Drug-dealing Prisoners to Get Closer Monitoring

By SAI SILP
The Irrawaddy News

To suppress prisoners who continue to operate drug networks while behind bars, Thai authorities will establish special zones for drug-related detainees who will undergo closer monitoring.

Sompong Amornwiwat, the Thai minister of justice, told prison officials in Bangkok that the ministry plan to create special prison zones for selected drug-related detainees, who currently make up a total 60 percent of all prisoners.

About 1,000 drug detainees will be separated from other cases to prevent them from dealing drugs outside the prison and high-technology tools will be used to monitor this zone.” Sompong said, according to a report on the Thai government’s Web site.

The ministry has plans to tighten restrictions in eight high-security prison zones.

In one of the latest examples, in April, crystal methamphetamine, or Ya Ice, was discovered hidden inside the cover of a pocket book sent to Lueng Pak Lun, a Korean convicted of drug offences, in Zone 10 of the Khlong Prem Central Prison in Bangkok. Prison officials suspect the drug was ordered by mobile phone and delivered through contacts inside and outside the prison.

The Corrections Department has started blocking mobile phone signals at three maximum security prisons to cut off contact between prisoners and drug dealers on the outside, after officials found a series of attempts to contact dealers and bring drugs into the prisons.

The signal-blocking devices are at Khlong Prem Central Prison, Bang Kwang Prison and the Central Correctional Institute for Drug Addicts, which house high-profile drug traffickers. Drugs may still enter the prisons. Officials admit it is difficult to screen items sent to prisoners by mail. Narcotics have been discovered sealed inside cups of yoghurt, bottles of lotion and other items.

There have been complaints from foreign prisoners who have protested that parcels addressed to them had been rifled through. Some cases have ended in lawsuits against prison staff and wardens. Prisons normally must obtain a warrant from a court to search a prisoner’s mail.

The Justice Ministry, however, is now seeking a change in the law that would allow a prison commander to decide whether to authorize a mail search.

In early July, authorities arrested a group of drug traffickers and seized more than 170,000 methamphetamine tablets sent from Chiang Mai under the direction of detained Thai and Burmese drug dealers in Zone 10 of the Central Correctional Institute for Drug Addicts.

Fresh charge against Maung Weik

(Mizzima) - The young business tycoon Maung Weik has been slapped with one more charge. He has been charged with violating the immigration act by the police who have accused him of allowing a Malaysian to stay in his office premises in Rangoon.

The case was filed at the Lanmadaw township police station on July 15, said a police officer. The case number is (Pa) 187/08 under immigration section 13 (5).

"He (the businessman) is suspected of allowing the Malaysian to stay in Myanmar (Burma) without informing the immigration authority," a police source said.

The Malaysian national Mr. Peter Too Haut Haw is also being detained along with five other Burmese nationals and Maung Weik.

Meanwhile, Maung Weik has been charged with trading in narcotics such as ecstasy, amphetamines and Ketamine. The 35-year-old businessman faces life-imprisonment if found guilty of trafficking in drugs.

According to the first information report filed in the police station, the Malaysian has been living in the head office of the Maung Weik and Family Co. Ltd., located on Anawyahtar Street, Ward-1, Lanmadaw township, Rangoon since 2003.

Cross-border Trade in Mae Sot

By HTET AUNG
The Irrawaddy News

MAE SOT, Thailand — Sitting in a small truck crammed with passengers and packages, I waited for the short but exciting ride from Mae Sot Market to a small pier on the bank of the Moei River, known in Burma as the Thaungyin River, which serves as a natural border between Thailand and Burma.

The other passengers are neither foreigners nor Thai tourists, keen to explore the beauty of the Burma’s natural environment in the southeastern frontier.

They are all small and medium-size Burmese retailers returning to Myawaddy with goods bought from the Mae Sot Market.

Everyday, traders cross the Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge with one-day border passes and return to Myawaddy that evening loaded down with packages of goods to sell in the market.

“We have to rely on the Mae Sot Market for almost all the basic commodities, including cooking oil, vegetables, flowers and fruit. Myawaddy can produce nothing” said a middle-aged woman sitting next to me, who bought several boxes of chickens and duck eggs for her retail shop in the Myawaddy Market.

Although Myawaddy exports some goods to Mae Sot, such as onions, potatoes, dried chilly, sea food, crafts, Burmese traditional medicines, textiles and other items, the town has become mainly a transit stop for goods coming from other parts of Burma. Some Burmese goods in Mae Sot are even cheaper than in Myawaddy, because the Burmese traders sold them in the Mae Sot market for a good price.

In the middle of our trip, the Thai border patrol police stopped the truck and checked each person’s border pass. Nobody was required to bribe the police to transport their goods.

According to other passengers in the truck, there are three kinds of Burmese piers along the Moei River, each controlled by different Burmese authorities. They are Na Sa Ka (Department of Border Trade), Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and Ward Peace and Development Council (WPDC).

The Na Sa Ka authorities are the most corrupt, according to my companions, and retail vendors try to avoid them.

“When we went to the Na Sa Ka officials, we lost almost all of our profits because we had to bribe them with lots of money,” said a tradesman in the truck. “Although we are only small retailers, they asked for at least 2,000 kyat (US $1.80) for our goods.”

“I get a small profit of about 5,000 kyat ($4.50) after selling 400 duck eggs for several days. How can I pay what they ask for?” said an egg retailer. “Because of that, we usually use the gate controlled by the WPDC. They ask for 500 kyat ($ .45 cents) per retailer.”

Our truck arrived on the bank of the Moei River at No. 2 Gate, located about 2 kilometers from the friendship bridge.

After watching my companions load up a small boat and push off to the Burmese side of the river, I returned to the Mae Sot border gate, where I met a Burmese shop owner who operates a textile shop near the bridge. He spoke to me openly, but asked that his name not be used.

“I have lived here and had this shop for 20 years,” he said. “Doing business in Myawaddy is more difficult these days mainly because of the various rules of the authorities. Whenever a new township authority is appointed they declare new rules, and we have to follow them.

“Mae Sot has become a town where not only many Burmese migrants work, but also Burmese are setting up businesses,” he said. “The advantage of having a shop in Mae Sot is that if you can officially open a shop and pay tax to the Thai authorities, they never disturb your business.”

An older Burmese shop owner at the Mae Sot Market said he had no complaints about doing business in Thailand.

“I have lived here since I was 18 years old,” said Daw Aye Aye Khine, the owner of the Moe Kote Drug Store. “My business is now doing well. During 30 years, I have never feared the Thai authorities because I pay tax regularly and follow their rules.”

Interestingly, the two Burmese businessmen in Mae Sot didn’t mention democracy or military rule when they talked about their frustration with the Burmese economy. They only mentioned the rule of law and good governance, which can create an environment that promotes economic and social life.

Corruption clearly exists in Burma and elsewhere, the businessmen said. Several mentioned big Burmese traders who benefit from the border trade because of their closeness to local authorities.

The egg retailer said “Some big traders in Myawaddy got rich by importing zinc roofs after Cyclone Nargis.”

Although the two counties opened official border trade after the Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge opened in 1997, most of the trade still takes place like in the old days before the bridge with smaller and middle-size business people trading goods through more than a dozen piers along Moei River.

Haven or Hell

A man squats to smoke an opium pipe in Maw Hai village while children look on. (Photo: Tor Norling)

By TOR NORLING
The Irrawaddy News

PANGHSANG, Burma — “I had two choices. The first was to escape to Thailand, the other was to hide out here,” said 20-year-old Sandimar, one of two young Buddhist monks standing outside a temple in Panghsang, the unofficial capital of Wa State, an unmarked, lush, mountainous region shown on maps as eastern Shan State.

Backed up against China’s Yunnan State and within a day or two’s mule ride to the Golden Triangle, the undeveloped Wa State was once the world’s largest producer of opium and, by implication, the greatest source of heroin.

However, nowadays the region is undergoing a series of transformations that is causing friction between leaders of the Wa armed forces and the brutal clique that rules from Burma’s capital, Naypyidaw.

Sandimar and Sai Sai fled from Rangoon after last September’s monk-led demonstrations were violently suppressed by the military authorities. Sandimar says he was among the crowd of monks that took to the streets to ignite the uprising.

On the night of September 28 he faced the consequences for his bravery—his temple was surrounded and attacked by hundreds of heavily armed soldiers. “The soldiers came at 4 am. They pointed their guns at us and told us not to move,” he says. “Those who didn’t follow the instructions were beaten. More than 100 monks were arrested at my temple.”

Dressed in their saffron robes, the monks were marched at gunpoint onto a bus and, in the darkness, driven to a school in the suburbs of Insein, in the northwest of Rangoon.

‘When we got there it looked like they had arrested every monk in Rangoon—there were thousands of us,” Sai Sai says.

He and Sandimar were locked in a classroom along with about 800 other monks. “We received food once a day, but we were never allowed to leave the room, even to use the toilet. The smell in the room became unbearable,” he said.

According to Sandimar, many of the soldiers were obviously uncomfortable with their orders as they had been brought up to look up to the Buddhist sangha (monkhood) with great reverence. Beating and abusing monks was a great sacrilege.

“However, other soldiers were extremely brutal,” Sandimar said. “They didn't care if we were monks or not. The guards made the monks disrobe and dress in civilian clothes. They told us this made it easier for them to harass us,” he said.

“All we could do was pray,” said Sai Sai. “But if the guards heard our voices they threatened to kill us.”

