Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 Source: Australian, The (Australia) Copyright: 2002 News Limited Contact: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/35 Author: Kimina Lyall, South-East Asia correspondent in Rangoon OPIUM CRACKDOWN TOO FAST: UN BURMA'S unexpectedly successful program to weed out drug production threatens to drive opium farmers into increasing poverty, the UN's top anti-drugs official in Rangoon warned yesterday. Jean-Luc Lemahiey, the UN's International Drug Control Program representative, told The Australian that Burma's anti-drugs program was genuine, contradicting the US State Department's claim that the country had "failed demonstrably" to co-operate against fighting drugs. "We're worried they're moving too fast," Mr Lemahiey said, warning that traditional farmers would return to opium if they could not find other crops to support them. He said figures to be released later this year would show record low levels of opium production. Mr Lemahiey also called for more humanitarian aid - something the international community has largely been unwilling to provide because of human rights concerns. He said the military junta's efforts had been more successful in fighting opium plantations than methamphetamine production, which he described as an industry built on the "greed" of organised crime, rather than one driven by poor farmers. He was aware that his comments could be seen as an endorsement of the despised Rangoon regime, but stressed his remarks were based on "technical" rather than "political" considerations. The remarks came as the military regime marked an international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking yesterday by driving bulldozers over hundreds of bottles of cough medicine containing codeine and burning $US1 billion ($1.74 billion) worth of narcotics and marijuana. The brass band and balloon ceremony also marked the first time foreign journalists had been invited into the country since the release of Opposition democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi seven weeks ago. Journalists could not contact Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, however, as she had spent the week meeting her political supporters in the central region of Mandalay - her first political visit to the countryside since before her first period of house arrest in 1989. - --- MAP posted-by: Ariel