Experts call for urgent removal of "sanction" (Burma)

Don Pathan
The Nation

All nine heads of the United Nations relief agencies in Burma have made a collective plea to their respective organisations and the international community to urgently lift sanctions against the junta on humanitarian grounds.

With more than 500,000 people HIV-positive and a high maternal mortality ratio ranging between 230-580 per 100,000 live births, Burma is on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, they said in a letter sent to all chiefs of UN agencies operating in the country.

The groups include the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Unicef and the World Health Organisation.

The letter said half of the maternal deaths in Burma were due to unsafe abortions, while about 25 percent of new-born babies were underweight. One in three of all Burmese children would be malnourished by the time they reached the age of five.

"This is compounded by the fact that about 3.6 million children and 1.1 million pregnant women live in areas considered to be at high or moderate risk for malaria transmission," according to the letter.

The nine UN representatives said humanitarian assistance to Burma was a moral and ethical necessity and to deny the country the aid would cause unnecessary suffering.

They called for a dramatic overhaul of budget allocation to Burma, as well as a cohesive approach between the activities of the UN organisations operating in Burma and the political initiatives launched from within the UN system.

Moreover, said the representatives, delayed assistance may also have an escalating effect on the illicit drug business, resulting in a negative impact on the region as a whole in a wide range of other areas - including human trafficking, illegal migration and population displacements.

"The current peripheral or piecemeal assistance provided to Myanmar [Burma] is not 

adequate to reverse or even slow down certain negative trends," the letter said. Burma receives about US$1 (Bt45) per capita annually, compared with $35 for Cambodia and $68 for Laos. 

The representatives pointed out HIV/Aids, illicit drugs and food security as the top three areas that needed utmost attention.

Although the representatives agreed that a common humanitarian approach towards Burma must be viewed in the context of the country's political environment, they said: "the nature and magnitude of the humanitarian situation does not permit delaying until the political situation evolves". 

The statement from the nine UN agency heads came amid ongoing secret talks between the ruling junta and the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner whose National League for Democracy won a landslide general election in 1990 but was denied the fruit of victory by the army.

A rocky path that turned smooth: Thailand-Vietnam relations

Don Pathan
The Nation

Coming to terms with the past has not been easy for Thailand and Vietnam, the two Southeast Asian nations who have fought each other bitterly in various circles for the most part of their 25 years of diplomatic relations.

But with guidance from the country’s Royal Family, as well as the strong political will of Thailand’s successive leaders, the bitterness has subsided.

“Never before has the relationship between Thailand and Vietnam been in such good shape as it is now,” said the Vietnamese ambassador to Thailand, Do Ngoc Son, in an interview with The Nation.

There have been a lot of changes in the past 25 years, said the envoy, pointing to a number of political breakthroughs, most of which took place in recent years.

Son said regular visits by members of the Royal Family had helped pave the way for the leaders of the two sides to come to the negotiating table to pin down some of the stickiest issues that have been shelved for the best part of the relationship.

In the past decade, many of these issues were centred on the region’s security, with Vietnam being on one side and the core Asean members – Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Singapore – on the other. The battlefield was, naturally, the rice paddies of Indochina, as well as the United Nations.

A major breakthrough came in 1989 under the Paris Peace Agreement, which paved the way for Vietnamese troops to pull out of Cambodia. It was followed by a UN-sponsored general election in the wartorn country.

In 1992, Hanoi was granted Asean “observer” status, and three years later became a full member of the regional grouping.

“This has allowed all of us to create a deeper understanding of one another,” Son said. “It wasn’t just with Thailand, but relations with all Asean countries improved.”

But coming under the Asean umbrella wasn’t a cause for jubilation as Hanoi wanted it to be. Many of the core members were still suspicious of Hanoi’s “hidden agenda” in Vientiane and Phnom Penh. In the process, sensitive issues between Vietnam and Thailand, such as refugee repatriation, overlapping claims and the Khmer Rouge, would have to wait for political developments to be worked out.

But despite these difficult times, Son said, there was always a need in Hanoi to forge stronger bonds.

“We have always attached great importance to Thailand for various reasons – strategic, economic, historical, geographical, and the similarity in the cultures,” Son said.

A major breakthrough came in 1997 when Thailand and Vietnam became the first two countries in Southeast Asia to ink a maritime boundary, said Son.

According to Son, the agreement showed that there existed mutual political will between the two sides, and therefore paved the way for other sticky issues to be brought up.

Today, the mutual trust has expanded to other areas, including the granting of citizenship to second and third generation ethnic Vietnamese who are descended from the so-called Dien Bien Phu refugees.

