HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 'NOT ENOUGH'

The chief of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Burma is concerned
with the shortcomings of humanitarian assistance for opium-growers in
sustainable alternative projects amid the tightening sanctions against the
military regime.

''We are trying not to let Burma become another Afghanistan, where after the
removal of the Taliban regime the opium situation has gone back to square
one and it costs international taxpayers a lot today to clean up the mess
since the poor Afghan farmers have no other choices,'' said Jean-Luc
Lemahieu, the UNODC representative in Burma.

His Office launched Burma's Opium Survey 2004 yesterday saying that Burma,
the world's second largest producer of opium but the biggest in the region,
saw a significant decline in opium cultivation from 163,000 hectares in 1996
to around 44,200 hectares this season.

The comprehensive survey also showed a 29% decline in cultivation in
comparison to 2003, while there was a production output of 370 metric tons,
a decline of 54% from last year, Mr Lemahieu said.

''The ground plus satellite survey reflected that we are on the right track
and the political will (of the military regime) has contributed sharply to
the dramatic decline,'' Mr Lemahieu said, also attributing to the changing
situation such as Rangoon's ceasefire with certain ethnic groups which
earlier relied mainly on opium trade income, and regional cooperation.

The production decline was in line with regional opium cultivation
reduction, said Sanong Chinnanon, UNODC coordinator for Alternative
Development.

Opium growing in Southeast Asia has declined from 186,712 hectares in 1996
to 50,807 hectares this year with production falling from 1,914 tons to 413
tons.

However, he was worried that Rangoon's goal to eliminate opium production by
the end of 2005 would only exacerbate the poverty of farmers.

Opium growers, the UNODC chief said, were mostly economically marginalised
and only had an income of US$214 per annum compared to non-opium growers'
US$276 per annum.

A sharp fall in opium production in 2003 in the Kokang area has already
forced half of the 200,000 Kokang ethnic people to leave their homes.

Only two stages of the three-pronged strategy of the UNODC have so far been
implemented, including food delivery, food security and basic human needs
(education/healthcare).

The last stage would promote the most sustainable means of earning a living,
investment in infrastructure and alternative crops.

Mr Lemahieu said the Kokang Wa Initiative, aimed at encouraging farmers to
turn their backs to illicit crops, has now been launched with 17
agencies/countries involved in a partnership to run a comprehensive
alternative programme. However the US$26 million project could cover only
half (540,000) of the affected people. ''Certainly sanctions have affected
the humanitarian work but most of us are still doing our job.

''To get political reform back on track and give a push to the government's
implementation of necessary schemes for the poor, we need more aid. And
that's not easy now with Burma on the tag,'' he conceded.