KACHIN PLEDGE TO HALT DRUG PRODUCTION IN MYANMAR: REPORT

The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), one of 17 former
anti-government ethnic groups to strike cease-fire deals with Myanmar's
ruling military junta, has pledged to halt drug production in Kachin state,
the state press reported.

"We will work together with the government as well as other international
agencies involved with eradicating illicit drugs, and call on the people to
support and assist us in this objective," the KIO said in a statement
issued in early February, the report said.

The KIO said they would prevent production and trafficking of drugs,
support crop-substitution, discourage drug-use and rehabilitate addicts
inside Kachin state in the country's north.

It is the first time the group has explicitly stated its opposition to drug
production.

Meanwhile, former Kachin insurgents in Special Region Three in Shan state,
which borders Kachin, also joined the Wa and the Kokang ethnic groups in
pledging to make their respective regions drug-free by 2005, the report added.

In a directive issued earlier this month, the chairman of Special Region
Three said that all illicit drugs as well as their trafficking,
transporting, storage and usage would now be "totally prohibited".

"This action has been taken in response to government urgings and to stop
further international censure against Myanmar," the directive said, adding
that it would carry out "effective action" against violators.

The international community has roundly condemned Myanmar for allegedly
turning a blind eye to the massive production of drugs in areas controlled
by ethnic armies which have signed fragile cease-fires with the junta.

The Myanmar ruling junta launched a 15-year drug eradication programme in
1997, but it continues to receive strong international condemnation for its
failure to seriously address the issue.