Most of the Dien Bien Phu refugees left Vietnam for Thailand in the late 1940s to avoid fighting between Vietnamese nationalists and French forces. Many migrated to Thailand in the previous decade along with the leading members in the nationalist circle who came here to map out their strategy against the French.

The second major wave that fled the country following the fall of the American-backed Saigon regime in 1975 came regularly until a comprehensive plan of action backed by the UN High Commissioner of Refugees was put in place. The last group of these refugees went back in early 1999 following the closure of the Sikhiu camp.

Today, about 60 percent of the so-called descendants of Dien Bien Phu have been granted Thai citizenship, while all of the first generation have been granted residency status, thus allowing them to return to visit their homeland.

“We highly appreciate this humanitarian and reasonable policy,” Son said. “They [the Dien Bien Phu refugees] have contributed greatly to the betterment of Thailand and can also serve as a bridge to promote friendship between the two countries.”

On the economic front, Son said the two countries are looking to strengthen their global strategy in the world’s rice market before other rice-producing countries, like India and Pakistan, would be considered to take part in the scheme.

“Rice is the most important commodity for the two agricultural-based societies. We are looking at this as a way to relieve the plight of the poor farmers.”

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25th ANNIVERSARY OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS: The fisherman's friend: Thai-Vietnamese ties in a sea change

Don Pathan
The Nation

Published on Aug 4, 2001 

Once bitter enemies across the Cold War divide, Thailand and Vietnam have moved in recent years toward close security and economic cooperation

A few days ago a Vietnamese oil vessel rescued 18 Thai sailors from a burning ship that caught on fire just off Vietnam's southern coast. All the Thai sailors survived, although two were badly burned.

The recent rescue was a far cry from what used to take place in Vietnam's territorial waters. It is not exactly a secret that for the most part of their 25-year history of diplomatic relations, the two sides didn't see eye to eye.

Just three years ago, the name of the game was to catch Thai trawlers fishing illegally in Vietnamese waters. It was a nasty cat-and-mouse game that often struck a raw nerve with both Bangkok and Hanoi. For the Vietnamese authorities, catching Thai trawlers was good business. One vessel could fetch up to a million baht. So lucrative was the trawler trade that even non-coastal Vietnamese provinces were getting into the act.

Today, the chase is no more. Gone are the bitter days when Thai fishermen cluttered up Vietnamese jails waiting to be bailed out by greedy boat owners who were often slapped with inflated fines. 

And with illegal fishing and territorial disputes effectively becoming non-issues, the two countries are turning to each other to map out plans for further cooperation in downstream investments.

To curb illegal fishing and piracy, the navies of both countries are carrying out joint patrols in common waters.

Besides fisheries, the two countries are working together to find ways to control the international rice market. Along the way, the world's two leading rice exporters have attracted great interest from other rice-producing countries like India and Pakistan.

In the area of security cooperation, Thailand and Vietnam have shown that they have reached a level of maturity where frank discussion and exchange of information can take place. Thai authorities have acted swiftly over a recent bomb scare incident carried out by an anti-Hanoi group labeled "terrorists" by the Vietnamese government. 

Moreover, a Thai court is currently trying a Vietnamese-American activist, Ly Thong, on charges of hijacking. Ly was reported to have bribed a Thai pilot to fly him over Vietnam to drop anti-communist leaflets over Ho Chi Minh City. 

Three years ago when another anti-Hanoi movement was taking shape in Trad province, Thai officials did not hesitate to penetrate the ring and break it up. Thailand wanted to show Hanoi that it was serious about security cooperation.

But this level of trust between the two countries did not come overnight. During the Cold War, the two countries were on opposite sides, fighting each other locally in the rice paddies of Indochina, as well as internationally in New York and Paris.

A major breakthrough came in 1989 when Vietnam pulled its troops from Cambodia, paving the way for the 1991 peace settlement. Four years later, Hanoi became a member of the Asean family, pushing bilateral ties with Thailand to a higher plane. 

The mudslinging died down, making way for the strengthening of links that led to the smooth repatriation of all Vietnamese refugees. In February 1999, the Sikhiu camp in Nakhon Ratchasima was closed, thus ending one of the most disturbing chapters in the modern history of Thailand and Vietnam. 

In that year, the two countries also found a middle ground over overlapping claims in the Gulf of Siam. Vietnam became the first country in the region to reach such an agreement with Thailand.

Meanwhile, in Thailand's Northeast, the so-called Dien Bien Phu refugees who fled their homeland in the late 1940s to escape the fighting between French troops and Vietnamese nationalists are well on their way toward receiving their Thai nationality and residency. 

