NEWS - Myanmar Rebels Claim Wealth

[Rangoonp@xxxxxxx]

Subject: NEWS - Myanmar Rebels Claim Wealth Comes from Diamonds, Not Drugs

by Micool Brooke
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NOTE: The Wa people are not a gang. It MAY be that the Wa have a
majority drug control or gangs, but the Wa people themselves are not
gangs.  Also note, the drug problem would be less if the Burmese junta
would leave the ethnic groups alone to govern themselves as many prefer
to do.

Myanmar Rebels Claim Wealth Comes from Diamonds, Not Drugs by Micool
Brooke

               AP
               05-AUG-99

               BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- In response to the Thai army's
               new pressure against drug smuggling operations, the
leader
               of a Myanmar rebel group has said that diamonds, not
               narcotics, are his group's main source of income. 

               But Thai army commander Gen. Surayud Chulananont told
               The Associated Press that military intelligence indicates
               otherwise, and that forces along the Thai-Myanmar border
               were finally determined to rid the rugged area of drug
gangs.

               Maj. Sai Tong of the United Wa State Army told a news
               conference Wednesday at Mong Yawn, a border stronghold
               inside Myanmar, that his group is not involved in drugs. 

               The United States has identified the Wa as one of the
               world's largest armed drug gangs, producing opium, heroin
               and methamphetamines at jungle bases inside Myanmar.
               The Wa allegedly smuggle the wares to Thailand for sale
or
               shipment to world markets. 

               Thailand kicked up a diplomatic furor with Myanmar's
military
               government last week when a senior narcotics official
said
               the Myanmar's ruling generals were in league with the Wa. 

               Surayud said in an interview Wednesday that Thailand was
               unlikely to mount cross-border raids that could
jeopardize
               national relations. 

               The area is in the middle of the Golden Triangle, where
the
               borders of Myanmar, also known as Burma, Laos and
               Thailand meet. The region has long been the world's chief
               producer of heroin. 

               "We are expecting more clashes with the drug-traffickers
               coming from the Golden Triangle into Thailand," Surayud

               said. "But I think they are no match for us." 

               Surayud, a reform-minded general appointed to the top
army
               job last year, said the operation would continue
indefinitely. 

               Thai authorities have announced they will close the
border
               checkpoint serving Mong Yawn within a week because they
               believe a huge flow of drugs enters the country there. 

               Mong Yawn has been undergoing major construction work
               that will transform it from a village into a modern town,
with
               most labor being done by Thai construction firms. 

               Sai Tong claimed that the money for the work comes from
               sales of diamonds from a mine in the area, despite
reports to
               the contrary. He noted that his group had recently signed
a
               five-year agreement with the Myanmar government to
               cooperate in narcotics suppression. 

               The Wa signed a cease-fire with the military government
               several years ago. Critics say, however, that the
government
               agreed to turn a blind eye to drug trafficking. 

               In recent weeks, Thailand has launched a crackdown on the
               drug trade and seized a million or more methamphetamine
               pills near the border. Several drug couriers have been
killed.

               Thailand views the methamphetamine traffic as an
explosive
               social problem. The stimulants are targeted at the Thai
               market, whereas opium and heroin were primarily aimed at
               Europe and the United States.