The poppy wars: Why is Myanmar so hard to beat its drug addiction?

Farmers in Myanmar plant poppy fields in 2008.

Myanmar, the last open country in Southeast Asia, ended more than half a century of military totalitarian rule in March 2016. Peaceful regimes changed. The political party "National Democracy" led by democratic movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi (Aung San Suu Kyi) The National League for Democracy (National League for Democracy, referred to as the National League for Democracy) organized a civilian government to come to power, and Aung San Suu Kyi became the de facto leader of Myanmar as the state counselor.

The military strongman seems to be in hiding, leaving a country with nothing to do but desperately trying to shake off the burden of history and catch up with 50 years of backwardness. However, Aung San Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize aura has been undermined by the controversy over the Rohingya people in the country. Fading (note). However, the long-term conflict between Buddhists and Muslims is only one of the many challenges faced by Aung San Suu Kyi and the new government. Another big challenge in Myanmar is the long-term drug cultivation and trafficking. Why is Myanmar’s drug problem so entangled and difficult to solve? Who makes it inevitable for people of all ages in Myanmar to enter the world of drugs? "Reporter" reporters went deep into the China-Myanmar-Thailand border to uncover Myanmar's plight.

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According to the 2016 World Drug Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Myanmar is one of the major producers of opium, accounting for the world's total opium production. 14%, poppy cultivation is 20%, only in Afghanistan . The widespread drug use among all age groups in Myanmar has also become a serious social problem in the country.

Although in the "Myanmar Opium Survey Report" released by UNODC in 2017, it was found that the total opium cultivation area in Shan State and Kachin State in Myanmar was approximately 41,000 hectares, a 25% decrease compared to two years ago; In areas where armed conflicts between ethnic minorities and government forces are frequent and where state power is out of reach, high-density poppy cultivation is maintained and has become a safe haven for drug traffickers. The decrease in poppy cultivation is related to the decline in opium prices and the rise of drugs synthesized from chemical materials; methamphetamine (commonly known as "methamphetamine") and Yaba, known as the "crazy drug", are circulating in Southeast Asia. It is widely smoked in Myanmar regardless of age groups.

We went deep into the small town Kyaing Tong , which is located in Shan State on the border with China and Thailand. It is a geographical and military hub. Although it is an area controllable by the Myanmar government, with dense military camps and checkpoints and controls on foreign tourists, Jingdong is located in the "Golden Triangle of Drugs", but it is the main opium cultivation area. There are many opium poppy farmers living there who take risks for income.

In the Akha mountain village on the outskirts of Jingdong, 51-year-old villager Ya Shei stood in the field in his backyard, pointing to two cottages located on distant hills and said, "Those two villages grow a lot of poppies, but they are hidden in the forest. Cultivation of opium poppy is illegal in Myanmar. Some opium poppy farmers plant coffee trees because of the military and police ban and the low economic value of planting seasonal vegetables. The purchase price of fresh unprocessed coffee beans is 7,000 kyat per kilogram (about 5 US dollars, according to the exchange rate in January 2018), but coffee beans are easy to rot due to climate and transportation, while opium paste is easy to preserve and has economic value High, so there are still poppy farmers who are willing to take risks and grow them secretly.

According to the 2017 United Nations report, compared with 2016, the price of opium has dropped from 291,400 kyats (approximately US$216) per kilogram to 206,300 kyats (approximately US$153, both based on the exchange rate in December 2016), but it is still higher than that of coffee The merchants purchased Jingdong coffee beans at 30 to 50 times the price.

The picture shows the opium poppy cultivation area in Myanmar in 2017. The survey scope is Shan State and Kachin State. Data source/United Nations 2017 "Myanmar Opium Survey Report" P.10; Reproduced/Huang Yuzhen)

(The picture shows the conflict location of armed groups in Myanmar, which obviously overlaps with opium poppy cultivation. Different colors show Represented as different armed organizations. Due to the ongoing civil war, Northern Shan State and Kachin State are not within the scope of the field investigation. Source/United Nations 2017 "Myanmar Opium Survey Report" P.11; Reproduced/Huang Yuzhen)

Who bought it. Poppies hidden in the forest?

