ANTI-DRUG DEAL :ONLY ON THE BOOK OR

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: ANTI-DRUG DEAL :ONLY ON THE BOOK OR FOR REAL?   31/3 afp

ANTI-DRUG DEAL: Myanmar and Laos, the two largest opium-producing
              countries in the so-called Golden Triangle, have signed an
agreement to
              crack down on illegal drug trafficking, according to official
news reports
              yesterday. 

              The pact was signed on Saturday as the highlight of an
official visit by
              Lao Prime Minister Siphandone Tongvanh to Myanmar at the
invitation of
              State Law and Order Restoration Council chairman General Than
Shwe,
              said the New Light of Myanmar newspaper. 

              Myanmar and Laos, whose remote hinterlands make up sections of the
              tri-border Golden Triangle area, produce about 2,500 tonnes
and 200
              tonnes of opium respectively per year.