Unlike the previous decades where tremendous prejudice and dubious security measures prevented them from moving up the social ladder, today the sons and daughters of the Dien Bien Phu refugees are changing the face of the underdeveloped region, turning the sleepy region into a thriving business community.

In a few days, the two former enemies will celebrate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties. In spite of what they have overcome, a number of challenges still lie ahead. But judging from the cooperation between the two nations in recent years, it would be safe to say that it's all downhill from here.

Abduction revives border tensions

Don Pathan
The Nation

Thai political leaders and top officials in Bangkok were tight-lipped as to how the kidnapping of seven Thai army and narcotics officers by a pro-Rangoon armed group could have occurred just weeks after the fence-mending visit by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Rangoon.

Few were without an opinion as to how such an incident would affect the waxing and waning of Thai-Burmese relations. All agreed Burma's help was necessary for securing the release of the seven captives. Thai officers on the front lines along the border, on the other hand, were not so optimistic. Many see the incident as retaliation against the recent arrest of seven people, reportedly their associates, in connection with the smuggling of 74 kilograms of heroin and Bt90 million in cash.

Moreover, they said the kidnapping incident had not only strained working relations at the local level but more importantly, it had exposed the flaws in what has been billed as recuperating bilateral ties between the two governments. Needless to say, the "flaw" in this case is the 20,000-strong United Wa State Army (UWSA), dubbed one of the world's largest armed narcotics-trafficking groups.

The UWSA operate somewhat independently in an autonomous zone along Burma's northeastern frontier. At the height of the mudslinging that was kicked off by day-long cross-border shelling between the Thai and Burmese armies earlier this year, top brass from both sides were trading vicious accusations, saying their counterparts were taking kickbacks from drug traffickers.

Although the war of words may have quietened down following Thaksin's visit to Rangoon, feelings among border units remain tense, officials said. Many said it would take more than a "kiss-and-make-up" session between Thaksin and the junta to improve the situation on the front lines.

For years, Bangkok has consistently held Rangoon accountable for the Wa's illicit activities, despite acknowledging that the UWSA operate independently from Rangoon. This independence is illustrated by the fact that Burmese troops are required to disarm before entering Wa-controlled areas.

Two years ago, Thailand declared war on the UWSA, accusing them of regularly flooding the country with millions of methamphetamine pills. Economic sanctions were imposed against the Wa and a border checkpoint leading to Mong Yawn, one of their strongholds near the Thai border, was ordered shut.

According to the US State Department, Burma continues to be one of the world's largest producers of illicit opium, accounting for 80 per cent of the total production in Southeast Asia. A great deal of the drug activities there is controlled by the UWSA. The group entered a cease-fire agreement, but not a permanent peace deal, with the military government of Burma in 1989.

BURMA: The Aid Debate Rages On

By DON PATHAN
The Irrawaddy

A letter written by representatives of United Nations agencies in Rangoon has brought the debate over giving aid to Burma back into the international spotlight. 

The debate over humanitarian assistance to military-ruled Burma has been around ever since the army seized power after gunning down students and pro-democracy activists over a decade ago. The issue is a very sensitive one. And every time it has surfaced, the international community—United Nations agencies, non-governmental organizations, labor, and human rights groups, as well as the exiled community—remained as divided as ever on the matter. 

A recent controversial letter calling for more aid, signed by all nine UN representatives in Rangoon, is a case in point. In the letter, the nine UN representatives collectively called on their respective headquarters and the international community for a "dramatic overhaul of the budget allocations" for Burma because the country is "on the brink of a humanitarian crisis". 

The letter, dated June 30, 2001, and distributed to the agencies’ heads throughout the world, was leaked to the press in early August. Naturally, the UN representatives downplayed the significance of what they referred to as an "internal document". 

They maintained that it has "no political implications". Moreover, they gave the impression that they were confused by all the media attention. After all, they were just asking for more money for a trouble-plagued Burma that they said was on the brink of a crisis. 

The letter cited a UNAIDS report claiming that at least 530,000 Burmese were infected with HIV, and that the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the country is high, with estimates ranging between 230 and 580 per 100,000 live births. 

Moreover, the report claimed that by the time children reach the age of five, one in three will be "moderately to severely" malnourished. "This is compounded by the fact that one in 3.6 million children and 1.1 million pregnant women live in areas considered to be a high or moderate risk for malaria transmission," according to the report. 

Let us, for the sake of argument, say that these figures are accurate and that the claim that Burma is on the brink of a disaster holds water. Nevertheless, the letter, signed by men and women who are supposed to be in the know, begs the question as to why some in the pro-democracy camp, as well as those in exile, strongly object to the idea of seeing more aid to Burma. 

