Burmese govt vows action against drug traffickers
Burma’s
government has pledged to take strong action against drug producers and
traffickers across the country.
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| Drug dealers and users were arrested in northern Shan State’s Lashio Township on May 4, 2016.( Photo : Lashio News ) |
Speaking to Shan Herald following Tuesday’s Upper
House of Parliament session in Naypyidaw, Sai Wan Leng Kham, an MP representing
the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, said that a proposal was
passed on Tuesday after Upper House lawmakers had urged the Aung San Suu
Kyi-led government to take decisive action oAn
those involved in drugs in Burma.
“Deputy Minister
for Home Affairs [Maj-Gen Aung Soe] has confirmed that this administration is cracking
down on drug trafficking. He said that they will bring to justice those who are
involved in the illicit production and trafficking of narcotics, whether they
be drug dealers or government officials,” said Sai Wan Leng
Kham, who has been active in drug eradication efforts in Shan State’s Lashio
Township.
He added that the government must speed up efforts to deal
with this issue because it has a major impact on so many people.
“The government must arrest those who are involved in the
drugs trade,” he continued. “Drug addicts should be given information about the
impact of drug use, and they should be treated at rehabilitation centers.”
Shan and Kachin states are by far the largest producers of
opium and methamphetamines in the country. Burma is ranked second only to
Afghanistan as the largest producer of opium in the world.
In an unsuccessful bid to eradicate opiates from Burma in
1999, the then ruling military regime declared a 15-year master plan. Then,
in October 2012, President Thein Sein announced that the country would be free
of opium production by 2019. Nonetheless production, trafficking and in
particular addiction appear to be continuously increasing.
Eyes will be on Suu Kyi’s new National League for Democracy
government to assess whether its efforts bear fruit.
By Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN)
Tags: Drugs, News
