed that Khun Sa had resumed the drug trade and that the Myanmar Armed Forces were involved in it. That the Myanmar Government Carrier Airline was transporting narcotic drugs and that about 90% of the drugs that entered Thailand was from Myanmar.
According to other false allegations, 600 million stimulant tablets had entered Thailand and that these tablets were controlled and produced by the Southern Wa Group; that the Wa from northern Myanmar had moved to the southern regions in order to expand their drug activities. Further, that the Wa Southern Group had been building roads in Mong Yun in eastern Shan State, constructing dams and hydroelectric power plants and implementing other development projects with funds obtained from drug trafficking. These are some of the false, and totally irresponsible allegations levelled at Myanmar, which has halted the momentum of drug enforcement and belittled the success achieved in drug interdiction through Myanmar-Thai cooperation.
Another false news report, even worse than the above appeared on the front pages of the Bangkok Post issued on 23rd November 2000. Headed "Burmese killed in clash with rangers" it said: The SSA armed insurgent group entered and attacked Ban Muser Abi in Myanmar, which is located directly opposite Chiengrai in Mae Hpa Las District, and according to the report, a place that produced narcotic drugs, under the protection of the Myanmar Army, on 23rd November 2000. It went on to say that 100,000 ATS tablets were seized together with one truck and five motorcycles, and that 2 Thai citizens and 13 members of the USWA were captured. Two Thai Paramilitary members were said to have been wounded when fired upon by Myanmar Army forces. It said that the SSA insurgents handed over the 100,000 ATS stimulant tablets and the two Thai citizens to the Thai authorities. The report further said: "Third Army Commander Lt. Gen. Wattanachai Chaimuenwong praised the Shan State Army, led by Chao Yod Suek (Ywet Sitt), for its anti-drug efforts."
With regard to this report, on the ground inquiries have revealed the true facts of the case as follows:
At 0530 hours on 19th November 2000, a combined force of about 50 members of a Thai Border Patrol Unit and 50 members of the SURA now known as SSA, entered Ah Htoo village near the border on the Myanmar side in 9 Army trucks and one civilian car. They then surrounded the village and seized 8 villagers of the People’s Militia together with 6 small arms, one motor vehicle, 5 motorcycles and departed. Of the militiamen captured, only 4 have been released. The remaining 4 men and the car and motorcycles are still in the hands of the captors.
This incident undoubtedly occurred because members of a Thai Border Patrol Unit in charge of border security, in collusion with outlawed SURA armed terrorists, behaved in an unneighborly manner towards a friendly country and then further exacerbated the situation by using the media to give a false report in the Bangkok Post. It is high time for the authorities to deal severely with those irresponsible enough to issue such false allegations. Myanmar, however, despite the infringement of her sovereignty, has had the dignity and courtesy of bringing this to the attention of the Thai-Myanmar Joint Border Committee meeting held at Tachilek on 20th November to lodge her complaint officially, just as a good neighbor should.
The crucial question now is: How shall we resolve the problem of narcotic drugs in the Myanmar-Thai border? Does Thailand intend to hurl unfounded and one-sided accusations against Myanmar to politicize the narcotic drug issue in her own self-interest? Or - Is she sincerely committed to finding a solution to a worldwide problem in the spirit of international cooperation? If Thailand is genuinely concerned about the narcotic drug problem and has sincere good will, the time is now ripe to choose the right course of action. Myanmar on her part is convinced that narcotic drugs that menace mankind today can be totally eradicated only through cooperation. It has designated the eradication of narcotic drugs a National Task – a crusade, which she has undertaken with a fair measure of success. And she stands firmly committed to the pledge to eradicate narcotic drugs in full cooperation with the international community.