Living Ghosts
The spiraling repression of the Karenni population by the Burmese military junta
Chapter 6: Drugs
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Chapter Overview
Farmers are turning to illegal drug cultivation as a way to escape extreme poverty thrust upon them by the relentless civil war. As the situation in Karenni State worsens, more and more farmers will turn to poppy cultivation and the more secure future it promises. Whilst the income that farmers can earn from drugs is significantly higher than from other crops, they remain vulnerable to economic hardships, exploitation and abuses from the Burmese military regime and non-state actors. Furthermore, the increased drug production has led to increased drug abuse amongst the Karenni people, in two districts 35 per cent of males are using opium. This adds pressure to an already inadequate health system while eroding the fragile social fabric of the Karenni people.
In this chapter:
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6.1 Types of Drugs Produced in Karenni State
“Growing poppies is not part of our
traditional way of life. We grow them purely to support ourselves,”
– E-- R--- said.
The drug trade, including the growing or production of drugs and being a part of trafficking routes, has affected at least five out of the seven townships in Karenni State.50 In 2004 Karenni State was the second largest producer of poppies in Burma, following Shan State51 and since then the situation has worsened with the continuing poppy cultivation and production of amphetamine type stimulants in the state.
6.1.1 Opium Poppies
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There are three different types of poppy plants being grown which can be distinguished by the colour of the flower: white, dark red, and a mix of white and red. However, the quantity and quality of product extracted is the same. Once a poppy crop has been cultivated, small incisions are made on the immature poppy seedpods and a milky sap from the cuts is collected. This sap is raw opium that contains morphine. Raw opium is quite bulky and difficult to transport, so it is often refined into a morphine paste by simply drying the material. A morphine paste can either be smoked or it can be further processed into heroin. In Karenni State most farmers produce and sell raw opium, which is later refined.
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There are two main areas in Karenni State where poppies are cultivated: the northern border with Shan State, in an area under the control of the Shan Nationalities People’s Liberation Organization (SNPLO) and in the western part of Karenni State towards the border with Mandalay Division which is monitored closely by the KNPLF. Both of these groups have ceasefire agreements with the SPDC.
“We can not stop growing
poppies because the government (SPDC) cannot support and replace
the poppies with other crops” – a SNPLO leader said.
Within these regions poppies are grown in both lowland and mountainous areas, but cultivation in lowlands areas is generally more productive as farmers have better access to irrigation. The strength of a crop is judged by the height of the plants: the taller the poppy plant, the higher the yield. In lowland areas poppy plants can grow to shoulder height, whereas in mountainous areas they generally only reach waist height. Additionally, farmers in lowland areas can harvest twice each year, while mountainous areas only produce one crop.
The KNPLF and SNPLO ceasefire groups closely monitor poppy cultivation. Ceasefire groups issue farmers permission to grow poppies via tax collection calculated on the yield (the higher the yield, the more tax). Armed groups issue mediators with permission letters bought for 700,000 Kyat allowing them to purchase raw opium directly from the farmers. Growers are prohibited from selling their harvest to mediators without permission letters. In these situations, the farmers must sell their crop directly to the ceasefire groups for approximately 200,000 Kyat for a 1.5-kilogram package. However, mediators with permission letters offer better prices usually 300,000 Kyat per 1.5 kilogram package.
6.1.2 Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS)
While poppies continue to be grown in Burma and refined into opium or heroin, there has been a significant rise in the production of amphetamine type stimulants (ATS). The production of ATS can be easily hidden from international observers, as factories are often undistinguishable from other dwellings in the area.
A singular ATS factory can produce between 250,000 and 300,000 pills per month.52 To date three ATS factories have been identified in Karenni State (two in KNPLF territory and the other on the border with Shan State)53 and most likely there are many others that have not been identified. Each year these three factories produce between 9 million and 10.8 million illegal chemical pills that are released into the international drug market.
6.2 Why villagers are producing drugs
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P-- R--‘s story
“I was forced to leave my university studies after two years. I had one more year before I would have completed my studies. I had to leave because my parents could not afford my tuition anymore. To send a child to high school costs about 100,000 Kyat per year, this covers everything (books, stationary, tuition, uniforms, etc.). For university it is much more, about 1,000,000 Kyat per year. My parents sold their animals and other belongings to raise extra money so that I could study at university for two years, but now they have exhausted all their resources and cannot come up with enough for the third year. My family is neither rich nor poor, but in the middle.”
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Opium has always been produced in Karenni State and Burma for medicinal purposes and personal use. Over the past five years there has been an increase in amphetamine stimulants being produced from Karenni State.
Chapter 2 and 3 of this report examines in detail tactics used by the SPDC to oppress the population and hardships people face in sustaining their livelihoods. As people’s earnings from agriculture continue to dwindle, potential returns from growing poppies become increasingly attractive, as does having the financial means to bribe one’s way out of forced labour demands and other human rights abuses. Additionally, the unstable inflation rate in Burma and subsequent skyrocketing commodity prices are also factors pushing villagers toward poppy production. The official year-by-year inflation rates released by the SPDC for the period 2001 to 2005 vary between 3.8 per cent (2004) and 58.1 per cent (2002).54
“I use it (the money
from growing poppies) to buy clothes and pay for my children’s
school fees,” – T-- M---, a Karenni woman said.
