Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05RANGOON1444
2005-12-27 08:25:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Rangoon
Cable title:  

THE SLIPPERY SLOPE TO A DRUG-FREE WA REGION

Tags:  EAID KCRM PGOV PHUM PINS PREL SNAR BM NGO 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 RANGOON 001444 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND INL; PACOM FOR FPA; DEA FOR OF, OFF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/26/2015
TAGS: EAID KCRM PGOV PHUM PINS PREL SNAR BM NGO
SUBJECT: THE SLIPPERY SLOPE TO A DRUG-FREE WA REGION

REF: A. RANGOON 605

B. RANGOON 148

C. RANGOON 138 AND PREVIOUS

D. 04 RANGOON 1605

E. 04 RANGOON 221

F. RANGOON 1234

Classified By: Poloff Dean Tidwell for Reasons 1.4 (b, d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 RANGOON 001444

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND INL; PACOM FOR FPA; DEA FOR OF, OFF

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/26/2015
TAGS: EAID KCRM PGOV PHUM PINS PREL SNAR BM NGO
SUBJECT: THE SLIPPERY SLOPE TO A DRUG-FREE WA REGION

REF: A. RANGOON 605

B. RANGOON 148

C. RANGOON 138 AND PREVIOUS

D. 04 RANGOON 1605

E. 04 RANGOON 221

F. RANGOON 1234

Classified By: Poloff Dean Tidwell for Reasons 1.4 (b, d)


1. (U) SUMMARY: United Wa State Army (UWSA) leaders told
visiting diplomats that drugs have turned the ethnic Wa into
"pariahs." The Wa leaders claimed, however, that they have
turned a new page and "put narcotics behind us," appealing
for increased international assistance and a reversal of U.S.
federal indictments against UWSA officials. Wa-initiated
development projects, lacking market research, have failed to
replace lost income for former poppy farmers, among Burma's
poorest populations. Modest WFP food-for-work and UNODC
alternative crop projects have had more success.
Notwithstanding the genuine humanitarian needs in Wa
territory, the UWSA leadership's appeal for help ignores the
fact that their ill-gotten gains have been invested in major
commercial enterprises in Rangoon and elsewhere outside of
Burma, rather than assist their own farmers. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) The World Food Program (WFP) organized a December 9-12
visit to Wa Special Region 2 in northeastern Shan State for
approximately 15 diplomats, including Emboff, from donor
countries. After flying to Kengtung in eastern Shan State,
headquarters for the Burmese military's Triangle Command, the
group traveled in a vehicle convoy along the Chinese border
to remote Pang Kham (formerly known as Pang Hsang),the
capital of Wa territory. The was the first trip of an
Embassy officer since the U.S. Attorney's office for the
Eastern District of New York unsealed federal indictments
last January against the UWSA's top seven leaders on
drug-related charges (ref C).


3. (SBU) UWSA troops turned out in force all along the rough
mountain route to provide security for the VIP group, which

included several senior GOB police and border affairs
officials. In Pang Kham, the delegation met with UWSA
leaders, including Deputy Chairman Xiao Ming Liang; Chief of
General Staff Ai Lun; and Minister for External Relations
Zhao Ai Nap. A UNODC employee told the delegation that UWSA
General Secretary Bao Yu Xiang (aka Pao Yu Hsiang),the most
senior of the indicted Wa leaders, was seriously ill and had
returned to his native village in October (ref D).

DECREEING A DRUG-FREE WA REGION


4. (U) At a briefing in Pang Kham, UWSA Deputy Chairman Xiao
Ming Liang told the diplomats that on June 26 Wa leaders had
finally implemented a long delayed ban on poppy cultivation
throughout Special Region 2. The UWSA, he claimed, had sent
messengers to all parts of the Wa region instructing farmers
to cease cultivating opium poppy. Xiao said that "some"
poppy farmers were displeased with the ban, but he said that
the UWSA had decided to forgo tax collection for the next
three years in order to mitigate the farmers' short-term
income loss. (Note: Wa authorities previously collected
opium as payment for taxes. End Note.)


5. (U) Deputy Chairman Xiao allowed that "a few" Wa farmers
may not know about the ban and will likely continue to
cultivate poppies at remote sites, although he insisted that
the UWSA would not tolerate further cultivation. Other UWSA
officials claimed that Wa authorities had destroyed some
newly planted poppy fields in November, at the beginning of
the 2005-2006 poppy season. Wa representatives also claimed
that the UWSA had recently arrested 19 ethnic Wa who were
involved in the production of methamphetamines, confiscating
150 kg of pills that officials allegedly destroyed in
September.


6. (U) The UWSA deputy chairman urged the diplomats to
convince the New York federal court to rescind indictments
against the Wa leadership. "We don't understand U.S.
pressure," he said, lamenting that the withdrawal of USG
support to UNODC for Wa farmers "comes at a time when we are
facing the greatest difficulty." He appealed for the USG, as
"the largest donor," to resume counter-drug assistance in
order to help farmers in growing alternative crops following
the ban on poppy cultivation.

PLAYING TO THE AUDIENCE


7. (C) Xiao Ming Liang fielded questions from the diplomats,
but clearly formed his responses for the benefit of the GOB
minders who accompanied the group. When asked if UWSA
loyalties are with Rangoon or Beijing, for example, he said
the Wa have no plans to secede. "We will always be part of
Burma," Xiao insisted. He acknowledged, however, that the Wa
leadership uses the Chinese language for its communications,
noting his region's geographical proximity to China and
distance from Rangoon. None of the Wa leaders we met spoke
Burmese; they all communicated with us in Chinese through
interpreters. Xiao also recalled the 30-year war the Wa
fought against the GOB under the flag of the Burma Communist
Party. "We still feel distant (from Rangoon) in our hearts,"
he admitted.


