BURMA'S EFFORTS 'BELITTLED'

Rangoon is committed to the war on drugs and has co-operated closely with
Thailand, but certain western countries have demeaned its efforts, the
Burmese police chief said yesterday.

The central committee for drug abuse control had exchanged information at
all levels with the Narcotics Control Board, Pol Maj-Gen Soe Win said.

Law officers from the two countries met twice-yearly through the UN Drug
Control Programme.

Law enforcement along the border involved the military, customs and police,
but the "politics" of certain western countries had belittled Burma's
co-operation with Thailand and other neighbours.

He defended the ethnic Wa, regarded by Thailand as major methamphetamine
producers. Senior Thais had seen livestock and cash crop farming during a
tour of the Wa area last year, he said. "The Thai media has pictured the
wrong guy," he said during a break at Asean talks on transnational crime.