BurmaNet News, Dec 9, 2003

[editor at burmanet.org]

Dec 9, 2003 Issue # 2383


INSIDE BURMA
Xinhua: Myanmar launching e-government system
Irrawaddy: Chronology of meetings between the Karen National Union &
Burma’s military government Irrawaddy: KNU Returns from Rangoon
BBC Monitor: Earthquake of "slight intensity" recorded inside Burma

REGIONAL
Nation: Burma Roadmap: PM to tread carefully
JEN: 10 countries to attend Myanmar's 'road map' forum in Bangkok
AFP: Myanmar minister to attend international democracy forum in
Thailand The Daily Yomiuri: Japan-ASEAN summit to include human rights
AP: U.S. may join "road map" talks if Myanmar approves, Thai foreign
minister says

INTERNATIONAL:
M2 Presswire: International trade union movement publishes new list of
multinationals with links to Burma

OPINION / OTHER
SMH: Future Bleak For Father Who Dared Have A Conscience

REPORT
Report on the Drug Conditions in the India-Burma areas by the Mizzima
News



INSIDE BURMA
___________________________________

Dec 9, Xinhua
Myanmar launching e-government system

YANGON--Myanmar has planned seven pilot projects of information and
communication technology (ICT) for launching e(electronic)-government
system, according to the latest disclosure of the country's e-National
Task Force (NTF).

These projects include e-passport, e-visa (on-line visa), e-procurement,
e-certification authority, smart card, smart school and trade e-data
interchange.

Of them, the e-passport and smart school programs have been launched
with e-passports already issued to more than 2,500 people and a project
to issue on-line visas for passengers arriving by air is near completion
and is expected to be introduced soon after discussions with 12 foreign
airlines flying Myanmar.

Once the on-line visa system is launched, Myanmar will be claimed as the
4th country to offer such visa application after Australia, Canada and
Russia.

As a follow-up, Myanmar has also planned launching of e-procurement
project in 2004. By then, government ministries will have access to
suppliers on line, thus helping to ensure a faster and more accurate
purchasing process.

Myanmar attaches importance to developing human resources to computerize
government activities. Besides having some trained IT experts to work in
e-government projects, the country is also receiving assistance under
e-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) programs.

Being one of the signatories to the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement
initiated at the ASEAN Summit held in Singapore in 2000, Myanmar has
formed the e-NTF to support the IT development, working toward
establishing links with other member nations by 2004.

With the aim of boosting the country's software industry, the first ever
Myanmar ICT Park in the capital of Yangon was established in January
2002, followed by the setting up of the second one in the second largest
city of Mandalay in August this year.

Meanwhile, Myanmar signed a series of memorandums of understanding in
January this year with companies from Malaysia and Thailand and an ASEAN
organization on ICT development.

The government is also giving encouragement and incentives to investment
in the field, especially in education and human resources development
for the IT.

Myanmar started introducing e-education data broadcasting system in
January 2001, aiming to integrate it into its education system and since
then there has been over 300 e-learning centers in total opened across
the country. Among them, three were set up by China, Japan and India
under their ICT cooperation programs respectively to train Myanmar's IT
experts.

Myanmar has been awarded for ICT development in 2003 by the Asian
Oceanian Computing Industry Organization. ______________________________

Dec 9, Irrawaddy
Chronology of meetings between the Karen National Union & Burma’s
military government

April 23, 1993— Gen Bo Mya, Chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU),
sends an open letter to Sr-Gen Than Shwe, chairman of the ruling Burmese
junta, demanding that a countrywide ceasefire be declared and all
political prisoners be released as conditions for the holding of peace
talks.

December 14 to 19, 1995—The first meeting between KNU representatives,
led by Central Committee Member Maha Stila, and Burma Army
representatives, led by Deputy Director of Defence Services Intelligence
Col Kyaw Win and Deputy Commander of the Southeast Command Col Aung
Thein, is held in Moulmein, Mon State.

December 21, 1995—KNU delegates led by Maha Stila meet with Lt-Gen Khin
Nyunt, Secretary One of the ruling junta, at the First Peace Conference
in Rangoon.

