In response to Thailand’s announcement that it would launch a new round of war on drugs on April 1, Col Yawdserk, leader of the Shan State Army (SSA) South, has said the resolution of political problems is the initial step towards the resolution of Shan drugs problem.

In a statement issued in Shan this morning, Yawdserk said Shan State became part of the Union led by Burma through the Panglong Agreement in 1947, when total autonomy in states’ internal affairs had been guaranteed. “Opium output in Shan State, was kept under control earlier because there was peace and rule of law,” he told SHAN. “And there was peace and rule of law, because Shan State was free to manage its own affairs,” he added.

The drug problem in neighbouring countries, on the other hand is the aftereffect of the conflict in Burma, according to the statement. “The drug problem in Thailand, will never be tackled properly, unless it is first sorted out where it originates (i.e. Burma),” he said.

Burma, especially its biggest state, Shan, is the largest opium producer in Southeast Asia. Show Business, Rangoon’s War on Drugs in Shan State (2003) reported that opium was also grown in Kachin, Karenni (Kayah), Chin State and Mandalay, Sagaing and Magwe divisions. Later, reports also indicated that cultivation had even extended into Arakan State and crossed the border into Bangladesh.