To be fair, the letter did state that actions towards Rangoon must be viewed in the context of Burma’s "political environment" and that this environment "formed the backdrop for all humanitarian assistance to this country". However, the letter goes on, "The nature and magnitude of the humanitarian situation does not permit delaying until the political situation evolves." It goes without saying that supporters of pro-democracy movements see international aid as a political tool to get the Burmese military regime to move towards democracy and develop a real political solution where all parties, including minority groups, can participate and have a say about their future. 

In other words, the democratic opposition believes that a policy that consists of all carrots and no sticks will not work against the regime. There are many who fear that in the final analysis, nothing will change and that the much-condemned regime, which is also hated by its own people, will remain in power indefinitely. For the regime’s critics, the letter out of Rangoon could not have come at a better time. 

As it was being leaked out to the press, the generals in Rangoon were preparing for the arrival of a squadron of jet fighters. Rangoon had purchased a squadron of ten MiG fighters from Russia as part of the regime’s effort to modernize Burma’s armed forces. It should be noted that the deal was reached at about the same time Thailand closed a deal with the US over the purchase of Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or Amraams—one of the most sophisticated weapons designed to take down any jet fighter out there. 

Rangoon spends around forty percent of its annual budget on defense. And while Burmese people suffer, military spending continues to eat up money that could have gone to more immediate needs, such as public health care, strategies for combating HIV/ AIDS, and programs to suppress drug trafficking—the exact same concerns pointed out by the nine UN representatives. Indeed, it is disappointing to note that the letter did not mention the argument that the Burmese military regime is itself to blame for the appalling conditions under which the majority of Burmese live. 

Instead, the bulk of the three-page letter argued in favor of giving more money to assist one of the most badly misruled countries in the world. The letter went on to talk about the fact that the Burmese junta, which is widely condemned by the international community, and UN agencies operating in Burma, have very limited access to Official Development Assistance (ODA). 

It also pointed out that ODA currently provided to Burma is only about US $1 per capita, compared to US $35 in Cambodia and US $68 for Laos (1997 figures). It is worth noting, however, that Laos and Cambodia, slow though they may be, have made advances toward meeting their donors halfway.

Vientiane’s effort towards eradicating opium cultivation in the country is well noted, while Phnom Penh is looking for ways to bring former Khmer Rouge leaders to justice in such a way that the country won’t lose face. Rangoon, on the other hand, openly courts drug dealers and makes no real effort to curb the illicit activities of the drug armies and opium warlords. 

Instead, these drug armies have become instrumental in their dealings with Thailand. And Rangoon continues to ask why the world does not take their efforts to curb illicit drugs seriously. Year after year, the United Nations and other international organizations have consistently blasted the Burmese regime for gross violations of human rights and demanded an end to the practice of forced labor. In spite of the fact that the regime is engaging in a dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, there is no indication that these atrocities are being curbed or coming to an end.

People inside Burma are still being displaced by the junta’s vicious campaign aimed at cutting all forms of civilian support for the rebel armies. Those who could no longer stand the aggravation have decided to take their chances and headed towards the Thai border, where ragtag rebel armies are barely making ends meet. A stone’s throw away from the Thai border inside Burma, one can see hungry and displaced Shan and Karen people, as well as members of other ethnic groups, sitting helplessly as they cling to whatever meager belongings they could carry as they fled the war zone. 

It does not take a genius to see that the decision behind granting aid—development or humanitarian—has a political spin to it. There are no set benchmarks to determine the amount of aid a country should receive and at what point in a crisis aid should be handed out. Naturally, being a pariah state has its price. For the time being, the benchmarks for Burma, it seems, will remain higher than for others. 

Don Pathan is an assistant regional editor of The Nation newspaper in Thailand.

Third Army confronts new Golden Triangle king

In rugged border terrain, Thai troops square off against the United Wa Army which protects a huge drug empire in Burma. 

Don Pathan
The Nation
Doi Kiw Hoong, Chiang Mai

Standing at the peak of this hill overlooking the 32-square kilometres of disputed territory where about 1,200 Thai and Burmese troops are scattered on just about every ridge, regiment commander Colonel Supoj Buranayanee tries hard not to offend his counterparts just one hilltop away. 

Not accustomed to nagging foreign press, the soft-spoken Supoj chose his words carefully as he explains the background of the disputed territory, Doi Lang, and how it is linked to a valley down the road, the site of Mong Yawn, a major stronghold for one of the world's largest armed drug trafficking group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA). 

"We have an agreement between the local Thai and Burmese forces that we would not use force in the Doi Lang area. And if one side wishes to carry out any type of operation, the other side must be notified," Colonel Supoj said. 