"People in those villages grow opium poppies in the forest. People who want to buy opium paste will naturally go to the mountains to find them. Villagers will not keep opium at home," said villager A Cha.

"They are of mixed race just like our village, so government planes cannot detect them from the air," tribesman A Shei added. The poppies at Ya Shei do indeed grow among corn, mustard and tomato vines, alongside large bushes of banana trees.

The poppy cultivation area statistics reported by the United Nations are based on the Very-High Resolution (VHR) satellite image, with a resolution of 2 meters by 2 meters, a four-band spectrum and a 50 cm panchromatic band, based on different time periods. Based on the captured images and the poppy growth period, based on historical data and experience, we can judge the growth and decline of poppy cultivation based on the tone, shape and texture of the image.

Will the poppy cultivation in Myanmar, which has escaped into the forest due to military and police raids, become a loophole in satellite observation? Zhuang Guoyu, a Taiwanese telemetry researcher who has been involved in data use and analysis technology, said that through spectral analysis of satellite telemetry, the spectra displayed by a single crop are in the same section, which is easier to interpret, but it is more difficult to identify mixed crops. Zhuang Guoyu used the Taiwan Forest Resources Survey and the satellite's four-band spectral average object image as an example. The classified image shows that large areas of fruit trees and bamboo forests are clearly separated from the surrounding broad-leaved forests.

Ya Shei’s grandparents used to grow opium poppies on a large scale to feed generations of children. For Ya Shei, the poppy fields all over the mountains and plains are no longer there. Now his fields can harvest half a kilogram of opium every year. "The military and police will come to our village. They know that the opium here is used to treat diseases and is not sold to outsiders. I won’t catch him," Ya Shei said.

What about the distant village with poppies hidden in the forest? "The police and soldiers won't arrest them because there are no roads that cars can pass on."

So, who is buying or using these opium?

In March 2017, the Myanmar government proposed a draft amendment to the "Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act", which was also discussed in the National Assembly in the same year. Among them, because Myanmar prisons do not provide rehabilitation services (note), severe imprisonment penalties will not help drug addicts stay away from drugs after they are released from prison. Therefore, the draft amendment proposes to abolish prison penalties and drug addicts can legally use small amounts of drugs for personal use only. use. However, the "legal use of drugs" has triggered heated discussions in Congress, and the amendment of the law has not yet been finalized; however, it is considering deleting prison penalties for small-scale cultivation and replacing it with non-custodial measures, fines or warnings (note).

Ya Shei and his neighbors refined opium only for their own use. Opium can be used as a preventive medicine for livestock and as a medicine for people. Especially in mountainous areas with inconvenient transportation and extremely poor road conditions, the only way to get medical assistance in urban areas is by walking, which can take hours or even days. Therefore, opium has become a family cure for all diseases. Essential medicines.

A Feng (pseudonym), a young girl who works in the tourism industry in Jingdong, recalled her childhood life and said, "When I was a child, I was stung by a bee and my whole body became swollen. The adults fed me some opium and it actually made me better." She was raised in a mountain village. 10 buffaloes, Aung, a businessman currently living in Jingtong City for retirement Taung (pseudonym) also said, "Even if the government distributes free vaccinations for cattle, we still give the cattle a little opium every year so that they can grow fat and not get sick."

"In these mountain villages around Jingdong, from children to People from young to old are eating duck. And on the way from Jingdong to Tachileik, there is a village where "few people don't eat it." Aung Taung pointed to the mountain village on Jingdong's map, emphasizing the cheap drugs. the severity of. Tachilek is located about 3 hours' drive south of Kengtung. It is the city where customs clearance occurs on the border between Thailand and Myanmar.

U Shen (pseudonym), who is engaged in cultural work, shuttles between the "tents" in Tachileik Cemetery. When each tent was opened, several young people were already in a coma due to drugs, while U Shen greeted and asked questions to the drug addicts who were still awake. The cemetery and tents are close to the community and the road, and taking drugs in broad daylight has become the norm in Tachilek. "Not only this group, there are thousands of drug addicts behind. The people here in the cemetery can be said to be in tatters and beyond repair. The drug addicts who can still barely work are all in their own homes," U Shen said.

