THAILAND PRESSES BURMA ON DRUG CITY

A huge Burmese drugs production "city" is being built close to the border
with Thailand, according to the Thai prime minister.

Taksin Shinawat has demanded an explanation from Burma about the growth of
Mong Yawn, which is controlled by the ethnic Wa group, allied closely to the
Burmese military authorities.

Mr Taksin, who was speaking at an anti-drugs conference in the Thai city of
Chiang Rai, said satellite photographs had revealed the growth of the drug
production facilities.

Thai officials said Mong Yawn had its own dam, hydro-electric plant, hotels
and a casino.

The flow of illegal amphetamines from Burma into Thailand is likely to
increase sharply this year, they added.

The war on drugs was a key theme of Thaksin Shinawat's recent election
victory.

And BBC Bangkok correspondent Simon Ingram says Mr Thaksin is coming face to
face with the realities of a narcotic craze that officials acknowledge has
permeated every level of Thai society.

Briefing

Mr Thaksin said that he was determined to get some answers from Rangoon
about the city.

I want to hear the word clearly from Myanmar authorities that Mong Yawn is
not under their responsibility," he said.

The prime minister's chosen strategy is to choke off the supply routes that
ferry hundreds of millions of methamphetamine pills into Thailand each year
from Burma.

The Burmese Government says Mong Yawn is beyond its control.

The regime insists it is committed to ridding the golden triangle region of
a drug culture even more insidious than the opium trade that it has largely
supplanted.

Methamphetamine abuse is so rampant among the young in Thailand that schools
are carrying out random urine tests on their students.

Drug trafficking has become a growing issue of dispute between the two
countries in recent years.

It was also seen as a factor behind recent armed clashes along the border
that left several people dead.