THE successive governments have taken measures to eradicate the narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in Myanmar deeming as a national duty. Despite the efforts, Myanmar still remains on the list of world’s highest narcotic drug producers according to the UNODC reports and other illicit drug indexes. The UNODC Report on East and Southeast Asia for 2020 stated that despite the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, production and trafficking of synthetic drugs and chemicals continue at record levels in the region and organized crime groups are expending the illicit drug trade. In the World Drug Report 2021, it is also stated that methamphetamine production and the synthetic drug market expand although the poppy cultivation drops in the Golden Triangle area. There are also strong and undeniable evidence showing the expending market of methamphetamine and the risks of narcotic drug provoke certain impacts on the recent riots and terrorist incidents in Myanmar.
Creating terrorist acts and riots by the use of narcotic drug was an anti-government technique in the early days after the State Administration Council assumed the State’s responsibilities. The article ‘Witness account of the anatomy of 100 days unfolding crisis and Meth-head Militant Mob in Myanmar’ written by a Burmese-Australian observer and political analyst called M.B highlighted the emotionally-based abnormal activities of gamers and drug-addict teenagers so-called Generation Z.
According to the ground reality besides the description of the article, some protest organizers wearing uniforms and holding same slogan boards distributed food-boxes and cash to the protesters in order to accelerate their peaceful protests in February and March. Distributing the food-boxes, the cash as daily wages wrapped in plastic bags were stuck on the cover of the boxes. By the accounts of some non-drug-use youths who involved in the protests, it found that some organizers even taped stimulant pills addition to the daily wages inside the inner cover of the food boxes on the pretext of fighting fatigue.
Such matters were not openly attempted but by the contacts of drug-users among protesters. As a result, the youths of no-drugusers were not willing to see the abnormal activities affected by illicit drugs in the protests. The youths of drug users are dealing the drugs via online platforms and they communicate each other on social networks using the signs only they understand. The profits from drug-dealing are used then to distribute free drugs to others.
It is said the intentions of providing free stimulant drugs are to support attracting the youths, fighting fatigue, yelling out the slogans, and dealing with hunger. Nevertheless, the actual intention of the drug-providers behind is to make the youths to do the activities they did not dare to do before and to commit terror acts recklessly after extreme agitation. No matter what we say, the peaceful protests in Myanmar led to the terrorism exactly as the masterminds behind want.
You might remember the case that occurred on 14th Street of Mandalay region on 29 March. A police officer on his off-duty was stabbed, chopped down by axe, placed over the pile of used tire and burnt to death. The perpetrators of youths who amusingly chopped down and burnt a man they did not know were sadly found out to be drug users.
Moreover, according to the interrogation results of the arrested terrorists, it found that most of the youths participating in protests and committing the crimes of bombing attacks, murders and terror acts are using illicit drugs. I also want to highlight some significant instances of many drug-related incidents and terror acts.
You might also remember the incident in which some suspects died attempting to flee by jumping from their apartment on the third floor that occurred on 44th street, No (6) ward of Botahtaung township. According to their confession, most of the offenders in the incident are found to be drug users.
The offenders and other related accomplices of bombing attacks and sabotages were also drug users and apprehended along with stimulant tablets at La Yeik Cho guesthouse located in Dagon Myothit (Seikkan) township on 22 August.
Likewise, a total of 7,500 YW-inscribed stimulant tablets were confiscated at the place, where the second leader of so-called Myanma National Defence Force Sithu and other related offenders were arrested on 31 August. It was an evidence of distributing the stimulant tablets rather than the level of personal use to conduct terror acts.
Moreover, it was also revealed that nine criminals who violently killed three ward administrators and one hundred-house elder in Mayangon township and Dagon Myothit (North) township are the drugs users. They lost their mind after using narcotic drugs and committed the crime.
Among the offenders detained for committing bombing attacks, murders, and terrorist acts, in checking some of offenders with abnormal behaviours, 80 per cent of them were found to be drug users. It can be concluded that the narcotic drug is the root cause of the reckless terrorist acts of the youths under the name of PDF and the riotous protests by the youths called General Z. Otherwise, it can also observed that the using drugs or substance abuse significantly rise among the youths today because unscrupulous manipulators of protests and terrorist acts behind are arousing the intense emotions of the youths by using drugs. Such attempt to increase the drug use and addiction among the youths is very dangerous for them as well as a serious threat to the future of the State.