Sai Sai witnessed more than 100 monks taken aside by the guards and beaten up. ‘‘It was strange—they only hit them on the heads and told them the treatment was a ‘special present,’” he said.

Their nightmare lasted a week. Then Sai Sai, Sandimar and about 70 other monks were released and told to leave the city. The journey to the Wa mountains took Sandimar and Sai Sai four days.

“We are safe in Wa State, the regime has no influence here,” said Sandimar.

That the rugged Wa hills would be a sanctuary for monks and activists was by no means guaranteed, however, because the Wa region is unpredictable—it is currently an area in flux.

Wa State is controlled by the 20,000-strong United Wa State Army (UWSA), once dubbed the most heavily armed narcotics traffickers in the world by the US State Department. Although Naypyidaw’s generals have little influence in the region, a long-held ceasefire, and the fact the UWSA and the Burmese military occasionally join forces to do battle with the insurgent Shan State Army has led to the perception that the UWSA has become a firm ally of the Burmese regime.

Jiao Wei, a 46-year-old colonel responsible for the organization’s publicity and head of the Wa television station, is quick to dispel that notion.

“We have not criticized the regime publicly, but in our hearts everybody here is angry about what has happened. We don't support what the Burmese government has done, but we are independent of them, so we have no influence. However, we hope they can do a better job for their population,” he says.

The Wa area has never been fully tamed. British colonizers failed to conquer the almost impenetrable mountains and Burma’s rulers were also similarly thwarted. Shortly after Burma won independence, a tribal leader was asked by prime minister U Nu whether the Wa wanted education, good food, clothes, good housing and hospitals. “We are very simple people.

We don't appreciate these things. We just live by ourselves,” was the response.

Mostly animists, living in isolation and numbering only half a million people (an estimated 400,000 more live in Yunnan on the Chinese side), the Wa remain one of Burma’s most mysterious and least-documented ethnic groups.

During the first British expeditions to the area in the late 1800s, the Wa were labelled simply as naked, dirty, dark-skinned, poor and barbaric. Their tradition of hunting for human heads—used as totems in the villages to secure good harvests and to protect against disease—persisted until the 1970s, added to their ferocious reputation. It was no small wonder that this ethnic group became widely known as the ”Wild Wa.”

In the 1970s and 80s, with backing from China, the Communist Party of Burma (CPB)—which was established in 1939 to spearhead the struggle against British colonialism—constituted the largest military threat to the regime in Rangoon.

The Wa provided the bulk of the CPB’s ground forces. Thousands were killed in spectacular attacks in which waves of CPB soldiers threw themselves against Burmese positions. According to some observers, more than 25 percent of Wa soldiers died in the fighting and the prospect of losing more made several Wa leaders rebel.

At the same time, Beijing’s support began to wane. A 1989 split in the CPB led to the creation of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the armed wing of the United Wa State Party.

The UWSA then signed a ceasefire with the Burmese authorities, who, weakened by the 1988 democracy uprisings, readily accepted the UWSA’s terms. In addition to self-rule, the UWSA was allowed to keep its weapons and trade in whatever it wanted.

The only foreigners allowed to enter the region are a small group of aid workers and only Chinese are allowed to pass through the official border crossing with China. Even representatives of the Burmese regime need permission from the Wa authorities before they can visit what is known in Naypyidaw as “Special Region 2.” An illegal border crossing, about 400 metres upstream from the official point of entry and manned by remarkably casual soldiers, is the only option for foreign journalists or observers who wish to enter the area.

It did not take the UWSA long to remember that the most lucrative business in the Wa hills was the production and sale of illegal drugs, a trade that had long vexed the CPB.
“The Wa hills are a strange place. Opium grows very well, but rice doesn't grow at all,” says Jiao Wei.

In 2001, Burma was the world’s largest producer of opium. The UWSA dominated the industry and also produced large quantities of methamphetamine—known in the West as “speed” or “crystal meth”—a highly addictive drug that has spread like an epidemic in Thailand where it is called “ya ba,” meaning “crazy medicine.”

Under pressure from China, the United States and the United Nations, the UWSA’s supreme commander, Bao Youxiang, promised that the Wa State would be free of opium by 2005. And, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, that's what happened.

“The US always says we are terrorists. That's a mistake,” argues Jiao Wei. “We stopped producing and selling drugs in 2005. We hope the world can agree that the Wa hills have become a good place and that the situation is not like it was before.”

Jiao Wei is particularly infuriated by the indictment of eight UWSA leaders by a US federal court in 2005. In addition it is believed that more than 20 people with connections to the UWSA are sought by the US on drug charges. For the capture of the UWSA’s top leaders the bounty is said to be several million dollars.

Wei says he is disappointed the drug ban has not had more support from the international community. “We have asked our farmers to grow rice, tea and rubber, but it doesn’t offer enough revenue. They don’t have enough food and need help,” he says.

“Most farmers are against the ban. The poverty creates tensions. We feel a growing pressure from our people.”

Poverty in Wa villages is at a level that is difficult to compare to the relative comfort in nearby Yunnan or Thailand. One hour’s drive west of Panghsang is Maw Hai, a muddy hamlet of about 50 shacks made from corrugated metal, bamboo and wood, with cattle and pigs roaming freely. Malnourished children sit in the dirt.

“There used to be opium everywhere,” said village leader Ai Nap, pointing to the fields surrounding the village. He said that the village was always poor, but now the situation is worse.

“Before the ban we did at least have some income to buy food and medicines. Today, we don’t have enough to eat. The rice only lasts for five or six months of the year,” he says.

Of the 146 people living in the village, most are children. ‘‘Last year many children died, but this year has been a bit better,” says Ai Nap.

This is about as good as it gets in a Wa village. The farther they are from the road and Panghsang, the worse the conditions are. At least Maw Hai has electricity and the World Food Programme has established a water supply and sends in a few sacks of rice. Ai Nap confirmed that they are close enough to Panghsang to send the children to hospital when they get sick. ‘‘But often when they return from the hospital they die,” he says.

It is easy to criticize the Wa leadership, who live a life of luxury in Panghsang while their people starve and suffer, but the UWSA did warn the international community in good time that alternative sources of farming and income would be necessary if the ban were to be sustained. For the most part, this humanitarian disaster-in-the-making is devoid of international aid workers. The few in evidence are reluctant to speak to journalists, fearing critical reports could upset the Naypyidaw regime, which, in turn, could hinder their operations.

Burmese aid workers are more helpful. However, an employee of one of the UN’s two offices in Panghsang says aid workers are not always welcome in the villages. ‘‘There have been some incidents and misunderstandings. Many believe we are coming to monitor whether we are growing opium, so it’s difficult to be accepted,” he says.

The suspicion that several people in or connected to the UWSA are still active in the drug industry is also a deterrent to outside help. Despite Jiao Wei's assurances, there is little doubt that large quantities of opium and methamphetamine continue to be channelled through the Wa hills.

Although trading in illegal drugs is still possible, a source connected to the drugs industry said that the ban has made it harder. Increased controls in China have also constricted supply. The source said he remembers the days when truckloads of opium left Panghsang for Yunnan. A few days later the trucks returned with hard currency. “To make a deal today you need both power and money. Money alone makes you vulnerable, as you have no power to protect you. Power is not enough as you don't have money to be in the market,” he said.

When a deal does go down, it is usually big and the risks are high.

A 20-year-old woman who runs a hotel in the border town of Mong La says her mother was jailed after Chinese police searched her family’s property in Yunnan two years ago. The quantities of heroin discovered were so large that no attempts to bribe the police succeeded. She was executed. The young woman’s husband escaped the death penalty but is serving life in prison. She said that although she is still wealthy, she is alone looking after her two-year-old daughter.

“Most people I know come from families like that,” said the source. ‘‘Even if you are rich you will have lost a lot. Many here are extremely wealthy but because of their fear of getting killed or arrested, they never leave the Wa hills. Instead they bring here what they need from the outside world.”

Most of the food in Panghsang is imported from China. The cars, for the most part Land Rovers and Japanese pick-ups, have been smuggled in from Thailand. Sometimes the place of origin of goods is confusing. Pepsi is imported from China, while Coca-Cola comes from Thailand. The Wa apparently think Coca Cola produced in Thailand tastes better than its Chinese counterpart.

There is a throbbing nightlife centered around the town’s rundown casino. The women offering their services in a number of brothels in the surrounding streets are mainly Chinese. The nightclub “Babe” could be in New York or London. An advanced laser system illuminates the dance floor. Two DJs brought in from China are playing hip-hop.

Cheryl, 20, says the youth of Panghsang are looking to the United States when it comes to music and culture. ‘‘I love black hip-hop and the NBL [National Basketball League] is my life. I don't know why. Maybe we look to black American culture because we are so much darker than the Chinese,” she says.

Cheryl has a university degree from Kunming, Yunnan’s capital, and runs a fashion store in Panghsang. As the daughter of a high-ranking officer she has little to fear economically, but she grew up in poverty. She remembers her childhood in Ying Pan, a village three hours’ drive from Panghsang, when the mountains where covered with opium poppies. She used to go to the fields with her aunt during the harvest season to gather opium, which she sold at the local market for pocket money. In the mid-1990s her father suddenly became rich and today she lives in a huge wooden mansion in the centre of Panghsang.

“I have been very lucky and I do my best to help the people in my home village. When I go home to my village I always take clothes and presents for the children. They always come to visit because our house is the only one in the village that has a TV,” she says.

Cheryl claims the local authorities are doing a good job in helping the population but admits there is a huge gap in wealth. ‘‘In the Wa State, a few are extremely rich, everybody else is extremely poor.”