Curious foreign and local journalists, meanwhile, took turns with binoculars to see the much talked-about Wa town that has become the centre of a dispute between the Thai and Burmese governments. 

For years, before Burmese opium warlord Khun Sa and his powerful Mong Tai Army (MTA) surrendered to the Rangoon government in January 1996 in return for amnesty, this region, like other rebel-controlled areas, had functioned as a buffer zone between the Thai and Burmese armies.

Besides being a buffer between the two armies, drug experts said the Doi Lang area also served as the gateway for some of the world's finest opium and heroin heading for major cities throughout the world. Today, the MTA is no more. 

And for the past six years, both Thai and Burmese soldiers have sat and watched each other's moves, wondering what the unwanted neighbours are up to. They wave and smile at each other every now and then. 

But in recent months, since the cross-border shelling between the two sides about 50 kilometres away in the Mae Sai-Tachilek area, as well as the latest demand by Rangoon that the Thai troops pull out of the area, nervousness has crept in. Like the previous decade when Thai soldiers were sent here to secure the border and curb the flow of opium and heroin coming out of MTA camps, today's troops are mandated to do pretty much the same thing. 

Besides having a Burmese army watching their back, the Thai troops have to contend with the growing presence of the new king of the Golden Triangle, the UWSA, dubbed the world's largest armed drug trafficking group. 

"Any of these points along the rugged border is accessible by foot," said Supoj, pointing to the vast rugged terrain that appeared to stretch endlessly. 

Army officials say dealers from places like Bangkok and Hat Yai slip in and out of nearby Fang and Mae Ai districts to meet local agents who in turn hire local hilltribes to cross the border and transport the illicit drugs. 

A mule is paid one baht for each of the methamphetamine pills they get across to the Thai side of the border from the clandestine laboratories, most of which are under the Wa's control. It's a very attractive deal considering the fact that the average annual per capita income of the local residents is about Bt30,000. 

"In one trip they can make as much as they can |in one year from farming," Supoj said. 

The growing demand for drugs among Thai addicts has, indeed, taking its toll on the army who appeared to be over-stretched from taking up two jobs - securing the border and fighting drugs. Just last week as the Third Army mobilised its troops to retake nearby Hua Lone hill from the Wa and Burmese troops, army officers admitted a "balloon affect" has been created - while one area is being squeezed, drug trafficking pops up in other spots along the border. So where is the Burmese government troops in all of this? 

"The local Burmese officers are well aware of the illicit activities being carried out by the Wa and some of them benefit directly from the drug trade," said Colonel Chanchai Sundarakes, Third Army deputy chief-of-staff. "We bring this up with them but they always say they don't have control over the Wa's activities," he added. 

The UWSA came into being in 1989 following the fall of the Communist Party of Burma, in which the Wa faction had served as foot soldiers. 

Burmese security chief Lt-General Khin Nyunt rushed to sign a cease-fire with the group in order to neutralise a 20,000-strong army. In return, the Wa were given the green light to expand their heroin empire down to an area adjacent to the northern Thai border. Along the way, they clashed with archenemy Khun Sa and the MTA, hastening his surrender in January 1996. 

But today, instead of opium and heroin for the world's market, methamphetamine pills have been added to the shopping list of the traffickers. And the market is the streets of Bangkok, Chiang Mai and other major cities in Southeast Asia. The demand for methamphetamines, locally known as yaa baa, has risen in recent years and the amount being produced does not seem to satisfy the growing market. 

Chanchai says the amount of trafficked methamphetamines has jumped from 20 million tablets in 1998 to somewhere between 400 and 600 million this year. Chanchai claimed that more than 30 clandestine heroin and methamphetamine labs are situated along the northern Thai Burmese. 

Lt-Colonel Peeranate Temkhem, head of the Third Army's Pha Muang Task Force intelligence unit, said major shipments of methamphetamines and heroin are expected to be coming through in the next few weeks. 

He pointed to the increase in the price of grade 4 heroin, which jumped from Bt230,000 to Bt280,000 for a unit of 700 grammes, which suggests a shortage of supply, as well as to what appears to be a growing demand for methamphetamines. 

Many Thai army officers along the border admit their fight has been an uphill one. The Wa's drug money has not only built roads and irrigation systems for Shan State, but is being channelled to legitimate businesses directly under |them. 

"They (Wa) are not just looking to get the drugs across the border. They are looking to expand their empire to other areas that are beyond most people's reach," Peeranate said. 

Chasing the Burmese dragon

The Thaksin government is poised to launch a major anti-drug offensive against the Burma-based Wa army. It stands a real risk of failure, Don Pathan reports.

