Burma's Opium Addiction First Posted: 11/2/11 05 By Mong Palatino, The Diplomat Opium cultivation is on the increase in the

Palaung communities in the northern Shan State of Burma. This fact was revealed in a study published last month by t he Palaung Women's Organization. Indeed, it would seem the local authorities are not only aware of the problem, but are aggressively promoting and protecting th e opium trade there. The group reported that opium growing in the 15 villages in Namkham increased by 79 percent in the past two years. In 2008, there were tares of opium fields in the area. This year the figure is expected ,109 hectares. About 12 villages that hadn't previously grown opium to grow it since 2009. Township has only 617 hec to rise to 1 have started

Drug addiction has also worsened in Palaung communities. In one village, the gro up discovered that 91 percent of males aged 15 and over were addicted to drugs. The drug menace has also caused the crime rate to go up, including a spike in ca ses involving domestic violence. The group is blaming the local and national government for the revival of the op ium industry in the area, even accusing a local MP of being the key protector of the opium trade in the region. The group cited testimony from a villager that f ormer militia leader Kyaw Myint had promised Namkham voters that they could plan t opium without regulation for 5 years if they voted for him. Kyaw Myint ran und er the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, which dominated l ast year's elections. Palaung farmers were tea growers, but the decline of the tea industry, which is heavily controlled by the junta-dominated government, has forced them to switch to opium growing in order to survive. Meanwhile, opium cultivation is tolerated because politicians, soldiers, police, and militia forces can collect high taxes and bribes. The local women's group believes that the national government allowed Kyaw Myint 's illegal drug activities to flourish in exchange for its support for the gover nment's military campaign against ethnic rebels. It said the issue "highlights t he nexus between drug production and power relations in Burma's conflict-ridden Shan State." It added that the government "needs to rely on its army infrastruct ure, including local paramilitary forces, to suppress the ethnic resistance move ments," even if the pro-government forces are sustained by the opium trade. This latest alternative drug report by a local NGO, which covered only one provi nce of Burma, should inspire the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC ) to conduct a more independent study of the drug situation in the country, sinc e it only relies on the data submitted by the junta-backed government. The fact is that the UNODC reliance on government statistics has blinded the agency and w eakened its capacity to address the worsening drug problem in the country. At a minimum, the Burmese government should investigate the illicit drug cultiva tion in the Shan State. It should be ready to punish public officials and milita ry officers who are found guilty of protecting the opium trade, and it should al so assist opium farmers by promoting alternative crop development. Instead of tu rning a blind eye to the evils of drug use, it should launch an awareness campai gn targeting the young about the need to combat the dangerous impact of illegal drugs in society.

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