In Maw Hai, the noticeable difference is not so much rich and poor, but young and old—there appears to be no teenagers. The mystery is solved in Panghsang. At the entrance to the military academy a group of soldiers stand around. Many of them are girls and many are very young. Nika, 18, said he was forced to join the army.

“Every family with more than one child must give a child to the army—that’s the law here,” he says. A boy in a uniform that is far too big for him says he is 12. Another soldier explains that you can be recruited from the age of 10. The soldiers earn between 30 and 40 yuan ($4.40 to $5.85) a month.

The fear of an attack from Naypyidaw is, according to observers, the reason why the Wa leadership maintains its army. Even though the ceasefire has held for almost 20 years, the relationship between Burma’s generals and the UWSA is not without complications. ‘‘Nobody here trusts the Burmese,” says Jiao Wei.

A recent attempt by the regime to move Wa settlements away from the Thai-Burmese border has inflamed tensions, for instance, and there are worries about Chinese influence.

“The Burmese authorities don’t want more Chinese in Wa State; but most of the economy comes from China, so we welcome them,” says Jiao Wei. He says Naypyidaw has no business in telling them what to do. “If they attack, we will retaliate. But we will not fire the first bullet,” he says.

With that he declares the interview over and cracks open a bottle of whisky containing pulverized tiger bone. ‘‘This will keep you healthy,” he toasts.

Sandimar, meanwhile, hopes the Wa State will continue to offer him a safe haven. He says about 300 monks, most of whom are originally from the Wa hills, have come from Rangoon recently, along with a group of student activists, among them 23-year-old Aung. A long scar on his forehead bears witness to the treatment he received in prison.

“I had never seen this kind of brutality,” he said, and explains that he was arrested when soldiers attacked a demonstration he was taking part in. He tried to escape but was surrounded. Forced to lie on the ground, he was repeatedly beaten with sticks and rifle butts. “They hit me in the back and the head several times. Then they asked me to stand up, only to strike me down again. I was bleeding all over the place. Then they put the barrel of a gun in my mouth. I was sure they would kill me.”

Aung was released after a week and, like Sandimar and Sai Sai, traveled directly to Wa State. He is aware that he has swapped one military regime for another; the UWSA is by no means a democratic institution. “At least the Wa leaders care somewhat about their people. They don’t conspire to kill you,” he says.

“If you really want to confront the Wa leadership, you may get into trouble, but you can discuss and talk about whatever you like. They appreciate a well-informed critique,” he added.

Whether the Wa leaders remain so open-minded if the public pressure from the opium ban continues to grow or if Naypyidaw acts on its irritation about China’s involvement in the region remains to be seen.

For now the Wa have gone beyond their Conradian image as headhunters to become the unlikely protectors of Burma’s saffron revolutionaries and a key player in the global crackdown on drugs.

Tor Norling is a freelance journalist from Norway who covers South and Southeast Asian affairs.

Playing us for fools

By Joshua Kurlantzick
The New Republic

Burma's government is run by a group of ignorant xenophobes. So how come it keeps outsmarting us?

Burma's ruling junta, holed up in a bunker capital built in the remote centre of the country and led by the thuggish, unworldly and slow-speaking Than Shwe, gets little respect from the outside world. In private conversations, Western diplomats have snidely remarked to me about Than Shwe's lack of education -- he reputedly never made it out of primary school -- while officials from Burma's powerful neighbours talk about the Burmese leaders as if they were unsophisticated, wayward children. "What can you do about them?" one Southeast Asian diplomat asked me. "Who has any idea what they think?" He then launched into a diatribe about how ignorant and insane the generals are.

But while they may not be intellectual dynamos, the generals have clearly mastered a survival strategy with regard to the outside world. It's no coincidence that despite Western and Asian pressure on them to change, the Burmese regime has remained in power since 1962 -- and it has only strengthened its hold on power in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. Indeed, as much as the junta has lasted partly by crushing and co-opting its own people, its longevity must also be attributed to its playing the international community for fools, over and over again.

The lesson the junta clings to most tightly today was learned in 1990. That year, it allowed a free election, thinking it would win. It didn't. And when it refused to cede power, it lost nearly all international support -- but only for a time. Turns out that Burma's resources, including some of the largest untapped gas fields in Southeast Asia, were too important to ignore. The international community stopped protesting the junta, and the generals learned that they never had to make a major concession again; their resources would provide them with immunity.

They've since used this insight to great effect. In the mid-1990s, countries like Thailand and India started putting pressure on the junta to reform. India's then-defence minister George Fernandes even hosted Burmese opposition activists in his private compound. So, in response, the Burmese generals began aggressively courting China -- an historical enemy due to China's past support for communist rebel groups inside Burma. Yet Beijing, oil-hungry as ever, slowly built closer economic and trade links with Burma, and completely stopped its support for the communist insurgents. The junta then used its Chinese support as leverage against India, Thailand and other neighbours. And it worked. India has since reversed its hard-nosed stance on Burma entirely.

Another favoured tactic of the regime is to promise potentially bothersome outsiders -- whether they be human rights organizations or concerned governments -- just enough reform to placate them. Problem is, the reform rarely takes place. In the mid-1990s, for example, the Burmese leaders seemed willing to engage in a political dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won that 1990 election. By demonstrating its apparent willingness to deal, the junta gained enough international respectability to win admission into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the region's most important security and economic organization. When the Burmese generals put Suu Kyi back under house arrest several years later, it was already too late for ASEAN to throw the junta out of the organization, since doing so would prove that the group had made an enormous mistake.

At the same time as it misled ASEAN, by accommodating the United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights, as well as several special envoys (even providing them with visits to Suu Kyi), the generals sparked optimism among Burmese democracy advocates that the UN would be able to broker reform. This, too, of course, came to nothing.

Though India, China, the United States and the UN may have different views on the pace or scope of political reform in Asia -- the UN cares more about Burmese human rights than either China or India, and the U. S. takes the hardest line of all -- they all must realize that, as long as they keep haggling over details, no one entity will get what it really wants. For India's leadership, supporting the generals will never succeed, since, unlike the Chinese, the Indian government actually has to be responsive to voters and the media. For the United Nations, simply grasping at every straw from the Burmese regime, without assessing the reality of the offer, will only prove self-defeating. For the U. S. and other Western countries, trying to pressure the Burmese regime without taking into consideration Burma's relationship with China, which provides it much immunity from pressure, will also prove counterproductive. Even for China it's not a good play to back the regime: On many issues, from drug control to economic reform, the junta has refused to take China's advice, and, ultimately, the kind of instability the junta fosters, with its opaque, almost incomprehensive leadership, will not comfort Chinese firms seeking to make investments in Burma either.

The "unsophisticated" generals' diplomatic success has gone on for far too long -- and the Burmese people are in pain. The economy is in shambles, a political opposition movement hardly exists and the HIV/AIDS rate is among the worst in Southeast Asia. Until China, the United States, the UN, India -- everyone -- realize that collective action on Burma is necessary, the suffering will only continue. - Joshua Kurlantzick is a special correspondent for The New Republic and a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's China Program.

Reconstruction work of Maung Weik Co. falters

Mizzima News - 10 July 2008

Chiang Mai - The arrest of young business tycoon Maung Weik has thrown a spanner in the works in the reconstruction contract given to his company - Maung Weik and Family Co. Ltd - in Cyclone Nargis-hit Kyaiklat town.

Though officials of Maung Weik and Family Co. Ltd. at Lanmadaw Townhsip in Rangoon city are refusing to answer queries, local residents said reconstruction works in Kyaiklat has been affected by the arrest of the businessman.

Burma's military rulers have assigned Maung Weik and Family Co. Ltd a contract to conduct reconstruction works in Kyaiklat, as it does with other companies for different regions devastated by the cyclone.

But local residents in Kyaiklat and journalists said the company was rarely seen conducting any reconstruction works.

The junta assigned over 30 companies, most of which are their business cronies, to undertake reconstruction work in cyclone-hit regions in Rangoon and Irrawaddy Divisions.

The junta also appointed several of its Ministers and Mayors to oversee the work. Maung Weik and Family Co. Ltd was assigned to Kyaiklat Township along with Shwemarlar and Thawdarwin Companies.

Activities of Maung Weik Co Ltd. has been drastically reduced after their boss Maung Weik, age 35, was arrested in connection of trafficking and abusing ecstasy drug (popularly known as 'Gaungkharsay'), local residents and journalists said.

His company officials, however, refused to provide any information on the case.

Meanwhile, several companies assigned for the reconstruction jobs are reportedly reluctant to undertake the venture as there has been no indication of recovering their expense and no sign of any 'business opportunity' from the government.

Maung Weik, the billionaire tycoon, donated rice to the cyclone victims of Hleseik village in Kyaiklat Township on May 25, before his arrested on May 31.

Sources said in connection to his arrest, his close friends Aung Zaw Ye Myint, son of Lt. Gen. Ye Myint, and Burmese popular actress Nawaratt were interrogated.

However, after revealing all about the drug case to the investigators, Aung Zaw Ye Myint, was reportedly sent to the Wettikan drug rehabilitation centre in Upper Burma, while Nawaratt was released.

Sources said, several other Burmese celebrities including actors, actresses, and singers were also interrogated in connection to the drug trade and abuses.

Following the mess, Burma's Police Chief, Brig. Gen. Khin Yi, on June 26, during a rare press conference in Burma's new jungle capital, Naypyidaw, clarified reporters that no artistes and celebrities were currently under detention in connection with the drug case.

