OPIUM CULTIVATED BY REGIME AND POLITICAL PRISONERCOMMITS SUICIDE IN BAGO PRISON

Ailong Khammwe, chairman of the Lahu Democratic Front (LDF), an ethnic militia group operating in the region said, while the Burmese Army is directly involved in growing poppy-opium they are also forcing local people to cultivate it.Khammwe, who is in Thailand told about poppy cultivation, has been on the rise in Mongsart and Mongtong in eastern Shan State as a result of the Burmese Army's involvement and encouragement of local villagers to grow poppy-opium."Burmese soldiers are forcing the local people to cultivate poppy and actively helping in producing drugs," Khammwe alleged.The Burmese Army is profiting by collecting taxes from the local people for their poppy-opium cultivation, he said.While Khammwe's accusation of the Burmese Army's involvement and forcing of local villagers to cultivate poppy-opium could not be independently verified, a Thailand based Editor of Shan Herald Agency for News, Khuensai Jaiyen, said 2008 saw the highest poppy cultivation in Eastern and Southern Shan state, which has been steadily registering a rise since 2005.Jaiyen, who extensively covered drug production in Shan State, said following the decline in cultivation of poppy-opium in Northern Shan state, mainly in Wa and Kokang special regions, the cultivation trend has shifted to southern areas of the state.Following the ethnic armed group United Wa State Army (UWSA)'s decision to stop cultivating poppy-opium in 2005, poppy cultivation in Northern Shan state had gone down relatively, Jaiyen said, but only to shift to the South of the state. "Local people said, the poor economic situation and difficulties in ekeing out a living were forcing them to cultivate opium," said Jaiyen, adding that forcible collection of taxes by local authorities, including the army has also worsened the situation for the people.But contrary to LDF's claim, a local villager in Mongsert Township told Mizzima that he is unaware of the Burmese Army forcing villagers to cultivate opium though admitting that poppy opium cultivation has drastically increased in recent years."I do not know about any forced cultivation at the behest of authorities but I am also not aware of any kind of restriction or prohibition on not to do it. So it means that the authorities are allowing people to cultivate," said the villager, who wished not to be named.He said he has witnessed the drastic rise in the cultivation of poppy-opium in the past 10 years but denied knowledge of the Burmese Army forcing the local people to cultivate.The authorities have been into drug trade and they do not need to force the people to cultivate as it provides mutual benefits, the villager said.However, Khammwe said, he is willing to prove his argument by taking anyone interested to areas in Mongsert and Mongtong to witness local villagers, particularly ethnic Lahu, who are being forced to cultivate poppy-opium."If the international community wants to go there and see for itself, we the LDF are ready to take them to the SPDC's opium fields in Mongsert and Mongtong area now," said Khammwe, referring the Burmese junta by its official name – the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

Political Prisoner Commits Suicide

Maung San committed suicide in a prison restroom, following the refusal of prison authorities to provide proper medical treatment outside the prison. He suffered from intestinal problems and liver disease, sources said.
A source said Maung San’s decision to take his own life stemmed from frustration over medical treatment, and his inability to talk freely with his family.
“He suffered from a serious illness, and he thought it would be better if he died instead of suffered,” said the source.
His family last visited with Maung San on Dec. 13 in Pegu Prison.
“When his family visited him in prison, his health condition was bad,” said the source. “He had asked prison authorities for proper medical treatment, but the authorities refused his request.”
Bo Kyi, joint-secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said “The health condition of political prisoners is worse day by day. We are very concerned that they don’t receive proper medical treatment.”
“By ignoring serious illnesses, the Burmese authorities are conducting murder,” Bo Kyi said. Sources said that Pegu Prison authorities impose many restrictions in dealing with political prisoners and their families.
In other prison news, in early December, Aung Kyaw Oo, a youth member of the opposition National League for Democracy who is serving a 19-year sentence in Pegu Prison, was savagely beaten and denied medical treatment, according to reports. When Aung Kyaw Oo’s wife visited the prison on Dec. 3, she was denied permission to see him. She was allowed to visit him on Dec. 13. On December 22, political prisoner Khin Maung Cho received an additional 5-year prison sentence. He is imprisoned in Yankin Township in Rangoon. He was sentenced under Immigration Act 13/1. On December 8, he was given 19 years imprisonment on a separate charge. There are more than 2,100 political prisoners in Burma, according to human rights groups.