February 15 to 16, 1996—The second meeting between KNU representatives,
led by Gen-Sec Padoh Mahn Sha, and Burma Army representatives, led by
Col Thein Swe, a department head of the Ministry of Defense’s Office of
Strategic Studies, is held in Moulmein, Mon State.

February 2, 1996—KNU delegates, again led by Padoh Mahn Sha, meet with
Sec-1 Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt at the Second Peace Conference held in Rangoon.

June 6 to 7, 1996—The third meeting between KNU delegates, led by
Chief-of-Staff Gen Tarmalar Baw, and Burma Army representatives, led by
Deputy Commander of the Southeast Command Brig-Gen Aung Thein and Deputy
Director of Defence Services Intelligence Col Kyaw Win, is held in
Moulmein, Mon State.

July 4, 1996— KNU delegates led by Gen Tamalar Baw meet with Sec-1
Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt at the Third Peace Conference held in Rangoon.

November 22 to 23, 1996—The fourth meeting between KNU delegates, led by
Gen Tarmalar Baw, and Burma Army representatives, led by Brig-Gen Aung
Thein and Col Kyaw Win, is held in Moulmein, Mon State.

November 22, 2003—KNU leaders meet with Col San Pwint, a spokesman for
Burma’s Ministry of Defense, in Mae Sot, Thailand, near the Burmese
border. Col San Pwint says the Burmese military government is open to
dialogue with the KNU without conditions.

December 3 to 8, 2003—A five-member KNU delegation, led by Lt-Col Soe
Soe, a liaison officer, flies to Rangoon to meet now Prime Minister Gen
Khin Nyunt and Karen community leaders. ______________________________

Dec 9, Irrawaddy
KNU Returns from Rangoon

An ethnic Karen leader said the Burmese junta’s proposed road map for
national reconciliation may be credible. The statement was made after a
Karen National Union (KNU) delegation concluded its trip to Rangoon to
investigate whether the road map can result in political reconciliation.

KNU Deputy Chairman Gen Bo Mya said he has fewer doubts about the
genuineness of the junta’s intentions after hearing his deputy’s reports
of their discussions in Rangoon. The commander-in-chief of the Karen
National Liberation Army, the KNU’s military wing, sent five junior army
officers, including liaison officer Lt-Col Soe Soe, to Rangoon from Dec
3-8.

Bo Mya said he thinks that the military government may initiate a
ceasefire agreement with the KNU.

Burmese Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt proposed the seven-point road map
to solve the country’s decades-long political stalemate on August 30,
five days after he was appointed prime minister.

Bo Mya said he thinks that the military government may initiate a
ceasefire agreement with the KNU. He added that he may meet Gen Khin
Nyunt in the future, but didn’t give an exact time. He did not say
whether the KNU will attend the National Convention, which is the road
map’s first step.

Other KNU sources said that Bo Mya plans to meet Col San Pwint, the
junta spokesperson who invited the delegation to visit Rangoon, in
Bangkok in the coming few days. Col San Pwint met Bo Mya and other KNU
officials in the border town of Mae Sot, Thailand, on Nov 22.

The recent KNU mission was the group’s first trip to Rangoon since they
met with the government to discuss a possible ceasefire in 1995 and
1996. The junta’s demand that the KNU lay down its arms halted those
meetings.

Khin Nyunt met the KNU delegation, said Bo Mya, who did not elaborate on
what the two parties discussed. He added that the junta asked that the
topics not be revealed so the process cannot be disrupted by a third
party.

Col San Pwint told the KNU on Nov 22 that the government is open to
talks, but would not accept the presence of any third parties, such as
Thai or Western representatives, Gen Tamalar Baw, a KNU chief of staff
said last week.

Gen Khin Nyunt has already met with ethnic leaders from the United Wa
State Army, Kachin Independence Organization and Shan State Army (North)
and New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) to discuss his proposed road map
and the National Convention, which is set to reconvene in early 2004.
All four groups have signed ceasefire agreements with Rangoon.

Khin Nyunt also said that the military government is trying to reach a
mutual understanding with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We are doing our best to have better understanding of each other," he
said in a recent interview with the publicly funded Japan Broadcasting
Corporation, known by its Japenese acronym NHK. He also dismissed any
outside intervention.