Two years ago when the bodies of nine Thai villagers, beaten to death with their hands tied behind their backs, were found scattered along the northern border, all fingers pointed to the Wa army which is based just on the other side of the border.

It was a drug deal gone bad, and members of the United Wa State Army did it, Thai officials said. Though no one has proven exactly who carried out the brutal act, nevertheless the blame was conveniently placed on the Wa. After all, this 20,000-strong outfit has been dubbed the world's largest armed drug-trafficking group, and a number of its leaders have already been indicted by a US federal court on drug charges.

Thai security agencies found themselves in a situation where they had to act and act fast. The army was brought into the picture, border crossings leading to the UWSA areas were ordered shut, and over 1,000 Thai workers building everything from roads and hydroelectric dams to schools and hospitals in nearby Wacontrolled areas were told to come home.

For the Thai troops along the border overlooking Doi Sam Sao opposite Thailand's Mae Ai district, this meant that their daily volleyball games with the Wa soldiers had to end. The Thai public and the media went along for the ride, and the Thaksin government, as well as the previous Chuan administration, couldn't resist jumping on the bandwagon in spite of its racist connotations. "Wa" immediately became a household name. And just like that, an entire ethnic group became demonised.

To show that he meant business Thaksin, shortly after taking over as premier, launched a highprofile drug seminar in Chiang Mai. Photographs showed Burma's security chief, Lt-General Khin Nyunt, shaking hands with Wa leaders in Mong Yawn, a newly built town adjacent to Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district. Thai officials said Mong Yawn was the source of millions of methamphetamine pills heading for the streets of Bangkok and other major cities in the country.

At the end of the two-day seminar, Thaksin boldly told the public that he would take the matter straight to Rangoon. China, said Thaksin, will also be brought into the picture to help with the counter-narcotics efforts.

Thailand's latest move is to form a 400-strong anti-drug task force made up of staff from the Army Special Forces, infantry and Border Police units. They will be trained by a team of about 20 soldiers from the US Special Forces, starting this October under the supervision of the Third Army.

But while the public ate up the anti-narcotic rhetoric, little discussion was given to the implications and the possible fallout with Rangoon and Beijing, two sovereign governments whose priorities happen to be other than the Thai people's bad habits.

A Bangkok-based foreign diplomat overseeing drug issues called Thailand's declaring war on the Wa a "knee-jerk" reaction without real understanding of the situation on the ground. For any anti-narcotic policy to be successful, according to Burma experts, it must include a meaningful political solution for all insurgent groups in the ethnically diverse country. Drug trafficking and insurgency, they say, are two

sides of the same coin.

In a recent interview with The Nation, the UN Drug Control Programme's regional representative Sandro Calvani said a strong foundation for regional countries to cooperate in their anti-narcotic efforts "exists in joint agreements, but real united action requires significant improvements".

"Finger-pointing to drug-producers or drug-users helps no one. History in other parts of the world has shown that isolating a group does more harm than help," said Calvani, suggesting that

regional UN coordinated action on the Wa and Burma might be more effective than fragmented

moves by Thailand, Malaysia, China, India and other countries concerned.

As for the country's anti-drug policy, an alliance that unites the government, the UN and the entire civil society must be created, while the private and public sectors, as well as government agencies and the community, must be included in this endeavour, he said.

For years Rangoon has consistently come under attack by Western governments for allowing drug armies and opium warlords to operate with little hindrance. They point to the presence of the Wa army along Burma's northern border with Thailand and China, as well as the Kokang Chinese, also known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army.

But the reality on the ground, say Thai and foreign drug officials, is that the Burmese government has little control over the Wa's activities. For one thing, Burmese troops must have permission before entering areas occupied by UWSA troops.

Wa fighters were the foot-soldiers of the now defunct Communist Party of Burma. In 1989 the CPB fractured along ethnic lines, and the group formed the United Wa State Army, before working out an attractive cease-fire agreement orchestrated by security chief Lt-General Khin Nyunt.

For Rangoon the truce neutralised a 20,000-strong insurgent group that had enough weapons to last them for another decade. For the Wa it was a green light to expand their heroin empire southwards from the Chinese border to areas adjacent to Thailand's northern border. Along the way they clashed with former drug kingpin Khun Sa, hastening his surrender in January 1996.

Today, besides filling a vacuum left by Khun Sa, the presence of the |Wa army along the Thai border is deemed a security threat to Thailand. The group is also perceived to be a significant factor in the tit-for-tat relations between Thailand and Burma. 

The Nation

https://sandrocalvani.it/archivio/docs/20080918_News_chasing_dragon.pdf

Shan State is drugs-free: New warlord

Maha Ja (center) with Thai reporters in front of Khun Sa's house.