But the Myanmar Times journal, a privately owned Weekly, which has both English and Burmese version, on Thursday reported that a Malaysian national is among the six co-defendants in the case along with Maung Weik.

The Weekly said a case has been registered against a Malaysian national, Peter, Maung Weik, Aung Min, Nay Tun Lwin, Kyaw Phone Naing, Kyaw Hlaing, and Ohn Thee (alias) Kyaw Win at Lanmadaw police station in Rangoon for trafficking and abusing Ecstasy, Stimulants, Ketamine drugs.

Maung Weik Charged with Trafficking Drugs & Maung Weik Profile

By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy News

One of the richest men in Burma and a powerful friend of the country’s ruling military elite has been charged with drug abuse and involvement in trafficking, according to a police sergeant from Lanmadaw Township police station in central Rangoon.

The senior policeman told The Irrawaddy that Maung Weik, 35, was charged at Lanmadaw Township police station along with Nay Tun Lwin, Aung Min, Kyaw Phone Naing, Kyaw Hlaing, Kyaw Kyaw Win and Malaysian national Peter Too Huat Haw.

The Myanmar Times weekly journal also reported that the seven named suspects had been charged with engaging in drug trafficking from Malaysia to Burma since 2003.

Maung Weik, a founder of the Maung Weik & Family business group, which is involved in trading and real estate, is accused of importing ecstasy and ketamine to Burma. It has been reported that he catered to wealthy Burmese youths and sons of leading generals.

“They often held parties at their offices or homes and invited celebrities,” a close friend of Maung Weik said. “They got people hooked on drugs and then kept on selling the stuff to them.”

Sources said that ecstasy pills generally sold for as much as 60,000 kyat each (US $50) in upper-class circles in Rangoon, a relative fortune in a country where the average salary is little more than $30 per month.

“Maung Weik used drugs with family members of the ruling generals and distributed drugs to movie stars,” said his former business partner.

According to sources, Maung Weik and his cronies forced young actresses and models to have sex with them after giving them drugs.

“If some military officials or their family members want to have sex, they come to Maung Weik and he arranges one of these celebrity girls,” one of his friends said.

“He is very happy to serve up anything for Burmese officials and their families,” she said. “Whatever they want—drugs, drink, sex—he is always ready.”

“Drug trafficking crimes carry a ten-year to life sentence,” a Rangoon businessman told The Irrawaddy. “I don’t know what the government will do for Maung Weik, but he is close to the military generals and their families.”

According to several journalists, Burma’s chief of police denied that any celebrities had been arrested or detained and said they had not charged any businessmen with drugs offences or trafficking on June 26.

Meanwhile, a source close to Than Shwe’s family said that Nay Shwe Thway Aung, the favorite grandson of Burmese head of state Snr-Gen Than Shwe, was also involved in the Maung Weik drug scandal.

“I heard Than Shwe was angry at Maung Weik because he got his grandson addicted to ecstasy,” the source said. “So he ordered the crackdown on Maung Weik and his drug gang.”


ALSO PROFILE

Maung Weik
By MIN LWIN
SEPTEMBER, 2005 - VOLUME 13 NO.9

Another of Burma’s young business barons, Maung Weik founded the Maung Weik & Family Co, which first gained prominence a decade ago and has since become the biggest importer of steel and gilding glue—used in the building and maintenance of Burma’s many pagodas. While his company has earned much of its profits from the development and construction sectors, Maung Weik also speculated heavily in the futures markets (beans and pulses) for several years until profits flattened out in 2005, and two years earlier began exporting marine products.

Maung Weik stirred up controversy in 2004 with his purchase of 44 acres of Rangoon’s Hlaing Campus (formerly Regional College No. 2). Former university students and faculty were resentful of his plan to build a housing development on the site. Other members of the business community also complained that the campus belonged to the people of Burma and should not be parceled out to investors by the government. Maung Weik’s deal for the Hlaing Campus was reportedly inked by ousted prime minister Khin Nyunt. Rumor now has it that criticism of the deal has led Maung Weik to sell the 44 acres to fellow tycoon Tay Za.

Other difficulties have posed problems for Maung Weik, whose company has in recent years earned a reputation for shoddy construction materials and poor service. Such criticism and speculation about Maung Weik’s connections with Khin Nyunt, say fellow businessmen in Rangoon, have compelled the young tycoon to keep a low profile. These reports would seem to have been confirmed as Maung Weik insisted on his exclusion from any discussion of Burma’s top business leaders when contacted by The Irrawaddy, and suggested that many other Burmese businessmen were wealthier and more successful.

Perhaps Maung Weik sells himself short. He has considerable connections within Burma’s military government. He is married to the niece of Maj-Gen Myint Swe, the commander of Rangoon Division and head of the newly created Burmese intelligence units, and has given generously to a number of government projects and schools—including a recent donation of 100 million kyat (nearly US $100,000) to Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon.

Sons of 1962 and future of Burma's political freedom

By Ma Ng
Mizzima News

The Burmese Army grabbed political power in a coup on 2 March 1962; and Burma again lost its political freedom 14 years after independence, to the native military dictatorship instead of a foreign colonial power.

Within a few months, in a move to crush the students protest against the army takeover the Burmese military dynamited the Rangoon University Student Union building on 7 July 1962. And from the beginning the military dictators proved to be more ruthless and destructive than the foreign invaders.

During the 1962 crackdown, the army generals were no doubt confident that the last of students' rebellion has been extinguished, for good. But 26 years later, Ko Min Ko Naing and Ko Moe Thee Zun who were born in 1962, like many others in their generation, became student leaders of the 1988 uprising. The number of student protesters exploded from a few hundreds in 1962 to hundreds of thousands in 1988.

Ko Moe Thee Zun, the student leader in exile said that, in 1988 the military did not expect the student rebels to survive the harsh and difficult conditions in the opposition camps. But like the Karen, Shan and other ethnic organizations that came before them, after decades of trials and errors, the student organization led by Ko Moe Thee Zun has also matured into one more challenger to the junta's rule.

While the military's credibility as the saviour of the nation and protector of the people has diminished, the students' political commitment has earned respect and credibility. It became evident when the 2007 fuel price protest led by the '88 student leaders escalated into a full blown Saffron uprising last fall.

While the military generals are increasingly isolated in their citadel; according to Ko Moe Thee Zun, the difficulties experienced by the students in the jungles, since 1988 have helped Burman majority urban-elites gain greater understanding of the ethnic political movement. An invaluable common bond and respect has also been forged among the students and ethnic political oppositions to help shape durable peace in Burma, later.

The ethnic armed rebels, who were perceived to have been more concerned with the ethnic right of self determination instead of aiming for a larger political change, are finally evolving into more politically correct organizations after decades of violent conflicts with the military regime in Burma. The surviving armed rebels are no longer tainted with drug trafficking or political and ideological confusion. Their aim for a genuine democratic change, and, their support for Aung San Suu Kyi and the legacy of her father, has never been clearer.

China which claims to be rising peacefully has nevertheless unilaterally supported the military dictatorship in Burma. China's support for the Burmese regime has been devastating for the armed resistance in Burma.

However, since the end of the Vietnam War, long before the war in Iraq, armed conflicts alone no longer determine the political future of a country. After the cold war, many nations gained democracy through mass protests and peaceful political uprising, in places where civil wars have already ended.

The enormous military apparatus in Burma is a threat mostly to the military junta which has to feed and support such an enormous and costly apparatus that do not contribute to the wellbeing of the rulers or the citizens of Burma.

There is no need for such a large army even just to suppress the urban dissidents or the armed rebels. It is only for the psychological need of the generals. And it reflects the operational inefficiency of the Burmese military.

The end result of such great inadequacy is calculated to be in billions of dollars of losses for Burma. Within weeks after the Tsunami in December of 2004, the storm relief efforts received two and a half billion dollars worth of pledges from around the world. The United States alone provided 90 helicopters involving military assistance with 12,600 personnel and 21 ships, immediately after the storm.

Whether the people in Irrawaddy delta are barely surviving or not, Burma can certainly use such great outside humanitarian assistance.

Not only the regime's inability to overcome the distrust of outside powers, the military's inability to convince the world's of its sincerity toward helping its own people has also cost Burma dearly, by earning less than two hundred million dollars worth of pledges for a disaster as overwhelming as Tsunami of 2004.

The military's violent crackdown on peaceful monks and the regime's intentional neglect of Cyclone Nargis victims, have sparked a renewed call to bring the Myanmar government before the International Criminal Court, for committing crimes against humanity.

In addition, the UN Security Council has recently passed a resolution, condemning rape as "a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a constitutive act with respect to genocide," while the Burmese Army continues to use rape as a weapon of war against the ethnic minority.

It has been shown that the enormous private wealth can no longer protect the world's tyrants from prosecutions for the crimes they have committed. Jean-Pierre Bemba who is accused of committing atrocities in the Central African Republic in 2002, and the former Liberian president Charles Taylor who begins to stand trial in front of a special tribunal in The Hague for alleged war crimes in Sierra Leone, will join two former Khmer Rouge, ministers Ieng Sary, and his wife, Ieng Thirith who are being charged with war crimes and crime against humanity for their alleged role in Cambodia's 1970s genocide.

Aung San Suu Kyi has often said that politics is everyone's business and people should overcome fear to involve themselves in politics. Hillary Clinton said last January during her bid for presidency that, "some of us put ourselves out there against pretty difficult odds because we care about our country."

The Burmese struggle for democracy has come of age like the student leaders. For Burma to be able to move closer towards its democratic goal, the political, economic and military elite will all have to shed fear and come forward to bear their share of responsibility.

