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Maung Weik Charged with Trafficking Drugs
Rise of Factions Roils Relations within Burmese Junta
Pachyderm Party
Women in the Movement
Hunger Pains
Myanmar business tycoon, Malaysian tried on drug-trafficking charges

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Maung Weik Charged with Trafficking Drugs
By MIN LWIN
Thursday, July 10, 2008

One of the richest men in Burma and a powerful friend of the country’s ruling military elite has been charged with drug abuse and involvement in trafficking, according to a police sergeant from Lanmadaw Township police station in central Rangoon.

The senior policeman told The Irrawaddy that Maung Weik, 35, was charged at Lanmadaw Township police station along with Nay Tun Lwin, Aung Min, Kyaw Phone Naing, Kyaw Hlaing, Kyaw Kyaw Win and Malaysian national Peter Too Huat Haw.

The Myanmar Times weekly journal also reported that the seven named suspects had been charged with engaging in drug trafficking from Malaysia to Burma since 2003.

Maung Weik, a founder of the Maung Weik & Family business group, which is involved in trading and real estate, is accused of importing ecstasy and ketamine to Burma. It has been reported that he catered to wealthy Burmese youths and sons of leading generals.

“They often held parties at their offices or homes and invited celebrities,” a close friend of Maung Weik said. “They got people hooked on drugs and then kept on selling the stuff to them.”

Sources said that ecstasy pills generally sold for as much as 60,000 kyat each (US $50) in upper-class circles in Rangoon, a relative fortune in a country where the average salary is little more than $30 per month.

“Maung Weik used drugs with family members of the ruling generals and distributed drugs to movie stars,” said his former business partner.

According to sources, Maung Weik and his cronies forced young actresses and models to have sex with them after giving them drugs.

“If some military officials or their family members want to have sex, they come to Maung Weik and he arranges one of these celebrity girls,” one of his friends said.

“He is very happy to serve up anything for Burmese officials and their families,” she said. “Whatever they want—drugs, drink, sex—he is always ready.”

“Drug trafficking crimes carry a ten-year to life sentence,” a Rangoon businessman told The Irrawaddy. “I don’t know what the government will do for Maung Weik, but he is close to the military generals and their families.”

According to several journalists, Burma’s chief of police denied that any celebrities had been arrested or detained and said they had not charged any businessmen with drugs offences or trafficking on June 26.

Meanwhile, a source close to Than Shwe’s family said that Nay Shwe Thway Aung, the favorite grandson of Burmese head of state Snr-Gen Than Shwe, was also involved in the Maung Weik drug scandal.

“I heard Than Shwe was angry at Maung Weik because he got his grandson addicted to ecstasy,” the source said. “So he ordered the crackdown on Maung Weik and his drug gang.”

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article2.php?art_id=13256

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Rise of Factions Roils Relations within Burmese Junta
By MIN LWIN
Thursday, July 10, 2008

On the surface, the high-ranking generals in the Burmese military junta appear to be united. But since a reshuffle in early June, speculation has been rife that the regime is undergoing a major realignment, with competing forces jostling for influence.

There are persistent rumors that several of the former Bureau of Special Operations heads who were sacked in June are now under investigation on corruption charges. Some are even believed to be under house arrest, facing charges of high treason.

Although international news agencies reported that around 150 officers were reshuffled, well-informed observers say the number who were reassigned or removed outright was probably closer to 400.

It is believed that three powerful factions have now emerged, all of them loyal to Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who remains the commander in chief of the armed forces.

The three factions are led by Gen Thura Shwe Mann, Lt-Gen Myint Swe and Lt-Gen Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo.

Thura Shwe Mann, 60, is the third-ranking general in the military hierarchy, holding the title of joint chief of staff. He has been groomed to take over as commander in chief of the armed forces when Than Shwe sees fit to step down.

Shwe Mann also has the lofty title of “Coordinator of the Special Operations, Army, Navy and Air Force”—a position that allows him to oversee all the main branches of the military, including the powerful Bureaus of Special Operations.

Shwe Mann is seen as a protégé of Than Shwe. He is also close to several businessmen and scholars who have recently been involved in getting humanitarian assistance to cyclone-affected areas of the Irrawaddy delta.

Shwe Mann’s son, Aung Thet Mann, is involved in the fertilizer and rice mill business in the delta. The Shwe Mann camp has recently been releasing news that the general is business-minded and in favor of cooperating with the United Nations and the international community. His close friend and former classmate, Lt-Gen Soe Thein, was recently removed from his position as navy chief and named minister for industry (2).

Another rising star is Lt-Gen Myint Swe, 59, who heads Bureau of Special Operations 5 (BSO-5).

Myint Swe is an ethnic Mon who has played a key role in controlling security in Rangoon since the early 2000’s. He is a distant relative of Than Shwe’s wife, Kyaing Kyaing, and is known to be close to the senior leader. He was involved in several important operations against top leaders, including the arrest of former Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt, who was ousted in October 2004.

Myint Swe has been seen in the state-run media more frequently since Cyclone Nargis slammed into Burma in early May, prompting observers to wonder if he is in line to assume a top commander position.