"When a third party is involved, the efforts for mutual understanding
will be disturbed and causes confusion, so we are taking precautionary
measures," Khin Nyunt told NHK.

______________________________

Dec 9, BBC Monitor
Earthquake of "slight intensity" recorded inside Burma

It has been learned that an earthquake of slight intensity measuring 5.2
on the Richter scale with its epicentre inside Myanmar (Burma) - 158
miles north of Kaba Aye Seismological Observatory - was recorded at 0252
(1922 gmt) on 8 December.

Source: TV Myanmar, Rangoon, in Burmese 1330 gmt 8 Dec 03



REGIONAL
____________________________

Dec 9, Nation
Burma Roadmap: PM to tread carefully

haksin will avoid criticising junta at 12-nation meeting on
reconciliation

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gave reassurance yesterday that next
Monday's forum on Burma's roadmap to national reconciliation would avoid
criticising the military government there.

'Burma understands 100 per cent that we are trying our best to help
expedite national reconciliation so as to make possible development in
the country,' he said.

Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Khin Maung Win had earlier suggested
that Rangoon's rulers might not join the forum in Bangkok if other
countries attending intended to condemn them.

Thaksin said the forum was meant to be a brainstorming session and
Thailand would invite only 'like-minded' countries to share their views
on a 'roadmap' to democracy in Burma.

A Foreign Ministry source said representatives from 12 countries would
attend the half-day forum: Burma, France, Britain, Germany, Italy,
Austria, Japan, China, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Thaksin said that Burma would send a deputy foreign minister to attend
the meeting.

Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh had confirmed he would attend.
China would send a deputy foreign minister and Japan a special envoy,
the source said.

The Burmese junta has been severely criticised by the international
community for detaining pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and key
opposition leaders following a violent confrontation last May.

Burmese Prime Minister Khin Nyunt announced a seven-point roadmap in
August that included free and fair elections to move the country toward
national reconciliation and democracy.

Many countries, including the US, those in the European Union and Japan,
have imposed sanctions on Rangoon and expressed doubt over Khin Nyunt's
roadmap.

Rungrawee C Pinyorat, Waranaree Kosajan
_________________________________

Dec 9, Japan Economic Newswire
10 countries to attend Myanmar's 'road map' forum in Bangkok

Ten countries from Asia and Europe have agreed to attend a forum here
next week on Myanmar's 'road map to democracy,' Thai Foreign Minister
Surakiart Sathirathai said Tuesday.

The one-day meeting is aimed at giving Myanmar the opportunity to
explain to the international community its plans on national
reconciliation and transition to a democracy, he said.

'This is the first time that Myanmar agreed to come and speak about its
issues in another country. It is an important step, but it's impossible
to expect any concrete progress in the first meeting,' Surakiart told
reporters.

Indonesia, Italy as well as U.N. special envoy to Myanmar Razali Isamail
are among those expected to attend the forum, while the United States
has not been invited, according to Surakiart.

Myanmar Prime Minster Gen. Khin Nyunt announced in August a seven-stage
'road map to democracy' that includes the resumption of a national
convention aimed at producing a democratic constitution. But he gave no
specific dates for the process.

The road map has received little support from the outside, although
neighboring Thailand has been pressing at international meetings for
some recognition of the plan to eventually make Myanmar democratic.

The junta called a general election more than a decade ago, but then
refused to vacate office when the National League for Democracy led by
Aung San Suu Kyi won in a landslide over junta-supported candidates.
_________________________________

Dec 9, Agence France Presse
Myanmar minister to attend international democracy forum in Thailand

Myanmar's foreign minister Win Aung will attend next week's
international forum on democratic reform in the military-run state,
Thailand said on Tuesday, while warning that change would be slow in
coming.

Thailand proposed next Monday's meeting to give Myanmar an opportunity
to explain its "roadmap" towards democracy announced in August by Prime
Minister General Khin Nyunt.

"Win Aung will come, the foreign minister from Indonesia will come as
ASEAN's president and other countries like Italy, the EU chair, will
come too," Thai foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai told reporters.

A foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday that the half-day meeting
would be attended by representatives from Austria, Britain, China,
France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.

Surakiart said Thailand had discussed the forum with the United States -
the leading critic of Myanmar's poor human rights record and its refusal
to move towards democracy - but did not invite it to the meeting.