Burmese people can no longer sit back and play the role of virtuous sages. Blaming the military dictatorship founded by a postal clerk, and sustained by illiterate generals and their business cronies; is no longer sufficient. People should begin to take their own fate into their hands, instead of blaming others.

Kishmore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore wrote that Western principles of democracy, the rule of law, and social justice are among the world's best bets. And he continued that the world does not need to invent any new principles to improve global governance; the concept of domestic good governance can and should be applied to the international community.

And even if the above concept of democracy were written in an Asian language other than English, its fundamental value will not be lost to the people of Burma. The belief in democracy and freedom is fully supported by the Burmese Buddhist tradition as well.

Ashin Gambira the famous monk leader said in March, 2008 that, if the people no longer want to live under the cruel military dictatorship they will have to speak up and protest. Unless they resist the military rule with courage, absolute military power will continue indefinitely.

As Aung San Suu Kyi warned after the military crackdown on the monks last September, the Burmese people can no longer sit around and simply hope for the best. They must all begin preparing for the worst to come until the end of military tyranny in Burma.

The recent Cyclone Nargis in the Irrawaddy delta has proven that the downtrodden people of Burma can still take care off themselves even with minimal outside help, and will manage to survive. There is no longer doubt if they have the power to change their future. The people of Burma can and must work together to end the military dictatorship. No one else can do it for them.

May Ng is from the Southern Shan State of Burma and NY regional director of Justice for Human Rights in Burma.

Barry Tompkins: What's real, what's faux in Burma?

By Barry Tompkins
Marinij News

'GIVE NOTHING to the monks who come up to you," said Toi - our guide on this day.

Wait a minute. In this country where monks are revered and looked upon as the wisest in their community, you want me to rebuke their asking for a financial offering? "They're not really monks," Toi said, her usually affable face as stern as we'd seen it all day.

Welcome to Burma where things are just never the way they seem. Even as far as the name of the country is concerned. Monks aren't really monks, time isn't really the time, and Burma isn't really Burma anymore. I fully expected to run into Rod Serling of "The Twilight Zone" standing around the next corner.

To the world, the old Burma is the new Myanmar. To the Thai people, the old Myanmar is still Burma. "Myanmar is the ancient name of the country," Toi said. And it seems the new militaristic government that runs it prefers the ancient - in every way.

Westerners are not welcomed in Burma except in the mish-mosh of humanity that is the border town of Tachileik. And, the only way in for anyone holding a U.S. passport is by foot through the northernmost outpost of Thailand. Of course, a visa is required to enter the country and a handsome photograph of the entrant is taken by the Burmese border police, which makes everyone who enters look as though they should be placed immediately on the 10 most wanted list. Somehow, the Burmese camera even made my wife look like Rasputin.

But then, that's the way everyone in this border town looks. Except for the faux monks who confront you immediately as you enter, asking for whatever loose change you might have - be it American quarters, Thai baht or Chinese wan. The rub here is that all the "Rasputins" are actually quite pleasant, and the cute little monks are street urchins in saffron robes impersonating the real thing. Real monks never approach for an offering without being beckoned.

There's a time change as you cross the border into Burma. Not an unusual thing to be sure, but when it's 10 o'clock in Thailand, it's 10:30 in Burma. A HALF HOUR LATER.

At the end of colonization in Burma they wanted nothing whatever to do with the Brits, who, in their minds, had held them hostage for a century or two. So, not only did they toss the Bangers and Mash from their country, they also threw out their tea time. In fact, they threw out their watches. "We'll show you guys," said the Burmese. "We're setting our clocks ahead 30 minutes. Now leave. In fact, you're already a half hour late."

Tachileik seems to be the drain of Burma. That is to say it is a melting pot of people who are lightly regarded by the current regime. Many who have settled in this community did so with the hope of seeking work in neighboring Thailand and thus providing for their families. Others did so because the opium trade - thanks to the efforts of the king's mother - has dried up in Thailand, but is still fertile in Burma.

The Shens, for example, are a sect of Chinese immigrants who, our guide said, are hardworking, familial and industrious. They live across an alley from the Was, another group of Chinese immigrants, about whom she said, many are involved in the drug trade. The two neighbors don't speak. It is a community of contradiction where it seems nobody gets along with anybody except in the marketplace. Fortunately for the well-being of the entire area, the whole town seems to be a marketplace.

Here you can buy just about anything you'd want to whet your appetite. There's live eel or turtle to be whipped up for a scrumptious meal. And some yummy insect larvae and dried grasshopper to munch on before the main course. Dessert could be durian fruit - in season now and a taste treat. Don't let the fact that they smell like sweat socks deter you.

And maybe we can sit down - all of us, visitors who look like Rasputin, Shens, Was and monks both faux and real - and break bread.

Lunch is at 11:30.

Barry Tompkins is a longtime sports broadcaster who lives in Marin. Contact him via lifestyles@marinij.com. Article Launched: 07/05/2008

Tzu Chi continuous relief effort in Myanmar cyclone aftermath

Relief Web

Since tropical cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar on May 2 and 3, Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi continues its relief work to help those victims. Myanmar government has launched many projects including distributing relief supplies to storm-hit region. With the selfless and non political purpose contribution to international community, Tzu Chi gains the trust of Myanmar government and takes part in its relief aid work. Tzu Chi is the first NGO to be awarded official certification by the Myanmar government. Tzu Chi volunteers held aid distributions and provided the medical services for victims in areas near Yangon. Tzu Chi relief team members are currently assessing the situation on the ground to carry out long-term recovery work.

Tzu Chi volunteers held supplies distribution, free clinic and stationary distribution in June. Tzu Chi aid distributions benefited 3,594 families or 14,663 people. And, free medical clinic has provided medical services for 2,881 patients. Tzu Chi volunteers also distributed stationary to 292 students and provided health check to those students.

The aid distributions were mainly carried out near Yangon. The aid supplies are considered as victims most need. The supplies include rice, cooking oil, beans and flashlights. There are 3,594 families or 14,663 people received the aid supplies from 7 distributions in Twantay Old Folk House, Pyat Ta Taik, Taman Gyi, Kan Be, and south Da Gon.

The Tzu Chi disaster relief team continues its aid work by providing free clinic in the Ganbei Village in Twantay Township near Yangon. Patients wait in a quiet and orderly fashion. Local volunteers are helping the seniors filling out forms. Elsewhere in the clinic, volunteers are packaging drugs for patients. Patients are grateful that Tzu Chi volunteers of medical relief team remove pain for them. In June, 2,881 patients received treatment from free medical clinic.

Apart from free clinics and aid distributions, Tzu Chi volunteers in Myanmar are also putting effort into children's education in the cyclone hit region. Volunteers recently visited a nearby school to distribute stationery for 292 students. They also carried out health checks and health lessons at the same time, hoping the children can remain healthy and lively.

As Master Cheng Yen who is the founder of Tzu Chi Foundation says: “ We should consider everyone as our family member” “ There is no one in the world that I don’t love. There is no one in the world that I don’t trust and There is no one in the world that I don’t forgive” All Tzu Chi volunteers respect all receivers in distributions.

Tzu Chi volunteers care victims as their family members. They have very good communication between villages after a few consecutive days of services. The doctors from Tzu Chi relief team have prepared mosquito nets for residents which are delivered and hung up by volunteers. The consideration of the disaster relief team not only reduces the risk of villagers contracting dengue fever, it also pulls everyone closer together.

With Myanmar government support, Tzu Chi has delivered love and relief supplies to 6,605 families or 27,258 persons in Myanmar since Tzu Chi relief team first arrived on May 10. The medical relief team has provided medical services for 2,881 patients. The Tzu Chi also distributed stationery for 292 students in June. Tzu Chi continues to put effort on those storm-affected people.

Drug addiction and trade rise in KIO's Casino

Kachin News

Drug addiction and trade in drugs are on the rise by the day in the Chinese-owned casino in Mai Ja Yang on the Sino-Burma border in the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) controlled areas, a source said.

The alarming increase both in drug abuse and trade is because of the lack of checking and investigations inside the casino by KIO civilians, the source added.

KIO's servicemen, both police and the immigration departments, are responsible for activities in the casino. But the officials are bribed, said a KIO official.

“The KIO's police, which is in charge of the casino, are bribed by the Chinese so they dare not investigate and make checks inside the casino,” a KIO official in Mai Ja Yang told KNG.

Earlier, there were no policemen and immigration officials in KIO and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) under the KIO was in charge everywhere in the controlled areas. But now, the KIA does not participate in investigations, the KIO official added.

Given the situation, things could get out of hand and the casino could witness killings. If this happens the KIO's image will be tainted worse than it already is, he added.

Drug investigation, heavy punishment likely for Maung Weik

Mizzima News
03 July 2008

Chiang Mai: Following a secret largest investigation against drug users since 1988, young tycoon Maung Weik stands to face severe punishment for alleged drug trafficking.

Maung Weik, the 35-year old billionaire has been shifted to notorious Insein prison since last Friday from a police investigation centre along with six others from Latha, Dagon and Kyi Myint Dine township, said a source close to the prison authorities and the Home Ministry.

"He (Maung Weik) may even be punished with a 20 year sentence or life imprisonment," he said.

The accused drug kingpin was taken away from his residence in Than Lwin Street, Bahan Township. The police seized a machine for making Yaba or methamphetamine tablets and Kyat 1200 million in a crackdown against drug users among Burma's elite. The police said the racket was run by the Managing Director of Maung Weik and Family Co. Ltd.