Lt-Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, the quartermaster- general who was named secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development Council in 2007, is the putative leader of a third faction.

Burmese observers believe that Tin Aung Myint Oo was one of the regime’s main opponents of foreign assistance and UN involvement in the Cyclone Nargis relief effort. He recently visited the Irrawaddy delta and was named deputy head of the National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee.

All three powerful generals have visited the affected area. Shwe Mann accompanied Than Shwe, while Tin Aung Myint Oo went with Maung Aye, the deputy commander in chief of the armed forces and army chief, along with other powerful commanders, including air defense department and intelligence chiefs. Myint Swe toured the affected area alone, giving “necessary instructions” to officials.

Insiders have noted that all three are close to Than Shwe and his family, removing any likelihood of a coup against the top commander.

Meanwhile, Maung Aye, the army chief, remains the second-most powerful military leader in the armed forces. Maung Aye was locked in a bitter fight with Gen Khin Nyunt, and Than Shwe benefited from the power struggle between the two. Now Maung Aye, who has little political ambition, is not a threat to Than Shwe.

But if speculation about the emergence of three powerful factions within the top command turns out to be true, it is likely that further purges and changes at the top are in store.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article1.php?art_id=13257

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Elephants enjoy fruit provided during a ceremony to show appreciation for their work in Sangkhlaburi in Kanchanaburi Province in western Thailand. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Pachyderm Party
CULTURE
By LAWI WENG
JULY, 2008 - VOLUME 16 NO.7

Each June, Karen villagers living on Thailand’s border with Burma gather to show appreciation to elephants—their friends and invaluable helpmates

A procession of elephants carries townspeople during a festival ceremony. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

SANGKHLABURI, Thailand — EVERY year for the past three years, Karen mahouts have paraded their elephants through the Thai village of Bang Mai Pattana, in Kanchanaburi Province’s Sangkhlaburi District, on Thailand’s western border with Burma.

The Karen, an ethnic group who live mainly in southern and eastern Burma, but who have also inhabited parts of Thailand for centuries, have long used elephants in their logging businesses along the border.

With a stream running through it that many working elephants use to cool off in after a hard day’s work, Bang Mai Pattana is known to locals as “Elephant Village,” making it the natural choice for hosting an annual party to honor the noble beasts.

Elephant parties are nothing new to the region, which has a long tradition of revering the animals for their service to their human masters. Extravagant celebrations were often held in the past to encourage elephants to fight in wars between the kingdoms of Thailand and Burma.

The Karen value their elephants highly, prizing them as much as they would a luxury car.
They use them not only for transporting logs, but also for carrying rice from the hills to their homes in the jungles below. But elephants are more than just the perfect all-terrain vehicle; they are also friends who work together with people as part of a team.

The day of the party also marks the beginning of the elephants’ off season, when there is less work for them to do. Since the elephants work hard the rest of the year and often have less than enough food to eat, on this day they are invited to take their fill from a nine-tiered fruit pagoda. The huge pile of watermelons, sugarcane, bananas and jackfruit provides the elephants with enough food to keep them satisfied for two days.

This year, 3,000 baht (nearly US $100) was spent on sugarcane alone. 

Even after half an hour of solid eating, there is still plenty of food left on the pagoda. At this point, local children began to clamber to the top to get fruit and sugarcane to throw down to friends waiting below. The children of elephant owners have a great advantage, because they can climb up their elephants’ trunks to reach the highest levels. 

At this year’s party, one young boy was especially adept. Many of his friends could be heard calling his name and pleading for pieces of fruit. After an hour, anyone who could scramble atop the platform and avoid the elephants’ trunks had free rein of the produce.

Although the event is billed as an “elephant party,” there are many attractions for people as well. Visitors can watch Thai, Mon and Karen traditional dancing and enjoy free meals from food stalls. People are often greedier than the elephants, feeding themselves with both hands while trying to catch the fruit being thrown down by the children.

Besides being fun for everyone, the elephant party also has a serious purpose. It is intended to raise awareness of elephant rights among Burma’s ethnic minorities and to maintain the strong relationship between the Thai and Karen cultures.

As a sign of respect, the organizers of the party arranged for monks too pray in front of the elephants and sprinkle holy water on their heads. Then they gave amulets to the owners, who tied them to the elephants’ front legs. The amulets are believed to protect the elephants from physical and mental illnesses.

The pagoda used to feed the elephants also attests to the belief that elephants are more than mere beasts.

The custom of erecting fruit pagodas originated in the days of the Burmese monarchy, when ceremonies were held to celebrate the birth of an elephant.

But constructing them is fast becoming a lost art. “To build the fruit pagoda, we needed a teacher,” said a party organizer. “It is very difficult to learn and not just anyone can do it.” Many are worried this custom will disappear.

Meanwhile, Thai authorities in Kanchanaburi Province were keen to maintain the spirit of the event by emphasizing its role in bringing different species—and different cultures—together.

“Elephants and humans are the same,” said one local official. “We are all the same, and we are all welcome at the party.
Elephants from Burma can also come to our festival.”

