FIGHTING BURMA'S DRUGS TRADE

Burma's ruling generals and their Wa allies on the country's north eastern
border have pledged big cuts in opium production, hoping to head off
international criticism. Larry Jagan, the BBC's Burma analyst, reports.

Bao Yuxiang, the notorious drug warlord and commander of the United Wa
State Army, says he will dramatically cut production of opium poppy in
areas under his control within the next 12 months.

"I have promised to make the Wa areas drug-free by 2005 and I will," he
told the BBC in a recent interview in his home-base of Pangshang, on the
border with China.

The Wa are one of the main poppy growers in Burma's Golden Triangle -
situated in the north-west tip of the country bordering, China, Laos and
Thailand.

UN drug officials now estimate that most of the world's illicit heroin
originates in this inhospitable and mountainous region.

Profitable Crop

The Wa have been involved in the drugs trade for decades, largely because
of the difficulty of growing any other cash crops, and lack of industry.

Since 1989 the Wa have had a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese military
junta.

During much of that time opium production has sky-rocketed.

But in the last few years poppy cultivation has declined dramatically, say
UN drug control officials.

Mr Bao, who along with his three brothers commands the 20,000-strong United
Wa State Army (UWSA), says that over the past two years, the Wa have begun
to resist the temptation to continue growing poppy.

UN financial assistance has been used for crop substitution projects,
including fruit trees and tea plantations, and to set up small-scale
industries like tea production and slate manufacturing factories.

"In some areas the Wa have reduced the amount of land under poppy
cultivation by up to 80%," said an independent Australian researcher,
Jeremy Milsome, who has just completed several months of detailed surveys
in UWSA areas.

"Last year, overall the UWSA managed an average reduction of poppy
production of more than 30%," he said.

Most independent assessments of opium production in the Wa areas also show
a major reduction in the amount of poppy that is cultivated.

Allegations Continue

But despite this, the Wa are still blamed by Thai army chiefs for millions
of amphetamines that flood into Thailand every year, and by Western
governments like the United States for most of the heroin on the streets of
Europe and North America.

These are allegations which Mr Bao vigorously denies.

"It makes me fed up and angry... I'm tired of hearing it. It's nonsense,"
he said.

But the allegations continue, and with the new growing season at its
height, there is increasing international concern about the production of
opium in Burma's Golden Triangle.

The Burmese authorities are now insisting that poppy cultivation this
season will be half as much as last year.

"We hope to cut opium production by 50% in the current production year
[2002-3]," said the head of Burma's drug suppression committee, police
colonel Hkam Awng.

"There will be a dramatic reduction in poppy cultivation in the coming
year," the Burmese Foreign Minister Win Aung told the BBC. "You will see!"

'Too Fast, Too Soon'

But UN officials are worried about the possible impact of this planned
rapid decrease in poppy cultivation.

They fear that as a consequence, poor farmers who are dependant on growing
the illicit drug will suffer.

"A 50% reduction is revolutionary and we should be happy with that," said
the head of the United Nations Drugs Control Programme in Rangoon, Jean-Luc
Lemahieu.

"But it's too fast, too soon. I don't see enough income coming in for the
opium poppy farmers and I'm concerned that we'll have a humanitarian crisis
on our hands as a result."

UN officials fear that if there are no viable substitute cash crops or
income generating schemes for the poor farmers, the result will be that
they have no alternative but to return to poppy production the following
year, as happened in Afghanistan.

And while the Burmese authorities continue to insist they are doing all
they can to reduce opium production, the reality is that amphetamine
tablets, known as crazy medicine or ya baa, continue to flood across
Burma's borders, especially into Thailand.

Thai military officials are warning that Thailand is facing an invasion of
more than a billion tablets next year - most of which will be produced in
the Golden Triangle.

"The precursor chemicals needed for the manufacture of amphetamines are not
produced in Burma and are illegal here," Win Aung told the BBC.

"They come from India, Thailand and China. More needs to be done to stop
the smuggling of these chemicals across our borders."

But as many experts point out, the only way to effectively combat drug
trafficking is to suppress the demand for it as well as cut its production.