SLORC'S DRUG COMMITMENT QUESTIONED

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

                         Burma's Drug Commitment
                         Questioned 

                         By ROBERT HORN 
                         Associated Press Writer 
                         Monday, June 16, 1997 1:45 am EDT 

                         BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Burma's military regime says
                         700 of its soldiers have been killed and 2,200
wounded battling
                         opium warlords in Burmese jungles since 1988. 

                         But during that same period, Burma's production of
opium -- the
                         raw material for heroin -- has increased from less
than 1,000
                         tons to 2,560 tons a year, making it the world's
largest opium
                         producer. 

                         So is Burma really fighting drugs? 

                         Several Western governments are skeptical about the
Rangoon
                         regime's attempts to eliminate opium growing and
say they fear
                         drug money is becoming a serious component in Burma's
                         economy. 

                         Col. Kyaw Thein, a key figure in Burma's anti-drug
activities,
                         rejects the questions, calling them politically
motivated. He says
                         it is his government's obligation to fight narcotics. 

                         ``But this is a complicated matter. We need more
time,'' he
                         adds. 

                         Rangoon's most vocal critic has been the United
States, which in
                         April slapped Burma with economic sanctions for the
military's
                         increased repression of the democracy movement. 

                         The U.S. State Department accuses the military
regime of
                         lacking the ``resources, the ability or the will to
take serious
                         action against ethnic drug trafficking groups.'' 

                         It also says the military is allowing some major
traffickers to
                         attend the country's constitutional convention as
representatives
                         of ethnic minorities. 

                         A recent State Department report said 15 percent of
foreign
                         investment in Burma goes through a company owned by
relatives
                         of Lo Hsing-han, a major drug trafficker. 

                         Nonetheless, the State Department says there is no
evidence
                         high-ranking Burmese officials are involved in the
drug business. 

                         And some paint a more positive picture of the
regime's efforts,
                         noting the opium is grown in remote regions where
various
                         groups have fought Rangoon's control for decades. 

                         ``The Burmese are serious about fighting the drug
trade,'' says
                         Gerald Moore, former director of the United Nations
Drug
                         Control Program in Rangoon. ``A lot of what you
read about
                         Burmese involvement in drug trafficking just isn't
justified.''