Nay Shwe Thway Aung along with top leaders of the miltary junta including Snr. Gen. Than Shwe in a state function.

Aung Zaw Ye Myint the son of retired Lt. Gen Ye Myint and the owner of Yetagon construction company, who is also involved, has been sent to the Wat Thee Kan treatment center due to drug addiction.

The former chief of Special Operation Bureau No.1 Lt. Gen Ye Myint was asked to retire by the junta supremo Senior Gen. Than Shwe following his son's suspected involvement in the controversial drug racket. However, the resignation directive to Ye Myint followed a major reshuffle in the military establishment.

Observers and friends suspect that a top-level conspiracy has been hatched against Maung Weik.

Win Min, a Burmese observer based in Thailand who has contacts in the military said "To my knowledge, Maung Weik is not involved in distributing drugs."

"But Maung Weik and Aung Zaw Ye Myint used drugs at parties together and gave drugs as presents to party-goers including some movie stars," he added.

A businessman in Rangoon said "I honestly do not think Maung Weik will manufacture Yaba. I heard the news but I doubt it."

International drug agencies said Burma is Asia's largest source of methamphetamine pills and synthetic drugs are replacing opium and heroin.

The military junta ruling Burma now, came to power in 1988 after cracking down on pro-democracy protesters. The cash-strapped Burmese junta has been accused of dealing with drug lords and is known to have laundered money for various drug lords including Khun Sa, once one of the world's most wanted men. He was living in Rangoon till he died in October 2007.

Moreover, communists turned drug traffickers, the heavily armed United Wa State Army (UWSA) signed a cease-fire agreement with the military junta in 1989 but they have been operating almost freely producing and trading opium and methamphetamine pills at least in their controlled terrority.

The much-talked about crackdown on the drug racket which also netted Burma's film stars, wealthy businessmen and relatives of men-in-power was believed to be linked with family matters of the country's most powerful man Senior General Than Shwe.

The movie industry suggested said that Nay Shwe Thway Aung (aka) Pho La Pye, 17-years-old, a grandson of Than Shwe was at the centre of the case. The student of Technology University (Western Rangoon) was caught with some drug pills by his family a few months ago which sparked Than Shwe's anger.

Mizzima's investigation reveals that Pho La Pye started using drugs since the last water festival or Burmese traditional New Year celebrations in April. He did not come back home for two days during the water festival and he was said to have used drugs.

The first family blamed drug suppliers and friends who introduced Pho La Pye to drugs.

Not surprisingly, some businessmen lured the beloved grandson with drugs hoping to maintain a relationship with the family of the strongman of Burma. Even though he is just 17, business tycoons including Tay Za take him to massage parlours and other places of entertainment that finally ended up in his using ATS drugs.

It is not clear who supplied drugs regularly to the grandson but later police suspected Maung Weik and Aung Zaw Ye Myint.

Hotel Nikko staff told Mizzima that they used to see Pho La Pya with Tay Za of Htoo Trading Company, one of the richest persons in Burma at the Siam Spa in the hotel.

"All businessmen are trying to befriend Than Shwe's grand children for a good business relationship," a businessman said.

Despite Than Shwe's anger with his grandson using drugs, the order for a crackdown did not come from the Snr. Gen.

The whole affair came to light accidentally when an actress Nandar Hlaing and her groom Zay Thiha invited Gen. Thura Shwe Mann, the number three man in the military hierarchy, for their wedding reception in May this year. Zay Thiha is the son of the owner of May Yeik Nyo hotel and his brother-in-law is the son of Shwe Mann.

A friend of the actress told Mizzima that Shwe Mann asked whether she knew about the cause of the death of one of the most popular actors Dwe, who died from an overdose of drugs. The actress bluntly but politely replied she was not aware of it. Then, Shwe Mann talked about widespread use of drugs among movie stars and talked about his idea to crackdown through the Home Ministry.

On the account of the number three man, a personal assistant of Shwe Mann told his friend, the personal assistant of Maung Oo, the Minister of Home Affairs. Then, Maung Oo, who immediately started investigations.

Although investigations are still on, the military government is tight lipped about it and has denied the investigation is taking place.

"We have not arrested any celebrities nor charged any businessmen in connection with drug abuse," Police chief Khin Yi said during a press conference held in Nay Pyi Taw (Naypyidaw) on ' World Drugs Day'.

Karen Armed Rebellion in Burma Takes a New Turn: Ex-American Marines as Military Advisors/Trainers: US Watching - Part I

Daya Gamage – US Bureau Asian Tribune Investigative Report – Part One
Asian Tribune

Washington, D.C. June 25 (Asiantribune.com): Along the Thailand’s western border with Burma (also known as Myanmar) is a small but active Thai frontier town Mae Sot considered the rendezvous of foreigners, with military skills, to offer their expertise to the five-decade old rebellion of the Karen ethnic group to destabilize the most undemocratic and oppressive regime in Burma.

The Karen people’s liberation struggle was intensified with the advent of General Ne Win’s military regime in 1962. And, took a new turn since the current military junta (SPDC- State Peace and Development Council) denied the nation’s democratically elected leader Aug San Suu Kyi her legitimate right to govern in the aftermath of her party’s landslide victory at the 1988 parliamentary election and put her in prolonged house arrest.

And currently, the Karen armed rebellion is taking a different shape and turn with former U.S. Marines who have expertise in combat training, counter-terrorism operations, intelligence and weapons procurement entering the scene. And this time, giving combat expertise to the Karen rebels, as learned by Asian Tribune, looks serious.

The most significant twist is that a section of the United States Government, notably the State Department, is aware of the combat involvement of the ex-Marines but has chosen to be a distant observer but very much abreast of developments.

President Bill Clinton’s secretary of State Madeleine Albright, last week appointed a top foreign policy and national security advisor to Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama in an OP-ED piece written on June 11 The New York Times advocates intervention in Burma for a ‘regime change’.

The Asian Tribune had the rarest opportunity of an ‘up close and personal’ enlightenment of ‘Karen Country’ and the ‘battle front’ in the Karen rebellion districts.

The journey starts in that Thai frontier town of Mae Sot.

Former U.S. Marine Jack Slade was a weapons trainer, counter-terrorism expert, counter-drug personnel, military intelligence expert, and above all a seasoned Marine whose eight an a half carrier sent him to Cuba, Columbia and Ecuador in the South American region, and Tanzania and Kenya in the African Continent. He has been a weapons trainer in military camps on U.S. soil.

For security and other obvious reasons Asian Tribune decided not to disclose his real identity.

In mid March this year Jack Slade was sitting here in MAE SOT expecting a call from a top military leader of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Colonel Saw Ner Dah. Another ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran 62-year old Thomas Bleming (he gave the writer the clearance to use his real name), who is now in contact with Asian Tribune US Bureau, wanted Colonel Ner Dah to contact Slade to enter the Karen territory in Burma. Incidentally, Bleming is currently exploring the feasibility of the ‘militarization’ of the KNLA, a militarization that the KNLA has never experienced.

Karen, a major ethnic group in Burma whose desire for an autonomous homeland has triggered relentless and most brutal attacks by the SPDC military junta. The Asian Tribune learned during its familiarization exercise, or call it a familiarization tour, that despite the KNLA insists their fighting cadres are holding their ground it has just 4000 fighters and weapons from the Vietnam War era and earlier and its rebels are outgunned and outmanned. The Burmese military has an estimated 500,000 in its cadre. This is where the ex-Marines of the U.S. are going to be handy with new strategy, modern weapons and a gaming plan that can outfox the military junta.

Awaiting the call from Ner Dah in MAE SOT the veteran former US Marine had already gone through the American Embassy in Bangkok. So, Jack Slade’s credentials were no secret to the officials of the embassy.

This writer who is aware of the manner in which US foreign diplomatic missions operate because of his long employment with the US State Department knows full well that the Bangkok US Mission routinely notifies in classified cables of such developments to the United States Department of State in Washington.

This confirms that both US offices in Bangkok and Washington, DC knew the intention of Jack Slade and his associates. And, Asian Tribune is aware that the State Department is knowledgeable of Bleming’s current role. Bleming is a well known talking point among American Foreign Service Officers who are either knowledgeable of the developments in Burma or are officially involved in Burmese Affairs Asian Tribunealso learned that KNLA military leader Colonel Ner Dah, despite his status being below to that of the supreme commander, had met State Department officials in Washington more than once, according to Thomas Bleming.

Despite Bleming’s on the phone instructions to meet, and introduction of Jack Slade to Colonel Saw Ner Dah, the latter, a six-year undergraduate student at the prestigious University of California, Berkley in the nineties, previously had had Slade’s credentials whetted from the officials of the American Embassy in Bangkok. Colonel Ner Dah, now a veteran fighter, did not want to take chances. Ner Dah and Slade are now in electronic contact figuring out where and how to meet.

The journey from Mae Sot was in a truck to another border town within Thailand, Umphang, accompanied by Ner Dah’s acolytes. It was about 200 miles that took little over four hours. The journey in the truck ended in Umphang awaiting the arrival of Colonel Ner Dah to enter into the Burmese territory and on to the Karen province. But there was some disruption of communication with the Colonel and Jack Slade’s party when the latter’s party had to travel further in to the jungle area but about half a mile close to the Burmese border.

