U.S., EUROPE UNDER FIRE IN MYANMAR

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) The United States and Europe were rebuked today for
boycotting an international heroin conference because it was taking place
in Myanmar, one of the world's biggest producers of the drug.

Participants at the 4th International Heroin Conference said the boycott by
the world's biggest heroin-consuming nations ran counter to the spirit of
international cooperation against drug trafficking.

"As two of the largest markets for heroin in the world, the United States
and Britain bear a special responsibility to work with the rest of the
international community in every way possible," Home Affairs Minister Col.
Tin Hlaing said in his opening address.

Britain and the United States regard Myanmar as the world's single biggest
producer of heroin.

The four-day conference is being organized by Interpol, the Lyon,
France-based agency that bolsters links between national police forces.

Paul Higdon, director of the group's Criminal Intelligence Directorate,
noted that Interpol had been criticized for providing Myanmar "a platform
from which it could speak out" about its anti-drug activities.

Higdon said the boycotting countries had the right to take such action, but
regretted "that a political situation which is viewed by many as a serious
problem has held hostage the universally recognized problem of drug abuse."

"I feel there is more to gain through dialogue than boycott," Higdon said.

But Washington and other critics have charged that Myanmar's military
regime has failed to seriously crack down on drugs and has such a poor
human rights record that it does not deserve the legitimacy conferred by
the conference.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch likened holding the meeting in Yangon
to "holding a convention on weapons of mass destruction in Baghdad, on
women's rights in Kabul or on terrorism in Tripoli."

Other countries boycotting the conference include France, Denmark, the
Netherlands and Norway. Representatives of 26 countries, including
Australia and Switzerland, were listed as attending.

Tin Hlaing urged the boycotting countries "to put politics aside, for the
sake of the millions of people around the world whose lives are threatened
by the drug trade."

His speech was repeated almost word-for-word in recent commentaries in the
state-controlled press.

Myanmar officials are especially sensitive to criticism on the drug issue
because they feel the have made great achievements in the fight against
drugs especially measured by the number of seizures with almost no outside
aid.

Most foreign aid to the country, also known as Burma, was cut off a decade
ago following the bloody suppression of protests against rule by the
military, which has run the country since 1962.