narcotic drug eradication as a national task since 1988. The country has enhanced its

anti-narcotics efforts when Amphetamine tablets and related materials and equipment started to enter illegally

Myanmar’s borders.

The global drug producers are turning to Amphetamine Type Stimulant (ATS) tablets which

can be made easily and is a more profitable drug business.

Ephedrine, which is used as the main raw material in producing Amphetamine, other

chemicals and- advanced equipment were never manufactured in Myanmar.

But there is smuggling of these materials into Myanmar by drug traffickers from the

neighbouring countries.

ATS has been a drug problem in countries such as Thailand, the Philippines, Japan and

Korea since a decade ago.

But Myanmar began to face the problem of ATS only near the end of 1996. Ephedrine

was first seized in Myanmar in that year.

Rough terrain, mountainous areas and difficult access in most remote regions of border

areas have made dens for drug producers and traffickers at Myanmar’s long borders with other

countries. Most of the ATS trafficking routes and factories are located in far flung border areas

difficult to access.

The authorities seized 15.06 million Amphetamine tablets in 1998 and 2618 kilos of Ephedrine

in i998 at the-border areas. In 1999, it seized 22.43 million tablets of Amphetamine and

6336 kilos of Ephedrine.

With the active participation of the people, Myanmar has collected the base-line data on

poppy cultivation and drug addicts in the nation in 1988 as a means to wipe out the danger of

narcotic drugs.

The authorities have also drawn the 15-year project to root out the poppy growing areas and

narcotic drugs abuse in 50 townships in Shan State, Kachin State, Kayah State and Chin State

degree in Myanmar in 1998. According to data collected jointly by officials of Myanmar and the

United States, it is found that the decline in poppy cultivation in Myanmar is 16 per cent in 1998

and 31 per cent in 1999 and the narcotics production is 26 per cent in 1998 and 38 per cent in 1999.

Efforts are under way to declare Kokang region in Shan State (North) as one more opium

free zone. Cultivation of buckwheat has been successfully introduced in the region with the

assistance of Japan.

As the danger of narcotic drugs ATS, heroin or- whatever, they concern the international

community, it should be wiped out by all nations on the planet. It will not be fair if the blame is put

on a single nation alone.

Thus, we firmly believe that instead of pointing a finger at others, all the nations big or small

should make efforts to end the trafficking of various types of narcotic drugs including