Special Press Briefing Held (r)

[suantak@xxxxxx]

MR. OKKER

What General Than Shwe said and what is being said about opium production
in Burma from the opium fields seem to be quite different.  The drugs that
were confiscated were arranged. Even during planting the Burmese Army is
already palanning it.  Opium growing in Burma is not concentrated only in
the Shan States but also in the Chin Hills, Karenni state and Kachin state.
It is said that that six miles from Loikaw the government distributed lands
for growing opium.  Each grower is assigned three acres. One acre is to be
destroyed when the opium is at its young age.  The destruction happened
with the soldiers moving down the plants.  It was taped.  The production
from one acre was to be given to the Burmese Army. The production from the
remaining acre was for the planter.  

In the past the opium is extracted by scratching the fruit and the juice
being collected by wiping with pieces of cloth, which were later boiled to
separate the opium from the cloth.  Today the harvest of the opium is done
by cutting off the whole plant and by boiling the whole plant, thus
exracting the maximum amount of the opium.  It is also said that although
the Burmese Army meant to destroy the one acre by cutting off the plant, it
so happened that where the plant was cut off, up to five branches came out,
instead of the usual one fuit there were up to five fruits, thereby
yielding more opium..

The transportation of opium is the most secure with army vehicles because 
the transportation of the drug by other means means competing with the
monopol of the Burmese Army. Competing with the Burmese Army in any dealing
is a dangerous undertaken. That is the reason why some opium were
confiscated from civilian cars.

It is said that when General Khin Nyunt accused of General Tun Kyi being a
"Stone Tun Kyi " making money ( bribes etc) from  the Ruby, Saphire, and
Jade, Tun Kyi responded by calling General Khin Nyunt, "Four Khin Nyunt",
meaning that Khin Nyunt was involved in the drug trade. In Burma heroin is
called "Number Four" because it has to be refined four times to make pure
heoin.     


