Independence Weekly

Independence Weekly, No. 33 (24-28 February 2003)

War on Drugs - a Thai perspective
Thai Rath, 27 February 2003

Phuyai Ma and Thung Mamern 
By
Chai Rajwatr

The World
24 February
At least 257 people died and 1,000 are injured when a 6.8 Richter scale earthquake hit Xinjiang, in northeastern China. 

International relations
24 February
Chairman Than Shwe cancels planned attendance at the Non-Aligned Summit being held in Malaysia, in face of bank crisis at home. (Xinhua) The cancellation is a serious diplomatic setback for the military government. (Irrawaddy)

UN special envoy, Razali Ismail, has postponed his tenth trip to Rangoon from the end of this month to the end of April, as a result the Tokyo meeting held last week, 15 February. (DVB)

15 February
Bangladesh hands over Saw Myat Yadana, a smuggling vessel owned by the Burmese intelligence unit, MI#18, stationed at Buthitaung, Arakan State, and its six-member crew captured a few weeks earlier. Wide allegations say Western Region Commander, Maung Oo, also has shares in the vessel. (Narinjara)

27 February
Norwegian, Finish, Swedish and Danish Burma committees protest to UNHCR for neglecting and ignoring Burma refugees who are living under increasing threat of being evicted by Indian authorities. (Statement)

28 February
The Burmese, who paid DCI Associates $ 340,000 for eight months of work, are looking for another PR/lobby firm, after it failed to change Washington's tough stance. (Washington Post)

Thai-Burma relations
24 February
Emergency meeting of the 5-party military alliance welcomes Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra offer on 10 February to mediate between them and Rangoon. (Statement)

55% of the Thai military recently failed routine health checkups and must undergo diet and fitness programs.
Time, 17 February 2003

25 February
Killing of a Thai army officer by an alleged drug runner brings tightened control of the border where Shan State Army and Burma Army are facing off each other. (S.H.A.N)

5 Thai officers transferred to inactive posts after receiving information from Burma of 3 Burmese citizens (reportedly close to one of Rangoon's top generals) who were arrested in Maesai on a frame-up charge of possessing methamphetamines on 18 February. (Thai Rath)

26 February
Thai traders are worried as trade declines 30%-40% along the border since Burmese backs have limited the amount of cash a customer can withdraw. (Bangkok Post)

Politics
21 February
Aung San Suu Kyi's court verdict: 500 kyat or 7day imprisonment, is suspended after she stages a half-day courtroom sit-in. (ABC News Online)

Business / Economy
22 February
Foreign businessmen and residents in Burma in a state of panic about the banking crisis that began on 6 February. (Business Times)

Bank crisis in Burma

Human Rights
Today in Burma, if you have more money than your opponent, you will win the case. 99 out of 100 people know it. 
(A high court lawyer from Rangoon, 28 February, DVB)

Environment
17 February
MDX is still at Tasarng, according to a Burmese military source. 

Drugs
23 February
Anti Money Laundering Office (AMLO) raids 9 locations in Bangkok, Chiangmai and Payao, owned by Kittisak Mee-ngern a.k.a Chang Hsaokang, 42, "nephew to Chang Xifu a.k.a Khun Sa" and seize assets worth 400 million baht. (Daily News)

24 February
Three drug busters charged with murder in Bangkok after a 9-year old boy was killed during a shootout on Sunday, 23 February. (Bangkok Post)

Burmese authorities are worried that drugs will flow back into Burma because of the unprecedented crackdowns in Thailand. Villages in townships along the border are ordered to report of and hand over drug smugglers from Thailand. But the directive doesn't have an order for the arrests of drug smugglers from Burma to Thailand. (DVB)

25 February
Burma's success in cutting opium product without making available sufficient resources for alternative income generation has posed serious problem to poor farmers, says Jean-Luc Lemahieu, representative of UNODC (Office on Drugs and Crime). (Straits Times)

Decline (in opium output) can be very fast in a very short time but it is not sustainable in the long run. 
Jean-Luc Lemahieu, UN Office Drugs and Crimes, AFP 26 February

26 February
Methamphetamines, manufactured on a large scale in Burma, China and the Philippines, is the main drug of concern in Japan, the Philippines and Thailand. Sharp rise in abuse noted in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam. Rise in arrests related to the during China also observed. (AFP)

Asma Jahangir, UN special rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, call for strict limits on use of lethal force. (Bangkok Post) 

28 February
Nawng-ook, an ethnic Chinese village on the border, raided by the army for the second time. The first time was on 20 February. (Bangkok Post)

War
15 February
Gen Maung Aye inspects progress of the Nampawn Bridge construction project. The 103 mile section of the Shwenyaung - Namzarng railroad is yet to be completed, even though the proposed year has long past. (NLOM)