After about four hours of confusion in the most rugged terrains in the Thai-Burma border finally the two parties met. Ner Dah, who is seeking to modernize his fighting cadre to oust the Burmese military junta, met a veteran ex-Marine who has all the credentials to make the Karen rebellion an invincible force in its march toward democracy, rule of law and civil liberties, and above all an autonomous homeland. The rendezvous of Jack Slade and Colonel Ner Dah was possible because of the efforts by Thomas Bleming on phone with both parties. Bleming was operating from his U.S. residence in Wyoming.

The party, led by Colonel Ner Dah, entered the Burmese territory. At a distance not very far report of gun fire by the military of the SPDC could be heard and the rebels knew how to avoid them.

The Asian Tribune exclusively documents here the current twists and turns of the Karen rebellion for independence, self-determination and democracy with active involvement of former American Marines who are well knowledgeable of how to conduct a rebellion. If the impression is that the U.S. officials both in Bangkok and Washington, D.C. are having a passive attitude of this significant development it is a gross understatement.

The Background: The Karens

The Karen, an ethnic group of Sino-Tibetan origin, is the second largest of the 135 ethnic groups that represent more than one-third of the population in Burma.

Members of these groups mainly live in the seven states around the central Burma plain, each named after the ethnic group that predominates its population. However members of these ethnic groups are also resident in the other seven divisions, populated mainly by people of the majority Burman ethnicity, that make up Burma (Also known as Myanmar).

According to official statistics, nearly 3,500,000 Karen live in Myanmar, with more than 830,000 residing in Kayin State. Among the Karen are practicing Buddhists, Christians and animists.

Karen Armed Opposition

Since Burma’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1948, armed opposition groups from different ethnic minorities have fought against the central government for independence or greater autonomy. The Karen National Union (KNU) and its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), were formed in 1949 with the aim of independence or greater autonomy for the Karen.

While the majority of other ethnic armed groups have reached cease-fire arrangements with the Burmese military junta known as the SPDC, which has granted them certain administrative powers over their territories, the KNU has continued to fight for a political settlement. Having lost several of its key bases, the majority of the KNLA’s activities against the military in recent years have been small-scale attacks.

In January 2004 a provisional cease-fire was agreed between the KNU and the SPDC. However, low-level skirmishes continued and civilians were displaced by military operations against the KNU, particularly in northern Hpa’an District, Kayin State and Nyaunglebin District, Bago Division. KNU leaders reported that, following a visit to Rangoon (Yangon) in October 2006, nearly a year after the state police offensive against the Karen commenced, the ceasefire was formally cancelled. The SPDC stated that they were not prepared to discuss a political settlement. In December 2006, the KNU’s leader, General Saw Bo Mya, died.

The KNU was dominated in the last three decades by Bo Mya, who was president from 1976-2000. The KNU was for many years able to fund its activities by controlling black market trade across the border with Thailand. After a failed uprising of the Burmese people in 1988, the Burmese military government turned to China for help. Various economic concessions were offered to China in exchange for weapons. The Burmese Army was massively expanded and began to offer deals to groups fighting the government. The groups were offered the choice of cooperating with the military junta or being destroyed.

The KNU's effectiveness was severely diminished after the fall of its headquarters at Manerplaw near the Thai border, in 1994. At that time, a group of Buddhist soldiers in the KNLA went over to the side of the Burmese military junta. This group, known as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), was given territory inside of Burma to rule over in exchange. They played a significant part in the capture of Manerplaw. While the DKBA claims to be fighting against anti-Buddhist discrimination inside the KNU, it is in practice the small private army of a warlord in alliance with the Burmese military junta.

Since then, the KNU and KNLA have continued to fight the Burma state military (known as Tatmadaw) by forming guerilla units and basing themselves in temporary jungle camps on the Thai-Burma border. Following its principle of no surrender, the KNU continues despite a precarious state of existence. Nonetheless, their fight continues to garner the sympathy of the international community since the KNU represent the Karen people, one of the many ethnic nationalities of Burma that are experiencing ethnic cleansing under the military junta.

In January 2007, the commander of the KNLA 7th Brigade, Brigadier-General Htain Maung, announced the formation of a separate group, the Karen National Union/Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council (KNU/KNLAPC). This followed his reported negotiations with the SPDC, that did not have the sanction of the KNU leadership - which subsequently dismissed him. In February 2007 the SPDC announced that it had arranged a peace agreement with this group, which numbered some 300 fighters. In April 2007 the KNU/KNLAPC took part in joint operations with the DKBA and the state military/police, and attacked KNLA forces close to the Burma- Thailand border.

When the Asian Tribune was talking to many who are connected with the Karen rebellion one could see a clear ideological and tactical division between the KNU and KNLA.

In January 2008, Brigadier-General Htain Maung’s son-in-law, Colonel Ler Moo, was killed in a bomb attack near the KNU/KNLAPC’s headquarters. In February 2008, Mahn Sha, General Secretary of the KNU, was shot to death at his home in Mae Sot, Thailand possibly by the agents of DKBA

Ethnic Cleansing

For over two years the Burmese army has been waging a military offensive against ethnic Karen civilians in the eastern parts of the country. The ongoing offensive includes widespread and systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, according to a Amnesty International report released 5 June 2008. The report describes these violations as crimes against humanity.

The report, Crimes against humanity in eastern Myanmar, says that nearly 150,000 people have been internally displaced in Kayin State and the eastern Bago Division. Many have also been subjected to unlawful killings; enforced disappearances; the imposition of forced labor, as well as the destruction of villages, crops and food-stocks and other forms of collective punishment.

Such violations have been directed at civilians, simply on account of their Karen ethnicity or location in Karen majority areas, or in retribution for activities by the Karen National Liberation Army.

Amnesty International has said that it is concerned that the violations are the result of official State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, the Burmese government) and tatmadaw policy. The organization has called for an immediate halt to all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by government forces and aligned militias and for UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive mandatory arms embargo on Burma.

Burmese (or Myanmar) government has unleashed a seven point ethnic policy:

1. Destroying Villages: Many villages have been totally destroyed in an attempt to ensure that the ethnic Karenni residents do not return.

2. Looting and Burning: Thousands of houses, rice barns were burned to the ground and all the valuable things were looted including were looted from the Karenni villages

3. Detentions: There are consistent refugee reports that the Burmese army are separating military-aged men from their families in a systematic pattern for porters and later killed.

4. Summary Execution: Refugees have provided accounts of summary executions in towns and villages In addition to random executions; in Arakan area some were burned alive

5. Systematic Rape: Ethnic nationalities women are reportedly being raped in increasing numbers. Authenticated accounts of systematic and organized mass rapes in Shan, Karenni areas have already reported worldwide.

6. Poisoning the Water: All the streams and wells in the Karenni areas were poisoned so that not only men but also animals that drink the water may die.

7. Violations of Medical Neutrality: The apparent goal is to effectively deny health care to ethnic nationalities and extinguish the community base health care systems.

The Asian Tribune in its investigation learned that nine battalions of Burmese soldiers had been deliberately sent to the Karenni area to implement the ethnic cleansing, while at the same time blaring out the ‘7-point road map’ to democracy.

(The Second Part of this Investigative Report will be carried tomorrow)

Hard to be innocent in Burma

Shan Herald Agency for News

“The government is bankrupt and the generals have all the money,” reported Mizzima News, 25 April, quoting a member of an International NGO in Rangoon.

Earlier, on 15 January, SF Chronicle quoted Xavier Bouan, UN illicit crop monitor based in Rangoon, “Everybody is involved in this trade in one way or the other. Insurgents, militia, government, ceasefire groups; for all of them, in a region where the economy is slowing down, it’s one of the only ways to survive and get cash.”

Reading carefully between the lines, nothing is more revealing than the above two quotes, when it comes to drugs, because that is what is actually taking place at the ground level, whatever happens in Rangoon with all the spectacular arrests of celebrities connected to the generals since the end of May.

Ordered to live off the land since 1996, army units in Shan State have been trying as best they can “to survive and get cash.”

Infantry Battalion 246, based in Kunhing, notorious for killing at least 150 people including a monk who was tied up in a sack and drowned during the infamous 1996-1998 forced relocation campaigns, is a perfect example.

In February, a 20-plus strong unit commanded by Lt Tin Aye (real name withheld by request) was assigned a security mission at the village of Nam Oi, 3 miles west of Kunhing on the road to Namzang. It was at the end of the season’s opium harvest and the farmers were picking the dry poppy pods to be used as seeds for the next season. “The soldiers not only came to help us pick the seed pods,” said one of the Shan farmers there, “they even warned us that the fields were too near the motor road and we should move them away from it next time.”

IB 246 and its sister unit Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 524 lived by taxing on the farmers: 10-30% of the harvest depending on the size of each field.

Last December, SHAN interviewed villagers coming from Kehsi township, Loilem district. One of them gave SHAN the following account:

Earlier in 2007, villagers were attending a meeting called by IB287 based in Wanzing to receive directives for the plantation of physic nuts, one of the Senior General’s bees in the bonnet, when the commander asked, “Do you grow poppies? If you don’t, what are you going to eat? Only if you have enough to eat, we (soldiers_) can also eat.”

Top growers in the area are Lahu, who arrived from the North following the forced relocations. “Then we have Palaung, Lisu and us Shans. We also saw a number of soldiers tending their own fields,” said a villager.

Life certainly is harsh even for the junta personnel especially for those at the lower rungs of the strata.

Last September, 6 policemen from Homong, Mawkmai township, opposite Maehongson, deserted with 2 pistols and 2 walkie-talkies and the newly arrived head of the station was ordered to pay for the losses, priced at K1.2 million ($880) or the equivalent of Senior General Than Shwe’s monthly pay. The princely sum was eventually taken care of by Col Maha Ja, head of the local militia and for whom Thailand has issued an arrest warrant on drug charges.