----------

> From: OKKAR66127@xxxxxxx
> To: Recipients of burmanet-l <burmanet-l@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Special Press Briefing Held
> Date: Tuesday, December 30, 1997 7:15 PM
> 
>                            Special Press Briefing Held
> 
>         On the morning of 31st December a special briefing was held at
the
> Myanmar TV Station in Yangon at 9:00 am.
> 
>          The briefing was on the new project which is to be implemented
in
> 1998 on ACCURATE DATA COLLECTION  on narcotic drugs.
> 
>          The aim of this project is to collect consensal of drug users in
> Myanmar so that a base line data can be obtained for prevention and
treatment
> programmes.
> A report was read by Col. Kyaw Thein who is the member of the Central
> committee for Drug Abuse Control and later on followed by questions from
the
> invited UN agencies, DEA representatives and the local and foreign media.
> 
>            Responsible authorities replied to the questions and concluded
the
> briefing at 10:00 am. The paper red by Col. Kyaw Thein  "The Achievement
of
> the Government in Narcotic Drug Control (1988-1997) is as follows:
> 
> 
>                 Achievements of the Government in Narcotic Drug Control 
>                                               (1988 -1997)
>  
> 	Myanmar has assiduously carried out narcotic drugs control measures
> throughout the years, Myanmar has also consistently cooperated with
United
> Nations organizations, neighbouring countries and countries in the region
in
> order to expend and increase the suppression and countrol of narcotic
durgs,
> but these activities will be further heightened with the advent of the
State
> Peace and Development Council. On 3rd December, 1997, a special meeting
of the
> Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control presided over by Secretary 1 of
the
> State Peace and Development Council Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt was
> convened, and the Committee itself was reconstituted. This newly re-
> established Committee has resolved to immediately undertake as its first
step,
> a compilation of statistics on a national level, the acreage of poppy
> cultivation and the number of addicts, with effect from January, 1998.
The
> UNDCP and other international organizations have been requested to give
> assistance in this collection of vital statistical data and the United
States
> of America has also been approached with an offer for cooperation in the
> matter and although a programme for the collection of such statistical
data is
> included in the Sub Regional Action Plan drawn by UNDCP no immediate
response
> have been given because of the high expenditure it would incur.
Nevertheless,
> the Government of the State Peace and Development Council, realizing the
> importance of obtaining Base Line Data for drug eradication, undertook
this
> task according to its own schedule.
>  
> 	At present, it will be seen that there is a wide gap in the forecasts on
the
> acreage and production of opium made respectively by Myanmar and the
United
> Stated of America. Myanmar's opium cultivation data are based on actual
ground
> survey and calculations show an average yield of 4.4 kilograms per acre.
The
> American opium production rates, according to the American survey team,
are
> based on satellite imageries and the yield per hectare is forecast as 100
per
> cent. The American forecast thus fails to take into account crop failure
due
> to changing weather conditions and wastage during harvestation nor does
it
> make any allowances for poppy cultivation plots uncovered and destroyed,
and
> opium and heroin captured and seized. Thus, with a view to obtaining
accurate
> Base Line Data without discrepancies, a nationwide campaign for the
> statistical data compilation was initiated.
>  
> 	As far as drug interdiction is concerned, the following figures show the
> results achieved from the time of assumption of state responsibilities in
1988
> up to l5th December, 1997. 
>  
> 	(a)	 Heroin					3717.35 kilos
> 	(b) 	Opium					22762.71 kilos
> 	(c) 	Phensendyl					32717.85 litres
> 	(d) 	Precursor chemicals & acids		33551 gallons
>  
> 	(e) 	Stimulant drugs				10800625 tablets
> 	(f) 	Ephedrine					3789.22 kilos
> 	(g) 	Heroin refining camps burned		70 Nos.
> 	(h)	 Burning of seized narcotic drugs
> 		(Yangon)					11 times
> 	(i)	 Burning of seized narcotic drugs
> 		(Border regions/other areas) 		18 times
>  
>  
> 	In carrying out this crusade against narcotic drugs during the period of
> September 1988 to the end of 1997, (766) members of the Armed Forces,
> including (20) officers gave up their lives and (2292) members, including
(81)
> officers were wounded.
>  
> 	As far as interdiction is concerned, 1997 has seen even more effective
> results. From January to 15th December, 1997, anti drug authorities were
able
> to seize 1396.92 kilos of heroin, 7651.4 kilos of opium, 1093 litres of
> phensedyl, 16948 gallons of chemicals and acids, 5043350 tablets of
stimulant
> drugs and 615.62 kilos of ephedrine. Seized narcotic drugs were burned
and
> destroyed on 4 separate occasions and 33 heroin refining camps were
uncovered
> and destroyed. Since 1988, the United States of America and European
countries
> withdrew all form of assistance to Myanmar including that for
antinarcotics
> measures. But Myanmar, being fully aware of narcotic drugs as the common
enemy
> of mankind, has within its limited means, successfully carried on, as a
> national duty, an unceasing fight against the narcotic drug menace. Opium
> poppy is grown and cultivated mostly in the Shan State and border regions
and
> the armed national groups in these regions were at one time largely
involved
> in the drug trade. Hence the reason why the Government gives priority to
> border area development and national reconsolidation. Due to the
unceasing and
> earnest efforts of the Government, the 15,000 strong drug trafficking
armed
> group led by Khun Sa surrendered unconditionally and entered the legal
fold
> together with over 9,000 heavy and light weapons and assorted ammunitions
and
> mines, (15) former armed national groups have also entered the legal fold
and
> are now working in cooperation with the government. These events have
made the
> armed forces as well as the other law enforcement agencies to concentrate
more
> on the fight against narcotic drugs which had resulted the significant
> seizures in 1996 and 1997. The cooperation and active participation of
the
> former armed ethnic groups had also made it possible to establish and
proclaim
> Opium Free Zone in the Shan State (East) Special Region 4 ( i.e. Mongma /
> Mongla ) region in April, 1997. Moreover a three-year project was
initiated in
> 1996 in Shan State (North) Special Region 2, and the year 2000 set as the
> target date for Shan State (North) Special Region 1, for establishment of
> additional opium-free zones. Plans have been drawn up for the poppy
> cultivation season of 1997/98 to carry out crop substitution of tea,
wheat,
> corn and buckwheat on more than 23,000 acres in the Mongko, Laukkhai,
Kongyan,
> Kunlong, Hopan, Namtu, Mong yaw / Mongkyet regions of Shan State (North),
> where poppy used to be the main crop.
> 
> 	Compared to the achievement in making large and significant seizures of
> narcotic drugs and eradication of poppy cultivations, the enormity of the
task
> in collecting the base line datas on the acreage of poppy cultivation and
the
> number of addicts will be more challenging. But as a national cause CCDAC
is
> determined to meet its goal and would like to urge all the government
> agencies, NGO's and the local inhabitants of the respective areas to put
their
> utmost efforts to make it possible.
>  
> 	Thank you. 
>  
>  
> *********
>