8. (SBU) Xiao had little to say about the regime's National
Convention process, simply acknowledging that a delegate from
the United Wa State Party (UWSP, the Wa political arm)
attends the current session. As for the GOB's relocation of
the Burmese capital to Pyinmana, Xiao said the Wa had only
learned about the development through media reports. He
complained that the Burmese regime had reduced contact with
the UWSA over the past year, suggesting that U.S. indictments
against the Wa leadership had discouraged closer dialogue.
"Only two ministers have visited us this year," he said,
stating that the UWSA hoped SPDC Chairman Than Shwe would
come to Pang Kham to meet with Wa leaders.


9. (SBU) In response to a question by the U.K. ambassador on
the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Xiao noted that the AIDS mortality
rate in the Wa region is now around 20 percent, down from 80
percent in previous years, and he expressed gratitude for
U.K. assistance to UNODC projects in Wa territory.
"Remember, however," chided Xiao, "who it was that brought
poppies to our region," invoking a familiar GOB and Wa
argument that colonial Britain and Western drug markets are
the source of the region's current drug woes. "Due to drugs,
we are pariahs," Xiao added, but insisted that the UWSA had
"put narcotics behind us." He appealed for international
support and proclaimed, "Drugs are our common enemy."

ALTERNATIVE CROPS AND ILLICIT ENTERPRISES


10. (SBU) The diplomats observed UWSA alternate crop
projects, including rubber plantations and fruit orchards.
However, they saw little evidence that the state-run projects
had replaced lost income for former poppy farmers. The
Singaporean ambassador observed that he had never seen rubber
trees so densely planted and doubted they would be
productive. Rubber cultivation already abounds in nearby
China, the only viable export market for Wa rubber, thus
casting doubt about the profitability of Wa-grown rubber. UN
officials also told us that Wa farmers have stopped
harvesting their orchards, because their produce cannot
compete with the huge influx of cheap fruit from China. Now
some villagers have cut down their fruit trees for firewood.


11. (SBU) Development workers have long joked about the "GDP"
industries (gambling, drugs, and prostitution) in eastern
Shan State. Although the Wa claim they have banned poppy
cultivation and cracked down on other drugs, gambling and
prostitution are much in evidence in Pang Kham. During our
visit, we saw one gambling casino in the capital active with
local weekend patrons. This establishment and others like
it, however, could follow the fate of casinos in Mongla, Pang
Kham's sister city to the south in Special Region 4. Chinese
authorities recently took action to prevent PRC officials
from gambling away state assets, effectively driving Mongla's
casinos out of business (ref F). The "oldest profession"
appeared to be thriving in Pang Kham with ubiquitous,
pink-lit lounges, staffed mostly by Chinese girls, scattered
over several blocks.

A ZERO-SUM GAME?


12. (U) According to UNODC officials, Wa poppy farmers are
among the poorest populations in Burma. Average household
income among poppy farmers in Shan State, for example, is
roughly $292 per year, twenty percent less than non-poppy
households in the same region. Opium sales account for more
than half of the income in those households that, before the
ban, cultivated poppy and produced opium.


13. (U) The diplomatic delegation visited ethnic Lahu
villages in southern Wa territory, where UNODC has
established rice banks, schools, tea cultivation, and other
income generation activities for former poppy farmers.
During a WFP rice distribution in one village, we spoke with
local Wa leaders and farmers and learned that an estimated 75
percent of the Wa population lacks income to buy rice for
four months or more per annum.


14. (U) The WFP and the UNODC both report significant
improvement in development indicators among the Wa population
as a result of UN projects to help Wa households switch from
a poppy-based economy to other livelihoods. UN agencies and
INGOs working in the region appealed for increased funding,
warning that improved socio-economic conditions could quickly
be wiped out as the poppy cultivation ban takes effect,
reducing farmers' income.

COMMENT: PASSING THE BUCK


15. (C) Indicted by the United States, ignored by Rangoon,
beholden to China, and seeing international assistance
decline, the Wa leadership clearly feels shunned by the world
and understands that drugs are a primary cause of their
international isolation. As finances grow more difficult in
coming months for leaders and farmers alike, their resolve to
make Wa territory a poppy-free, if not a drug-free, zone will
be severely tested. While Wa leaders, during their
discussions with visiting diplomats, focused on their efforts
to get out of the opium business, they ignored abundant
evidence that massive production and trafficking of
amphetamine-type stimulants in Wa territory have quickly
filled the void.


16. (C) The UWSA leadership's appeal for international
assistance to bail out their poor farmers ignores the huge
profits Wa leaders have reaped over the years from drug
trafficking. They invested their ill-gotten gains in Burma's
airline, banking, and construction industries and have major
holdings in Thailand and Hong Kong. Their appeal for aid
also conveniently ignores the fact that the poorest of the
farmers are the tens of thousands of ethnic Wa that the UWSA
forcibly relocated from the highlands to southern valleys,
anticipating that the international community would assist
those displaced. The Wa leadership could easily subsidize
the 63,000 households in their territory and significantly
alleviate the dire poverty of their own poor farmers. End
Comment.
VILLAROSA