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'Opium' fields destroyed
18/12/2000 21:40 - (SA)
Bangkok - Myanmar authorities have destroyed 860 hectares of poppy fields in the heart of the opium producing Golden Triangle, state-run media reported on Monday.
The poppy fields, located in the eastern and northeastern hillside regions of the country, had been razed since September, TV Myanmar said in a dispatch monitored here.
Eastern Myanmar forms part of the infamous "Golden Triangle" poppy-growing region, which includes areas of Thailand and Laos.
Myanmar and Afghanistan are considered to be the world's largest producers of opium, the raw ingredient of heroin, according to a US State Department report, which also lambasted Myanmar for failing to do enough to eradicate the drug crops.
The ruling military government is also widely accused of turning a blind eye to the massive drugs industry within its borders, in return for fragile cease-fires with the ethnic armies who now control the trafficking.
Yangon has, however, rejected the criticisms, insisting that it is making a sincere effort to control the drug trade.
The junta's powerful secretary, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, said at a recent meeting that Myanmar was facing "one-sided accusations" despite its efforts to combat drugs. - Sapa-AFP
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