Consequently, we can see that the State Administration Council is undertaking the anti-narcotic drug operations simultaneously, while conducting the Counter-terrorism and Stability Operation to ensure the community peace and stability and to combat terrorism. As the successive administrations emphasized the eradication of illicit drugs, due to the effective measures of the State Administration Council during the nine months after assuming the State’s responsibilities, we can see the news reports about the record-breaking seizures of stimulant tablets and crystal methamphetamines (ice). The seizures of narcotic drugs and stimulants from 1 February to 31 October 2021 are as shown in the following table:
It is found out that 5,306 drug offenders (male) and 600 drug offenders (female) were taken action from 1 February to 31 October in connection with the seizures of drugs.
If we observed the seizures of illicit drugs in any location, their origins are found out to be the areas controlled by the Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs). The EAOs are depending on illicit drug dealing and trafficking for their survival. Although some EAOs are doing superficial anti-narcotic drug activities, in reality, the evidence of seizures prove that they have deeply involve in production and distribution of illicit drugs.
Moreover, it has been known and reported that drug productions and distributions are accelerated to generate more funds for EAOs for providing terrorist trainings, and arms and ammunition to the PDFs committing crimes of terrorism under the title of Spring Revolution.
Otherwise, some EAOs having relations with the terrorist group NUG are connecting with other foreign drug-related gangs to receive necessary arms and ammunition required for PDF terrorists by using the money generated from drug dealing with the aim to achieve the victory of Spring Revolution.
Furthermore, some EAOs surviving with the drug-generated incomes are not only supporting the terrorist group NUG with the money, but also creating conditions in which the youths under the title of PDF can easily use drugs when they arrived in the areas of EAOs. It is assumed that their move is to expand the local illicit drug markets with the increasing number of drug users. The truth of this assumption is supported by the confessions of the terrorists arrested after returning from the EAOs’ areas.
As it was mentioned above, the contents of articles by international observers, the eye-witnesses and the confessions of the arrested offenders prove that current terrorist acts are related to the narcotic drugs. Particularly, the number of stimulant tablets seized in September 2020 was only over 5.5 million and the amount of such tablets seized in September 2021 was over 23.7 million and therefore, the difference of the two years is found to be around 18.1 million. In this year 2021, the number of stimulant tablets seized in September was over 5.7 million more than the number of seizures in August. To find the answer of the reason why the number of stimulant tablets suddenly rises, it can be concluded that the drug dealings and drug-use sharply increase along with the rise of terrorist acts across the country after the terrorist group NUG announced to accelerate terror acts on 7 September as D-Day. Similarly, the seizures of ice (crystal meth) in Kg are much more than the previous year Such incidents clear the fact that the NUG not only take the required financial assistance from the drug dealing to create terrorist acts, but also used the narcotic drugs to make the youths lose their rationalities and commit terrorist acts. It is additionally proved by the evidence of using drugs by the terrorists when they were arrested.
As a result, Tatmadaw joining hands together with Myanmar Police Force has been emphasizing the continuous measures of anti-narcotic drug to effectively control and eradicate the threats of narcotic drugs and to end the domestic armed conflicts.
In fact, the peril of narcotic drugs for Myanmar is the serious problem to be handled by any government as a ‘National Duty’. Today, some game-addicted teenagers in Myanmar use illegal drugs as supportive substance so that they can play games day and night and they also become preys of narcotic drugs and pawns in riotous protests. Therefore, parents must take good care of their children not to end up like this. Youths are the future of the country. According to the current political situation, we all must prevent the exploitation of youths with the help of illicit drugs by the political extremists for achieving their political aim.
To draw a conclusion, this article highlights the problems of narcotic drugs behind the riotous protests and current terrorist acts in Myanmar at the tripartite relationship of NUG, PDF and some EAOs.
Thus, people can perceive the truths behind the use of drugs not only to get funds for Spring Revolution but also to lead the youths to a wrong path. Hence, I hereby urge people to collectively fight against the narcotic drug which is the grave peril for Myanmar.
By Aung Shinn
Reference
- UNDOC report : opium production drops again in Myanmar as the synthetic drug market expands (2021). Retrieved on 31th October 2021 from https://www.unodc.org/southeastasiaandpacific/ en/2021/ 02/ myanmar-opium-survey-report- launch/story.html
- Mr. B.(2021). Witness account of the anatomy of 100 days unfolding crisis and Meth-head Militant Mob in Myanmar Retrieved from https:// npnewsmm.com/news/60c467c47677404eb7269bf5
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