Myanmar

Drug Production

[Page 540]The government has been effective at suppressing ethnic insurgencies in areas where opium cultivation has taken place. As part of a 15-year campaign to reduce narcotics supply, the Myanmar government, under the direction of the ruling military elite, negotiated several ceasefire agreements. As a result, opium production has dropped by 75 percent according to a 2005 report issued by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The eradication of drugs has not been simple, as those cultivating opium were impoverished ethnic groups. Without alternative sources of income the future maintenance of narcotics reduction is unknown. Second to opiates, methamphetamine tablets are produced in Myanmar for export. There does not appear to be widespread domestic use of stimulants within Myanmar. Much of the methamphetamine distribution is directed toward neighboring countries as the borders between Myanmar and its peripheral countries have porous, unregulated state lines. As Myanmar does not domestically produce any of the pre-cursor chemical to produce methamphetamines, it appears that these products are imported to the country from Thailand.

Domestic Drug Use and Crime

The drugs of abuse domestically are inhaled opium and injectable heroin. Myanmar has experienced increases in human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) as a result of injected drug use. In a report issued by the Joint UN Programme for HIV/AIDS in 2005, 30 percent of all HIV-positive individuals in Myanmar have contracted the disease through infected needles. There is little violence and crime associated with narcotics production, distribution, and use in Myanmar. This is a result of strong military rule that suppresses aggressive activity by drug traffickers or users. There are anecdotal reports of an organized crime presence in Myanmar as it is linked with both the narcotics and human trafficking in the adjacent countries of India, China, Bangladesh, and Thailand. However, formal statistics are not available given governmental restrictions. Independent sources have not been allowed to acquire or verify data produced by the ruling political party.

Myanmar is a party of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. In 2004 several measures were taken by the government to reduce impacts of trafficking. The police department in Yangon developed an anti-trafficking unit that was financially supported and technically trained by an Australian investigations group. Additionally, members of the Myanmar government signed a memorandum of understanding with neighboring nations who represent the Mekong region of southeast Asia: Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the People's Republic of China. This memorandum, known as the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking, allows for communication and cooperation between various agencies to reduce transfer of indentured persons and narcotics between countries.

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