Source:   Dallas Morning News
Contact:    Fri, 1 Aug 1997

Myanmar drugs 
Albright's tough talk is a direct hit 

Myanmar government officials may have thought their debut as the newest 
member state represented at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
would be a cake walk. But Secretary of State Madeleine Albright got 
their attention Monday with a rhetorical pie right in the face.

She boldly accused Myanmar's leaders of allowing cheap heroin and 
methamphetamines to flood the world, Ms. Albright's diplomatic message 
was unusually forceful: Myanmar can expect a host of U.S. sanctions to 
remain firmly in place until Rangoon gets serious about fighting drugs, 
rather than profiting from them. Myanmar's representatives to the ASEAN 
assembly were present during her remarks.

Tough U.S. policies are warranted. Already this year, the U.S. has 
banned visas for certain Myanmar officials. And President Clinton 
recently announced a ban on new U.S. investment in the country.

In addition, Washington has promised to veto international lending 
institutions' loans to Myanmar. And it has established an alliance with 
certain European nations to refuse to sell military items to Rangoon.

In her remarks, Ms. Albright naturally mentioned the ill effects of drug 
trafficking on the United States. But she also provided a penetrating 
insight into the issue when she noted that Myanmar's leaders were 
tolerating an upswing in drug abuse among their own people, not to 
mention a dramatic rise in AIDS cases. The situation is bound to 
deteriorate as drug traffickers continue to transform themselves into 
the leading lights of Myanmar business and society.

In standing up to what is essentially a rogue state, the U.S. must keep 
its unusually strict policies toward Myanmar intact. Though drugs were 
the dominant theme of Ms. Albright's remarks, the United States has 
equal reason to be concerned about human rights and political freedom in 
Myanmar. The policy should change when Myanmar's government shows 
evidence of being more responsible toward its own people, Southeast Asia 
and the world.