Monetary return from poppies is significantly higher than rice when using the same quantity of land and the decreasing value of rice has further exacerbated this issue, resulting in more farmers turning to alternative crops in order to overcome financial hardships. Moreover the price of opium has risen. In 2001 a package of opium, which weighed approximately 1.5 kilograms, was valued between 40,000 and 50,000 Kyat, whilst five years later an opium package of the same weight sold for at least 200,000 Kyat.
Households that are dependent on income from drugs, most often do not diversify their income, putting all their efforts into poppy cultivation, consequently families that grow poppies are completely dependent on this form of income generation. In comparison households that are not directly involved in drug production earn money from a variety of different sources, such as agriculture, textiles and handicraft production, etc. They are not dependent on one source of income, consequently, providing them with a more stable financial base.
This dependency makes it more difficult for poppy cultivators to break the cycle, as without income from poppies they will have no money to support themselves or their families. Members of the international community often talk about crop substitution programmes; however, this brings its own unique challenges.
Additionally, farmers are also vulnerable to demands from local authorities who continue to want their “cut” from the poppy income even though they are aware that the family is no longer cultivating the flowers. This can lead to human rights abuses such as beatings or being targeted to fill quotas for forced labour tasks.
6.3 Eradication Programmes
“The SPDC reports
to the international countries, saying that they destroy the
poppies and that they do not allow people to grow poppies.
But that is not the truth,” – D-- R--- said.
As the international community has become more aware of the drug situation, especially after Burma was officially the biggest producer of poppies in the world in 2001, they pushed for the junta to take action. Following this the SPDC, in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, started to address Burma’s drug issue through a number of strategies, however, most predominantly crop substitution.
Crop substitution programmes are often not suitable for the region or the local market. Following years of poppy cultivation the soil has been stripped of vital nutrients and minerals and some crops that are being proposed for substitution, such as rice, simply cannot grow. The loss of income from only one poppy harvest results in food scarcity and having to go without other basic necessities such as clothing, education and health care. This vulnerability would be further exacerbated by the failure of the substitution crop.
According to UNODC figures the drug production inside Burma has dropped significantly. However, it is necessary to note that most of the UNODC’s information is collected from Shan State (where the Wa are also present) which has received intense international scrutiny in relation to drugs cultivation, especially activities by ceasefire groups. In a report released earlier this year it appears poppy cultivation has dropped by 34 per cent over the past year, and only 21,500 hectares of poppies are currently being grown in Burma.55 The report stated that since 1998 the area of poppy cultivation has dropped 83 per cent.56
However, other reports present a very different picture. The UN’s data is mainly gathered through satellite pictures and surveys made in Burma are not necessarily representative of the situation. Poppies are not produced less, but are rather grown in other areas, such as Karenni State, that are more concealed or are lesser known as drug producing areas.
Another reason for increased poppy cultivation is the geographical proximity to Shan State. In contrast to the Shan area, Karenni State is not globally known as a drug producing area. This offers a more secure situation for planting poppies and refining opium. Away from international attention the drug business can be done by, or in cooperation with, the same people without damaging the international image of the SPDC’s drug eradication efforts portrayed by the junta. Consequently, in areas where drug production is occurring, ceasefire groups involved are often met with very soft, or non-existent, anti-drug policies from the SPDC.
6.4 Social Problems
Within society drugs can contribute to many problems. Habitual drug usage can result in impair judgment, dangerous behaviour, especially sexual behaviour, and mental health issues. In a study of amphetamine users 44 per cent of female and 53 per cent of male respondents admitted to becoming violent while under the influence of drugs.57 These drug induced health issues strain the public health systems. In Karenni State where there is no public health care system; communities are left to deal with these crises on their own.
Another social impact of drug use and addiction is the toll it takes on families. Incidents of domestic violence and child abuse in families with an addict are high around the world and reports from grassroots communities say the situation is similar in Karenni State. The Karenni Anti Drug Action Committee (KADAC) surveyed opium usage in two Lawy Kaw and Shan Aung districts in Karenni State. Of the population surveyed, 20 per cent use opium, with male usage at 35 per cent and women 5 per cent. A KADAC report said “drug and alcohol use in Karenni/Kaya[h] communities is a critical issue”.58
Furthermore the drugs that are produced in Karenni State do not stay in Karenni State, but are trafficked to neighbouring countries, most often to Thailand, China and India. These nations’ face their own social problems that can be attributed to Burma’s drug trade (for more information is available in Chapter 8).
Footnotes
50 “Myanmar Opium Survey 2004”, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, October 11, 2004
51 “Myanmar Opium Survey 2004”, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, October 11, 2004
52 “A Failing Grade: Burma’s Drug Eradication Efforts”, Altsean, November 2004
53 “Burma Issues & Concerns Vol. 4: The Security Dimensions”, Altsean Burma, April 2007
54 Central Statistical Organisation, http://www.csostat.gov.mm/Sdetails.asp?ID=003&Desc=Prices, August 29th, 2007
55 “UN Agency Reports Big Fall in Burma Opium Poppy Cultivation”, The Irrawaddy, June 26th, 2007
56 “UN Agency Reports Big Fall in Burma Opium Poppy Cultivation”, The Irrawaddy, June 26th, 2007
57 “Methamphetamine use and violence”, Journal of Drug Issues, Winter 2006
To read other sections of the report please use the links below:
Executive Summary
Introduction
Oppression
Livelihoods
Health
Education
Internal Displacement
Threats to Regional and Internationl
Stability
Recommendations
Appendices
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