Ya Shei, who raises pigs and cows and sells them to Keng Tung Market, has 10 children, eight of whom are working as construction workers in Thailand."There are no job opportunities for young people here, and the drug problem is too serious. There are one or two people in every household who smoke Yaba," Ya Shei said. "Even if we wanted to help them detoxify, we don't know how. Non-profit organizations and government agencies have never come to our village," A Cha added.

According to the "2016 Myanmar Narcotic Drug Control Annual Report" submitted by the Myanmar Government's Central Drug Abuse Control Committee, the number of "newly registered" people receiving drug detoxification treatment in hospitals nationwide in 2016 was more than 7,700, but this number does not include the total number of drug abusers nationwide. The number does not include those who detoxify from drugs in temples and churches, or privately run Christian detoxification centers.

An official from the ruling party National League for Democracy, who did not want to be named, said, "Kengtung has benefited a lot from the drug business. Drug traffickers buy drugs from the Wa State and then sell them to Thailand. Many new houses are being built in Kengtung. The funds are all money earned from reselling drugs and have nothing to do with the basic industry of local farming. "

Aung, a businessman who experienced the peak period of drug production and sales in the Golden Triangle area in the 1970s. Taung described, "In those days, farmers put opium on the road for sale. You could buy as much as you wanted, and the buyers would take it away directly in their cars. They used knives to cut open the opium paste to check the quality; the opium paste was black with gold, slightly green and shiny. "It smells delicious."

Kun Sha, Luo Xinghan and Peng Jiasheng , the leaders of ethnic minority armed groups and drug lords, have all entered the torrent of history. Today, mercenary organizations have taken over their cause. "Right now, mercenaries buy opium, but as long as the price is high, anyone can buy it," Aung Taung said.

A Shei in Aka Mountain Village also explains the nature of the mercenary organization in the Jingdong area. The mercenary organization known as "Bituset" in Burmese. "Some mercenaries are also opium buyers. They protect opium and Shan State. They do not belong to the Myanmar national army, but there is no war between them. Some mercenaries are affiliated with the government. Like the police."

"Even if each household in the mountain village produces 1 to 3 kilograms of opium cream every year, keeps some for personal use and sells the rest, if the little is accumulated, the person who wants to buy can still buy a whole truck. Opium," Aung Taung added.

Are poppy cultivation and drug trafficking difficult to eradicate?

The Lahu National Development Organization, which is headquartered in Chiang Mai, Thailand and was founded in 1997, submitted a report in 2016 pointing out that the Myanmar National Army relies on the drug trade to subsidize the growing number of domestic workers in Eastern Shan State. soldiers to ensure the loyalty of mercenary organizations to the Burmese army.

"Mercenary organizations provide security for drug trafficking organizations that own drug refining sites. Their huge profits come from the process of purchasing opium paste from farmers and reselling the refining sites. The mercenary organizations also invest in refining sites themselves. In the process of transporting drugs to dealers, huge profits are made. "" These benefits are not limited. It only subsidizes the military salary expenses of the mercenary organizations, but also allows the mercenary leaders to obtain a large amount of personal wealth. This is an important motivation for continuing to be loyal to the Burmese army and assisting the Burmese army in combating ethnic armed organizations."

The above observation comes from the Lahu National Development Organization. According to the report, they conducted field interviews in 2016 in 33 villages in eastern Shan State where opium poppies were still grown. The Lahu people mainly live in Yunnan, China, and the Golden Triangle region of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos. There are about 250,000 people in Myanmar and they are one of the nine major ethnic minorities in Shan State.

The ethnic armed groups that continue to confront the Burmese army in Eastern Shan State are currently in a state of ceasefire, but "peace" is based on the increasing number of mercenary organizations to assist the Burmese army in controlling the local situation. According to the report, mercenary organizations increased from 68 armies and about 2,300 people in 2006 to 89 armies and more than 3,500 people in 2016.