REMNANTS of the disbanded Mong Tai Army seek to regroup and start new lives under a peaceful arrangement with the Rangoon government. Don Pathan reports from Hua Muang, Shan State.

A faded wooden sign inscribed with "Mong Tai Army" hangs besides the dusty road leading to the heart of this small town and serves as a vivid reminder of how this 14-kilometre stretch of valley had managed to land itself on the world map.

It was here that world famous opium warlord Khun Sa and his 15,000-strong Mong Tai Army (MTA) maintained their headquarters five years ago before giving themselves up to the military government of Burma in return for a generous amnesty. It was also from here that experts say about half of the world's heroin was produced and then smuggled out to flood the streets of America and Europe.

During a recent two-day visit by The Nation, the new king of the valley, Mahaja, tried desperately to shake off the ugly past and the stigma that still haunt many of his former colleagues and other ethnic leaders in Shan State.

In early 1996, Mahaja, a feared MTA commander, joined Khun Sa in surrendering to the Burmese but stayed behind to form the Southern Shan State enterprise to look after various business ventures, primarily in garment manufacturing, logging and gem mining.

Though Mahaja insisted that he no longer harboured any political ambitions to form an independent Shan State, this hardened tiny man nevertheless looks every bit a fighter.

Mahaja never leaves home without his bodyguards and two loaded pistols on his belt.

"I have given up the armed struggle in return for rural development," said the wizened 50-year-old leader who has been a soldier ever since he was 13, as his armed bodyguards look on a few feet away.

As a reward for entering Burma's "legal fold", Mahaja was given the reins to a semi-autonomous region stretching from this former MTA stronghold across the Salween River over to Taunggyi, a major commercial centre in southern Shan State.

Thai-Burma border leading to Hua Muang.

A tacit but cosy arrangement has the Burmese government troops providing security along the perimeter and Mahaja and his paramilitary troops handling their own internal administrative and economic affairs. Rangoon has dispatched three battalions to the area as well as a military intelligence unit to look after the rugged border crossing that links Hua Muang to Thailand's Mae Hong Son. Rangoon also helped out with sculpting out rice paddies and other infrastructure projects.

"In return, they asked us to stop trafficking in drugs and to stop engaging in arms sales to other rebel groups," Mahaja said, as he blew a big puff of smoke from his bamboo tobacco pipe. "This is the best set-up. I urge all other armed ethnic groups to do the same," he added.

Mahaja has in mind to establish a new trade route passing through Hua Muang and linking Mae Hong Son and Taunggyi. This would save lots of time and money considering that the current outlet for goods from Taunggyi is the faraway Tachilek-Mae Sai crossing, he said.

Living in the area under his control are nearly 10,000 people, mostly ethnic Shan but also some Karen and Wa, and about 3,000 paramilitary soldiers. The Southern Shan State, set up two years ago, looks after the community's wide range of investments.

The main road that runs through the town is being upgraded, while Khun Sa's old homes and other official residences are being renovated to accommodate foreign VIPs. The spacious marketplace is as busy as usual, though locals said it was a much more bustling place when the MTA ruled the area.

A hospital, once packed with wounded MTA soldiers, is up and running with Burmese physicians overseeing it, while a church and two Buddhist monasteries are well attended. Unlike in the past when the Burmese language was prohibited, a Hua Muang school now teaches in both Shan and Burmese languages.

"When Khun Sa was here, we were taught to hate the Burmese," said an MTA veteran who finally came to grips with reality, joined Mahaja's outfit and now works alongside the Burmese. "It's still tough for many Tai (Shan) here. Many are still uncomfortable with all the Burmese officials around."

Mahaja, himself half Shan and half Wa, gained a reputation as a fierce soldier in the early 1990s when his unit successfully fended off MTA's arch rival, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), in a series of bloody attacks on Doi Lang - the 32-square kilometre patch of land adjacent to Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district that is now the focus of dispute by Thailand and Burma.

During Khun Sa's time, Mahaja said, resources were plentiful. Soldiers were paid regularly and the town, about one hour from the border crossing in Mae Hong Son, was vibrant.

"Today, these militia join me willingly. They don't get any pay but the Southern Shan State helps them with rice and other expenses, including health care," Mahaja said.

Burma's old hands and Mahaja himself said he is in the best position to run Hua Muang. Over the years the man has managed to establish dialogues with various rebel groups, including those who have cease-fire agreements with Rangoon, such as the UWSA, and those who are still fighting the junta for autonomy, including his former colleague Colonel Yawd Serk, the leader of the Shan State Army.

