The Rule of Law Parliament Affairs Committee headed by Aung San Suu Kyi submitted its annual report to Lower House on August 12. The reports states that the police focuses only on arresting drug abusers rather than arresting drug traffickers.
The report further says that law enforcers aggravate the narcotics problem by turning a blind eye to drug traffickers.
The 15-member Committee made field visits to Mandalay, Naypyitaw, Yangon and Irrawaddy Regions from September 2012 onwards. They examined trail cases, and met prosecutors and defendants with their lawyers. They also observed trials being conducted at township and district trial courts, the report says.
The Committee also reported that, since its formation a year ago, they have received over 10000 complaint letters on grievances with the judicial and administrative system.
Lower House Speaker Shwe Mahn instructed lawmakers who wished to to deliberate on the report to submit their names on August 12.
The government announced that they seized over 17 kg of hashish, 84000 ecstasy tablets and 1300 kg of opium derivative narcotics substance on Anti-Drug Trafficking Day, which falls on June 26. The seized narcotics were all destroyed.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report released this year says that though Afghanistan is the biggest drug producer in the world, Myanmar has the biggest number of families who rely on drug trafficking for their livelihoods.
Aung San Suu Kyi had said earlier in May that the current rate of drug abuse has increased considerably over the last three years.
She said, “We must ask why drug abuse and drug-trafficking cases have increased. Is the executive branch not tackling the drug problem efficiently? Are they not approaching it seriously? We cannot ignore the problems of drug abuse and drug trafficking if we want international aid.”