UN special envoy to Myanmar Razali Ismail, who brokered historic but
ultimately unproductive contacts between the junta and pro-democracy
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi three years ago, would attend, he
said.

Surakiart said that while the meeting could not be expected to produce
immediate results, it was a landmark move towards getting Myanmar
talking to the international community.

"We don't expect anything concrete from the first meeting, it would be
impossible. We just want people to meet and understand each other, which
will help to bring about national reconciliation," he said.

"It is an important meeting because other countries will be part of
talks about Myanmar... It is the first time that Myanmar has attended a
meeting talking about themselves in another country."

Myanmar warned last week that it would refuse to attend the forum if it
was going to face criticism from the participants.

The pariah state has been condemned by the international community since
taking Aung San Suu Kyi into detention in May this year and launching a
crackdown on her National League for Democracy party.

The junta's roadmap plan was greeted sceptically by Western nations,
which point out that it gives no date for embarking on the reforms.

_________________________________

Dec 9, The Daily Yomiuri
Japan-ASEAN summit to include human rights

Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plan to include the
need to protect basic human rights in the Tokyo declaration to be
adopted Friday after the Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit meeting,
sources close to the government said Monday.

The two-day special summit meeting marking the 30th anniversary of
exchanges between Japan and ASEAN member states will start Thursday at
the State Guesthouse in Tokyo.

The Japanese government has called for the protection of basic human
rights to be stipulated in the declaration.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will hold separate meetings with the
leaders of Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, in which he plans to
agree formally to start negotiations toward signing free trade
agreements.

In the Tokyo declaration, Japan and ASEAN member states will iron out
stronger cooperation in areas such as politics, economics and security.

The move to include the protection of human rights in the declaration
faced rough going in preliminary sessions for the summit meeting due to
countries with poor human rights records, such as Myanmar.

However, a consensus was reached in the preliminary sessions, and the
declaration is now expected to state that Japan and ASEAN members will
create common principles for such areas as the protection and promotion
of basic freedoms, as well as respect for existing laws and justice
systems, based on the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
other rights declarations.

The Tokyo declaration also will present Japan's basic policy on economic
cooperation, stating that Japan will promote development in the region
by increasing economic integration within ASEAN.

Specifically, Japan will stress its intention to continue assistance to
ASEAN member states, focusing on four nations in which development has
been delayed: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. By promoting official
development assistance to and private sector investment in these
nations, Japan intends to reduce the economic disparity among ASEAN
member states.

The Tokyo declaration also will stipulate the establishment of a bond
market trading in Asian currencies that is intended to prevent
volatility in exchange rates from impacting the regional economy.

It will state that Japan and ASEAN will create the East Asian Community,
an Asian version of the European Union, based on the concept of regional
economic integration. It also will touch on the cooperation needed to
address transnational threats, such as terrorism and piracy.

In working-level preliminary sessions, ASEAN member states asked Japan
to make the Tokyo declaration more specific by pledging additional
financial measures. However, the Japanese government has not accepted
these requests. The preliminary negotiations are expected to continue
until immediately before the special summit meeting begins.

The Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit meeting will open with a ceremony
to be held on Thursday afternoon.

After participating leaders discuss general issues concerning Japan and
ASEAN, Koizumi is scheduled to host a dinner session that night.

Leaders will discuss economic, development, political and security
issues on Friday and will adopt the Tokyo declaration and an action plan
that afternoon.

At the summit meeting, Japan also plans to sign the Treaty of Amity and
Cooperation in Southeast Asia, a basic agreement reached among ASEAN
members.

After the meeting, Koizumi and his cochair, Indonesian President
Megawati Sukarnoputri, are scheduled to appear at a press conference at
a Tokyo hotel. _________________________________

Dec 8, Associated Press
U.S. may join "road map" talks if Myanmar approves, Thai foreign
minister says

The United States has expressed its interest in joining multinational
talks next week on Myanmar's "road map" to democracy, but can only
attend with the ruling junta's consent, Thailand's foreign minister said
Tuesday.

Surakiart Sathirathai said representatives from 10 countries, including
Asian and European nations, would attend the Dec. 15 forum in the Thai
capital.