When asked why ethnic rebels are still fighting the junta government, Mahaja replied: "It's partly because of foreign influences and partly because of the selfishness of the leaders themselves."

But his dream of turning Hua Muang into a commercial centre may not be realised any time soon. Thai and Burmese relations are currently experiencing one of their lowest ebbs in the past decade following crossing border shelling on the northern border over a month ago.

"They accused one another of supporting this and supporting that rebel group. I don't think either side is blameless," Mahaja said without elaborating.

Nevertheless, Mahaja said he still has hopes that the international community will take him seriously. He urged international anti-drug agencies, including the US Drug Enforcement Agency, to visit his area to verify for themselves that it is drugs-free. He also expressed interest in seeing United Nations development assistance programmes for his people.

Rangoon's peace deals with these rebel groups vary from one to the other, depending on the bargaining power of each group.The UWSA, for example, has managed to keep its 20,000-strong contingent and over the year extended its supremacy from its stronghold on the Chinese border to an area adjacent to Thailand's Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces. Burmese government troops have to disarm before entering Wa territory.
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The Nation - April 05, 2001.
'I WILL SHOOT THEM'

HUA MUANG, Shan State, Burma - Despite having laid down his weapons in return for limited self-rule, Mahaja, once a fierce military commander in Burmese drug lord Khun Sa's Mong Tai Army, said he would not hesitate to pick them up again if the Wa and Kokang Chinese invade his area.

"I will shoot them," Mahaja said during a recent interview with The Nation from one of his homes overlooking the 14-kilometre valley that served as the stronghold of Khun Sa's army.

"If these groups enter our territory we are more than ready to fight. We won't be the first to shoot but we will definitely defend our territory," Mahaja said.

Mahaja said he has been somewhat heavy-hearted by the ongoing mass relocation of the ethnic Wa and Kokang Chinese into the area by another pro-Rangoon group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

Mahaja, who is of mixed Wa and Shan ethnic backgrounds, followed Khun Sa five years ago in surrendering to Rangoon in return for amnesty, but remained behind to pursue business opportunities. He now controls a 3,000-member militia, and is still regarded as a fierce, battle-hardened warrior.

He said the Burmese government has asked if the Wa and Kokang Chinese could move into the area under his control.

"They said they want to help us develop the area. We said no because we can look after ourselves," he said.

When asked why he was so opposed to sharing his territory with the Wa army, Mahaja said it was the stigma of drugs.

Thai authorities have accused the UWSA of flooding the Kingdom with millions of methamphetamine pills and see the unwanted neighbours as a security threat. But Rangoon defends the relocations to Hua Muang as part of the UWSA's drug-eradication programme.

"If the UWSA moves here, what will the international community think of us? They'll look at us as another drug trafficker and won't have anything to do with us," said Mahaja, adding that he is ready to let the UN and the US Drug Enforcement Agency inspect the area, once a major outlet for the world's heroin supply.

"But if they don't find anything [drugs], they should help us develop the area," he added.

For the past year or so, the UWSA has carried out mass relocations of ethnic Wa and Kokang Chinese from the area along the Chinese border to recently built towns adjacent to Chiang Mai's Mae Ai and Fang districts.

Rangoon defended the moves as part of the Wa's anti-drug programme, saying Thailand's closure of the border checkpoint leading to Mong Yawn has hampered the UWSA's efforts to become drug free.

For decades, Rangoon has come under constant condemnation from the international community over the treatment of its people, including the practice of forced labour. Mahaja asked the world to put the situation in perspective.

"There are wars going on. All sides violate the rights of their own people. In the end, it's the people who suffer," he said.

Mahaja also urged the general public not demonise the ethnic Wa, many of whom are living under his control, just because some armed groups call themselves Wa.

"Wa is just a name. The real culprits are the Chinese drug dealers from the mainland. You can take a methamphetamine and show it to any Wa villager and he won't know what it is," Mahaja said.

Mahaja also accused the international community of being biased against Burma's military junta, especially its relationship to the Wa.

"Burma doesn't give permission to ethnic groups to produce drugs. But some of these groups do it anyway," he said.

But convincing the international community, especially neighbouring Thailand, that he is drug free has not been easy, he said.

In the past, some Thai officials have made their way here to talk about possible investments, he said. "But for the past two years, because of the tension along the border over drug trafficking, these visitors have pretty much disappeared," he said.

Indeed, shaking the ghosts of the past must not be easy for a man who once worked under the notorious Khun Sa, reportedly one of the wealthiest men in Burma.

Experts said no anti-drug policy in Burma will succeed unless it is linked with a real political solution that includes the armed ethnic groups fighting the government for autonomy.