The said officer has been in his debt since. “What could he do?”, asked a militia member rhetorically. “His monthly pay is just enough to buy two Hsins (sarong) for his wife.”

Maha Ja’s Shan State South (SSS) company trucks are reportedly never searched by the local Burmese authorities.

Understandably, the annual poppy lashing campaigns launched by the junta were carried out “only to put on official record,” according to a pro-junta militia leader in Mongton township, opposite Chiangmai. “But be careful no Wa fighters are on the destruction teams. These guys don’t just thrash the plants like us and the soldiers. They like to pull out the plants from the earth, roots and all.”

Likewise, some seizures which really deserve screaming headlines just went by without an audible sound.

Between 4-8 November 2007, a combined force led by police officer Ye Naing came across a heroin refinery located in a gully near the village of Htitan in Hsihseng township, 57 miles south of the state capital Taunggyi. The total haul was estimated to be K2.5 billion ($2million).

The refinery was reportedly owned by Khun Chit Maung, former leader of the ceasefire Shan State Nationalities Peoples Liberation Organization (SNPLO), “who had been paying K 5 million ($4,000) per month to the Eastern Region Command and K3 million ($2,400) to each of the light infantry battalions stationed in the area, LIB 425 and LIB 426,” according to a local source, who had proved to be reliable in the past.

It was not the only case worth mentioning. The year 2007 also saw other cases which were as much exciting if not more:

* On 22-28 January 2007, authorities seized 20 kg of heroin, 50 kg of raw opium, 1 million pills of methamphetamine, 2 million yuan, $38,400 and K50 million from the Panhsay militia in Namkham township. But its leader Kyaw Myint aka Li Yongqiang, who is said to be close to the regional commander, remains untouched.

* On 27 May, 5 officials who had detained Yaw Chang Wa (Yaw Chang Hpa), an officer in the ceasefire Kachin Defense Army on drug charges, were ambushed and killed. But the group remains scot free.

* On 18 September, a joint patrol of LIB 553 and LIB 554 waved down a four wheel drive between Punako and Mongtoom, Monghsat township, opposite Chiangrai. It found one slab of heroin (350gm, two slabs make one block, called jin in Chinese), which they were said to have brought as a sample to a prospective customer. The 5 militiamen on the truck were detained but were released on 5 October, when the group’s leader Ja Ngoi returned and met the authorities concerned.

“The only damage caused by the incident was the removal of the refinery to a new location,” said an informed businessman from Tachilek. “It is just one and a half miles north of Hpak Ha village, which is guarded by LIB 553. It therefore seems inconceivable the Burma Army knows nothing about it.”

It appears that the longer the generals so needlessly continue expanding their armed forces, the drug problem is here to stay.

Drug use in gold mines on the rise

By KNG
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 16:36

There has been an alarming rise in drug addiction in gold mining areas in Danai (Tanai) Township in Hukawng Valley (Hugawng Valley) in Kachin State in northern Burma. Drug dealers have penetrated gold mines because they can sell drugs freely in these areas with encouragement of the mine owners, a source said.

In gold mining areas, goldmine owners encourage miners to use drugs. This ensures loyalty to the owners and the workers don't move to other areas. Some goldmine owners are known to give their employees 1,000 Kyat (about US $ 1) a day to buy drugs, said a local in a mining area.

Though goldmine owners give them 1,000 Kyat (about US $ 1) to buy drugs, it is not enough. They buy drugs with their own money and addiction is on the rise.

According to a report the "Valley of Darkness" by the Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) last year, "Goldmine owners do not allow their miners to drink alcohol… Employees are allowed to use opium…"

Because it is easy to sell drugs in gold mines, drugs dealers transport the drugs to gold mine areas from Myitkyina Township the capital of Kachin state with the help of women and the Burmese military, a drugs seller said.

The drug dealers first ask the women to carry drugs packed inside condoms. Then on the way to Danai from Myitkyina, they put the packed drugs inside their vagina and cross the check point, he added.

The authorities only search on the way from Myitkyina to Danai. After Danai to the gold mining areas, drug carriers easily pass without checking.

Youth activist faces unlawful association charges - Zayar Thaw

Jun 23, 2008 (DVB)–Zayar Thaw, a member of the popular hip-hop group Acid and leader of the youth activist group Generation Wave, was brought to court on Friday to face charges under the Unlawful Association Act.

Zayar Thaw’s aunt said her nephew seemed to be in good spirits when he appeared at Lanmadaw township court.

"He said he had done what he believed was right and that he wasn’t afraid to be punished for it," she said.

"When he was first arrested, rumours were going round that he had been detained on drugs charges and he was so sad to hear that. But now it's all been cleared up."

Zayar Thaw is being tried along with five other people who face the same charge, his aunt said.

U Aung Kyi and Daw Aye Aye Generation Wave Naing will act as defence lawyers for Zayar Thaw, Aung Zay Phyoe, Arkar Bo and Thiha Win Tin.

Wai Lwin Myoe and Yan Naing Thu will be defended respectively by U Myo Myint and U Win Tin, resident lawyers at Lanmadaw court.

Zayar Thaw’s aunt said he had also been charged with another offence by Bahan township court.

"Zayar Thaw is facing charges of possession of foreign currency at Bahan township court as well. He was found in possession of 125 Thai baht, 10 Singaporean dollars and 25 Malaysian ringgits,” she said.

"The boys said they were beaten up during interrogation by government officials after they were arrested."

The next court hearing is due to be held on 27 June.

Reporting by Yee May Aung

Weekly journal involved in row over celebrity drug abuse case

Nam Davies
Mizzima News

Monday, 23 June 2008 - In connection with the interrogation of some celebrities regarding a high profile drug abuse case, a weekly journal has been embroiled in a dispute with some of them.

An apology appeared in today's issue of 'First Music' weekly journal stating that the journal regretted and apologized for an article, which had appeared in the publication along with the photographs of some celebrities. The article dealt with the use of drugs, drug addiction and its fatal consequences.

The piece entitled 'Apology to Artists' states that the 'First Music' journal apologized to the concerned artists and deeply regretted it if the contents of the article had tarnished the image of the celebrities.

The article had appeared in the last issue of the 'First Music' Journal and had claimed that drug addiction could hamper and spoil the life and success of some artists along with the photographs of Director Maung Myo Min (Yintwihphyit), actor Pho Kyaw, singer Phyo Gyi, actresses Soe Myat Thuzar, Nandar Hlaing, Nawarat and Gandawin.

Mizzima has learnt that around two dozen people including famous actresses were called and interrogated by the police in connection with drug trafficking and its abuse. They were later released due to a request made by Information Minister Brig. Gen. Kyaw San.

"The apology had to be published under pressure from the authorities," an editor from the Rangoon journalists circle said.

Aung Zaw Ye Myint, son of recently retired Lt. Gen. Ye Myint, and famous business tycoon Maung Weik were included in the list of people interrogated by the Home Ministry.

However, the authorities have not yet made any official announcement regarding the case and it has also banned the media from writing about it.

Than Shwe’s Grandson in Drug Scandal

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News

Nay Shwe Thway Aung, until now the favorite grandson of Burmese head of state Snr-Gen Than Shwe, is reportedly at the center of a drug scandal in Rangoon.

A source close to the military elite told The Irrawaddy on Monday that two men close to Than Shwe’s grandson were arrested by police on suspicion of procuring ecstasy pills for him.

“I heard the family found some ecstasy pills on Nay Shwe Thway Aung last month,” the source said. “Then Aung Zaw Ye Myint [the son of Lt-Gen Ye Myint, a high-ranking general] and Maung Waik [a well-known business crony] were arrested in connection with the drugs.”

While rumors of the scandal began circulating the former capital, there were no birthday celebrations for Than Shwe’s grandson on May 22, the day he turned 17.

“Normally they have a big birthday party for the grandson every year,” said the source. “But this year, there was not even a small party among relatives.”

Last year, a birthday party was reportedly held in honor of Nay Shwe Thway Aung at Rangoon’s exclusive Sedona Hotel. Among the party guests were the wives of top junta leaders Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye and Gen Shwe Mann, as well as Zaw Zaw, a well-known business crony and director of Max Co, and popular rock musician Zaw Win Htut.

Two weeks ago, sources told The Irrawaddy, a family religious ceremony was held at one of Than Shwe’s houses in Rangoon, but Nay Shwe Thway Aung was conspicuously absent.

Nay Shwe Thway Aung is a familiar face in Burma because he usually accompanies his grandfather on inspection tours throughout the country and enjoys red-carpet treatment wherever he goes.

Aung Zaw Ye Myint and Maung Waik were detained in May accused of selling drugs to Rangoon’s elite. At that time, several Burmese celebrities and businessmen were reportedly interrogated by a special drugs task force.

Last year, a famous actor, Dwe, died of heart failure caused by a drugs overdose, according to various sources.

But Rangoon residents have been surprised by the amount of rumors and gossip surrounding the recent drug scandal and a crackdown which appears related to the military elite and their cronies.

Some observers in Burma have suggested the drugs arrests were a smokescreen for a fresh power struggle within the military hierarchy. They claimed that Maung Waik is close to Gen Shwe Mann, the number 3 man in the junta.

Drug use among high-society families and celebrities has been an open secret for years in Burma. Late dictator Gen Ne Win’s three favorite grandsons—Aye Ne Win, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwe Ne Win— also enjoyed considerable family perks and were constantly rumored to be addicted to ecstasy pills.