"We will invite only the countries that Myanmar wants to participate,"
he said. "The United States is interested in taking part in the meeting,
but we have to urge Myanmar first. If (Myanmar's ruling junta) agree,
then the U.S. can attend."

The Thai foreign minister said he is not expecting much progress from
the forum - expected to be the first in a series of meetings - but that
it would be a step in the right direction.

"The United States is going to be interested in attending any talks"
that help Myanmar resolve its political crisis, a U.S. Embassy official
said on condition of anonymity, adding that he was unaware of any
invitation to join the talks.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he would discuss plans
for the meeting with Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Khin Nyunt at a
regional summit in Tokyo, Japan, later this week.

Thaksin said Monday that a Myanmar deputy foreign minister, Khin Maung
Win, would attend the Bangkok meeting, and that he expected solid
results.

Deputy foreign ministers from Japan, Australia and European Union
countries will also attend, he said.

In August, Khin Nyunt announced a seven-point "road map" to democracy
leading to free elections and a new government, but declined to provide
details or a timeframe for when the plan would be implemented.

Myanmar's national reconciliation process reached a standstill when
pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained after a bloody clash
between a group of her supporters and a junta-backed mob on May 30.

The regime subsequently launched a crackdown on Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy party, jailing scores of her supporters.

Myanmar's current military regime took power in 1988, after crushing a
pro-democracy uprising. It held elections in 1990 but refused to
recognize the results when Suu Kyi's party won by a landslide.



INTERNATIONAL
____________________________

Dec 9, M2 Presswire
International trade union movement publishes new list of multinationals
with links to Burma

Brussels: The ICFTU today released an updated list of companies with
business links to Burma. A total of 375 companies are registered on the
list, including 48 new entrants. Despite recent measures taken by the US
government, 41 US companies still remain on the Global Unions list for
their dealings with Burma.

International trade union campaigning has been successful in slowing
investment into Burma and has encouraged a number of well-recognised
multinational companies to sever ties with the country. Most notably,
these have included Marriott Hotels, Triumph International, Accor Hotels
and Premier Oil. British American Tobacco's (BAT) retreat from Burma can
also be seen as a partial success of the campaign led by the
international labour movement.

However, the international trade union movement's list* shows that
large-scale public protest has failed to move a number of large,
well-known companies to leave Burma including Total, Unocal, Ivanhoe
Mines and Daewoo. Austrian Airlines** also continues its relationship
with Burma, undeterred by international pressure including a campaign
led by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) to persuade
the Austrian firm to suspend its services to Rangoon.

Despite US sanctions on Burma, including a ban on Burmese imports, the
ICFTU notes that 41 US companies still remain on the list, however this
is a reduction on last year's figure.

The international trade union movement highlights a disturbing trend
occurring when certain multinationals pull out of Burma. Companies from
neighbouring South East Asian countries are tending to 'fill the gap',
left by departing businesses. The ICFTU continues to pressure these
companies too and reminds them that investing in the country equates
with investing in terror against Burmese men and women.

Global Unions believe that it is impossible to conduct any business
relationship with Burma without supporting the Burmese military
dictatorship, be it indirectly or directly. The dictatorship is directly
responsible for the extensive use of forced labour and guilty of other
human rights and trade union rights abuses. Despite persistent rights
violations in Burma, all of the companies on the list have been found to
have business links in the country, to have been in direct contact with
officials of the dictatorial regime or to promote tourism to Burma.

Burma has one of the worst human rights and trade union rights records
in the world. There has been little change over the last few years in
the way which Burmese dictators treat their citizens. Brutal methods of
repression, such as violence against religious and ethnic minorities,
forced internal displacement, beatings, child labour, sexual assualt and
murder continue on a daily basis. A high number of political prisoners
still remain in custody today.

In a related development, the ICFTU has recently submitted a report of
over 1,000 pages of new evidence to the International Labour
Organisation, highlighting the persistent use of forced labour on a
massive scale in Burma.


CONTACT: Barbara Kwateng, Press Officer, International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) Campaigns and Communications Department
Tel: +32 2 224 0206, e-mail: barbara.kwateng at icftu.org



OPINION / OTHER
_____________________________________

Dec 9, Sydney Morning Herald
Future Bleak For Father Who Dared Have A Conscience – Shane Green

Each night, the two girls go to bed clutching their father's pillow.
Since Japanese immigration authorities took Khin Maung Latt into custody
in October, it is the only way Demi, 9, and Michelle, 6, can get to
sleep.