However, the mercenary organization does not receive any official military salary from Myanmar and must source it on its own. The report pointed out that the sources of funds for mercenaries include collecting opium taxes from farmers to provide protection for the drug refineries they invest in and at the same time obtain investment profits; in addition, mercenary organizations also bribe local Burmese army commanders to ensure drug trafficking prohibited by law. The behavior continues. The

report also stated that “the opium tax per household is about the size of a ping-pong ball of opium paste (about 30,000 kyats, equivalent to about 22 US dollars)."The profit after processing the opium paste is more than a hundred times, "Each kilogram (1.65 kilograms) of opium paste is about 30 to 60 US dollars, and the processed and purified opium can be as high as 6,000 U.S. dollars per kilogram."

is located in the drug golden triangle. In Shan State, the "caravan" caravan transportation mode that has continued since ancient times has also participated in the circulation of the drug Yaba. The report points out, "At the Thai border, mercenary leaders can charge US$300 for transporting a Yaba bag containing about 80,000 pills per package; and mercenary members responsible for transporting drugs can each draw 1~ For a fee of 2 baht, that is, for each pack of ducks transported, you can get a reward of 2,300 to 4,600 US dollars. "This is far more than the meager salary of about 20 US dollars per month for mercenary members. The

report also revealed the connection between Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy and the Union Solidarity and Development Party (Union Solidarity and Development Party, referred to as the Union Solidarity and Development Party) supported by the Myanmar military. Although the Gongfa Party was defeated in the 2015 parliamentary election, the Gongfa Party’s influence in Shan State has not weakened. In the Shan State local assembly, the Gongfa Party is still the largest party, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s People’s Party League seats ranked only third. The

report also observed from some village-level chief executives that in order to gain the Gongfa Party's acquiescence in drug trafficking, mercenaries gave up collecting opium taxes from some villages and regarded this as remuneration to the chief executive. The symbiosis of interests between mercenaries and the Burmese army makes the drug problem difficult to eradicate. The mercenaries know that if the local politics in Shan State is changed to be headed by the National League for Democracy, their source of military salary-drug trafficking will no longer be sustainable, and the Burmese army will lose mercenaries. military assistance, and local leaders of the Burmese army were unable to obtain bribes.

Since the military coup in Myanmar in 1962, ethnic minority organizations living on the mountainous border of Myanmar and deprived of their autonomy have armed themselves to confront the then military government. In order to control Myanmar's vast mountainous areas, the report pointed out that as long as the conflict between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed groups is not resolved, the Tatmadaw will never crack down on the drug trafficking of mercenaries. Amid a ceasefire but ongoing confrontation in eastern Shan State, mercenaries are strategic allies of the Tatmadaw, and strategy is more important than the war on drugs.

Kingtung: The epitome of Myanmar, a silent island.

Ethnic minority teacher A in Kengtung urban area Du (pseudonym) said worriedly, "More than 95% of people in this area take drugs. People use Yaba in every mountain village. Yaba is very cheap, just like the meaning of Yaba - 'crazy drug'. People take drugs." Even if they stop taking drugs, their brains won't be the same as they were before. "

In the border city of Thailand and Myanmar, the streets are full of eye-catching anti-drug slogans and drug rehabilitation information; in the east, the Wa State Autonomous Region and the Shan State Fourth Special Administrative Region on the China-Myanmar border have vigorously promoted anti-drugs and have also accepted the United Nations. Help promote alternative cultivation of opium poppy. In comparison, Kengtung is controlled by the Myanmar government, but it is located in a sensitive geographical location where local armed groups, mercenaries, and the Myanmar National Army intersect. Drug and anti-drug issues are sensitive and rarely discussed.

A person from the National League for Democracy who did not want to be named said, "Whether it is the Wa State or the areas controlled by the Myanmar government, the government's drug control agencies have publicly burned drugs to show their fight against drugs. However, the drug problem is still serious, perhaps because it is manufactured The poison comes out "The reason why the public is not interested in the issue of combating drugs is that the government also benefits from the drug industry and law enforcement officials turn a blind eye to the law." He also explained that the drug problem has never existed in Jingdong. The reason for the sound.

"Now Aung San Suu Kyi has begun to pay attention to the drug problem. They have promised to eliminate corruption and crack down on drugs. This work is difficult, but it can still be done." As a member of the ruling party, he still maintains hope for the Myanmar government's crackdown on drugs. .

The "Mawk Kon Local Development Organization" was established in 2004 with the goal of assisting young people in the Jingdong area to develop themselves and improve their survival skills, while also taking into account the preservation of local ethnic minority culture; they use fluent minority The ethnic language, understanding of local culture and villagers' trust actively promote anti-drug work in mountain villages. These advantages are not good for government personnel who are mainly Bamar.

The Burmese word "Mawk Kon" of the Mawk Development Organization means cherry blossom, which is the representative flower of Shan State.Ng Voe Phatt, one of the founders of

, believes that the reasons for the proliferation of drugs include: local villagers and teenagers have too much free time in farming, lack of anti-drug education, cheap drugs are easy to obtain, and local people do not understand the seriousness of the drug problem. Therefore, focusing on the magnificent mountain scenery of Kengtung and its convenient location close to Thailand and China, the organization planned eco-tourism in ethnic minority villages with local tour guides, leading foreign tourists to understand Kengtung's diverse traditional ethnic culture and handicrafts.

"This project can improve the living conditions of mountain villages, improve villagers' living skills, and preserve traditional culture, so that villagers will have no extra time to take drugs," said Ng Voe Phatt. "But the premise is that the government must allow foreign tourists to stay overnight in mountain villages." Kengtung is located in the mountainous eastern Shan State. It takes several days to reach most mountain villages, and the local military situation is tense and unstable. , the government currently only allows foreign tourists to make one-day round-trip trips.

A Ku (pseudonym) of the Lisu ethnic group is the father of six children. The 4-year-old girl is nestling in her father's arms with her round eyes open. "Drug addicts themselves are afraid of causing trouble to their families, and their families are unwilling to discuss it because of shame. Some drug addicts kill their parents or each other when they ask their parents for money to buy drugs but fail," A Ku said.

"The villagers are afraid of drug addicts and dare not talk to them because they are worried about their safety, but only the government can solve the drug problem." "Look at these children, if these problems are not solved, it will be harmful to everyone. Life," he said, stroking his daughter's hair.

was asked what expectations he had for Aung San Suu Kyi and the ruling party. "I want to ask the National League for Democracy how to protect people from drugs," A Ku said with lowered eyes and sadness. The drug problem will never be solved.

In Jingdong in winter, there is constant drizzle. It's the poppy season, and red, white, pink, and purple poppies are blooming on the distant hills. The famous scenic spot "Loimwe" in Jingdong is full of cherry blossoms on the hilltops, and the remaining flowers knocked down by the rain are everywhere. It is poignant and beautiful, attracting a large number of tourists to stop and linger.

With its unique geographical location, opium poppy cultivation tradition, drug problems, military confrontation, and emerging tourism industry, Kengtung has become a microcosm of Myanmar: tradition and modernity, expectations and disappointments for Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, and the relationship between various parties. Amid the military struggle between armed groups, the shadow of the old military government still hovers over the small town of Kengtung and in the sky of Myanmar.

People from the National League for Democracy explained the intricate dilemma of the powerful military, armed organizations, mercenary system and drugs, and the limitations that Aung San Suu Kyi cannot exert. "Theoretically, Myanmar is controlled by a democratic government, but in fact the government only controls 65%, and the other 35% is still controlled by the military (note). Immigration, police and administrative departments also have the same proportion." "What our NLD can do "Yes, changing the situation slowly and putting too much pressure on armed groups will trigger resistance, and some vested interests are unwilling to change the status quo."

Japhet, director of the Lahu National Development Organization. Jagui said, "Eliminating the military's involvement in the drug trade and resolving ethnic conflicts through political means are the priority solutions to solve Myanmar's drug problem." "Only if the democratic operation mechanism is normal and the people vote to elect local leaders, not the barrel of a gun. Only with child rule can it be possible to implement drug control."

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