The pillow still carries their father's scent, and it provides a small
comfort from the pain of separation. But for every day their father
remains in detention, the scent fades a little more.

Khin Maung Latt, an activist for the pro-democracy movement in Burma,
runs the risk of being deported to face Rangoon's retribution.
Meanwhile, his daughters and wife, Maria, could end up in the
Philippines. They want to stay together, in Japan.

There was a glimmer of hope recently, with Japan's Justice Minister,
Daizo Nozawa, saying the family would not be separated, suggesting they
might all be deported to the Philippines.

Yet there has been no final decision, and deportation to Burma for Khin
Maung Latt remains a possibility.

In Japan, his case has become a cause celebre for everything that is
wrong with the country's attitude towards refugees. While Japan pours
millions upon millions of yen into overseas aid, its doors remain all
but shut. As Amnesty's latest annual report points out, Japan accepted
only 11 refugees last year. "Japan is outrageously reluctant to accept
refugees," said Shogo Watanabe, Khin Maung Latt's lawyer.

Fed up with the military junta, Khin Maung Latt came to Japan in 1988 to
study Japanese. After graduating in 1991 he began work with a small
transport company, rising to the position of manager.

He met Maria Hope Jamili, a Filipina, in 1991. They married and had Demi
and Michelle, who speak only Japanese. The couple became active in the
pro-democracy Burmese Association in Japan, and he became its treasurer.

Khin Maung Latt has been fighting for asylum since 1994. Five years ago,
after the Japanese Government rejected his claim, he spent three months
in custody, being released as appeals through the courts were fought.
That came to an end in October, when the Tokyo High Court rejected his
claim. The final hope is an appeal now before the Tokyo Supreme Court.
In the meantime, he remains in custody.

There seems little doubt he will face persecution should he be sent back
to Burma. Apart from his political activities, he is also in debt to the
Government. Under a bizarre rule of the junta, Burmese citizens in Japan
are required to pay a monthly levy of 10,000 yen ($125) to the Burmese
embassy. He has not paid for 10 years.

There has been plenty of agitation on Khin Maung Latt's behalf, with his
employer organising a petition with more than 20,000 signatures.
Editorials have also railed against the Government. But the Prime
Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, has been unmoved, saying he had no plans to
intervene. "While there are sympathetic aspects to the case, the
decision taken was unavoidable," he said last week.

There is a daily 10-minute visiting time at the detention centre. When
Maria and Michelle went earlier this week, the strain was starting to
tell on Khin Maung Latt. "He looked tired," his wife said. "He told me
he couldn't eat that much and couldn't sleep much because of the stress.

"He was crying in front of me, although he seldom shows any sign of
weakness in front of his supporters. I wish I could give him my homemade
dishes."

____________________________________

REPORT

Mizzima's Publication on the Drug Conditions Available Now

A Report on the Drug Conditions in the India-Burma areas by the Mizzima
News has been released.

The cultivation, production and consumption of drugs have a long history
along the border of India and Burma. Increased regional addiction
generates a myraid of social and health problems. The demand is fueled
by a social, political and economic situation which shows little
promises for young people.

Supply of drugs by tribal communities and militant groups occurs in
circumstances where politicians and administrators are often involved
with cultivators and traffickers and where law enforcement officers are
distracted by fighting insurgency groups. Moreover, drug cultivation,
production, and trafficking offer a source of income where hardly any
other exists.

This report on the drug conditions along the India-Burma Border
addresses various issues concerning the cultivation, production,
trafficking and consumption of drugs in four of India's northeastern
states- Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Assam and Burma's
commercial place-Namphalong. It also inquires into the particular
situation of the Singpho community, its history of drug cultivation,
production and consumption and the health effects on the community.
Finally, the report examines the situation of cannabis production and
addiction in detail.

This report combines factual reporting on the historical background and
the current situation with observations and suggestions for action.

Please write to mizzima at mizzima.com to order the report. It is available
at Rs. 300 (Within India) and US$-10 (Outside India)

____________________________________