Of course, it was not all about goodwill and peace to man and elephant. There was also a commercial motive, as the elephant party was a guaranteed tourist draw.

Owners, some of them from Burma, were offered 1,000 baht to bring their elephants to the event. The party, which was traditionally held in April, was rescheduled to take place in June at the suggestion of the Tourism Authority of Thailand so that it would not compete with Songkhran, the Thai New Year. Some expressed concern that the party was little more than another opportunity to exploit the elephants for financial gain.

Despite such misgivings, however, most agreed that the elephants deserved a break from their usual routine. Unfortunately, many were not able to make it. The number of elephants in attendance dropped from 18 to 14 this year.
An organizer explained: “The four who missed the party were working—it can be a tough life for an elephant.” 

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=13193

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Phyu Phyu Thin, far right, works with volunteers in an HIV/aIDS patient center in Rangoon.

Women in the Movement
By VIOLET CHO AND AYE LAE
JULY, 2008 - VOLUME 16 NO.7

A handful of prominent female activists have made a significant mark on Burmese dissident politics, but true equality of the sexes remains elusive

A pro-democracy Burmese activist in exile holds a poster of Burma’s democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a protest march in New Delhi, India, on June 19, Suu Kyi’s 63rd birthday. (Photo: AFP)

THREE days after Cyclone Nargis struck southwestern Burma on May 2-3, social activist Phyu Phyu Thin bravely came out of hiding to help victims of the storm.

“I knew that our patients were suffering desperately after the cyclone, so I wanted to be here for them and try my best to help,” said Phyu Phyu Thin, an HIV/AIDS activist and youth leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

“They are poor, and now the storm has destroyed their lives. They’ve lost family, and they have no food or place to stay,” said the well-known activist, who went into hiding last August after taking part in protests against the Burmese junta.

Phyu Phyu Thin belongs to a new generation of female activists who are able to compete with their male counterparts in organizations that strive to promote democracy in Burma. She is also part of a proud tradition of women who have made their mark on Burmese politics.

Women like Mya Sein, who was selected as a representative of Asian women at the League of Nations in 1931; colonial-era senators Hnin Ma and Dr Saw Hsa; and post-independence minister for Karen State, Ba Maung Chain, paved the way for women in Burmese politics.

But the strides made by these early advocates of a more prominent role for women on the national political stage were soon erased when Ne Win imposed military rule on Burma in 1962. After this, women who wanted more than a token role in politics had to join dissident groups. 

Despite the progress made by women like Phyu Phyu Thin, however, many people say that there is still a significant lack of gender equality at the highest levels of the Burmese pro-democracy movement.

As the leader of an NLD-affiliated social welfare group working with HIV/AIDS patients, Phyu Phyu Thin insists that gender is not an important factor in her organization: “Men and women can work together regardless of gender,” she said in a recent interview with The Irrawaddy.

Other women also say that activists’ strong sense of sharing a common cause makes differences between men and women seem irrelevant.

“We didn’t think a lot about gender,” said a former political prisoner and student activist who took part in protests in 1988 and 1996, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Change in Burma is the responsibility of every citizen.”

Despite the views of these women, however, others say that Burmese women who strive to become key decision-makers still face numerous hurdles—a fact that can be easily forgotten because of the existence of a small number of high-profile leaders such as Phyu Phyu Thin and Aung San Suu Kyi.

A cursory look at the makeup of key political organizations in the democracy movement reveals that women make up less than 1 percent of the leadership.

This fact can be largely attributed to cultural factors, such as the traditional view that a woman’s place is in the home, a failure to appreciate the need to educate girls and a belief that men possess “hpoun,” a power derived from meritorious actions in past lives.

Meanwhile, in ethnic minority political organizations, the close association with armed groups has resulted in a militaristic culture that many regard as inherently male-centered.

But according to Khaing Mar Kyaw Zaw, a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Karen National Union (KNU) and a leading figure in the Karen Women’s Organization, the most important factor limiting women is their lack of education.

“Women don’t participate in the economic, social and political arena because they haven’t had a chance to study. When they are growing up, many girls have to stay home to help take care of their families, so they don’t go to school. This means that women have limited knowledge compared to men,” she said.

She went on to explain that traditionally, men are considered to be the leaders of the family and the country. The idea that women should focus on caring for their husbands and children prevents them from aspiring to a more active life outside the home. Only with education and encouragement will women learn to have higher ambitions, she said.

A lack of moral support is often mentioned by women leaders of the democracy movement as one of the key difficulties they encounter.

Day Day Paw, the first and only female Central Executive Committee member of the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), said her parents never encouraged her to study.

“They always told me to stay home and take care of the farm and look after my younger brother and sister,” she said. When her family forced her to stop studying in the ninth standard, she ran away to join the revolution.

“I regret that I didn’t get a higher education,” she said. “Even though I am now a leader in the main Karenni political organization, it can be difficult for me to have my voice heard.”

The lack of educational opportunities that many women face is not limited to their youth, however.

“I need to spend a lot of time taking care of my five children and my husband, so I can’t find time to read books or newspapers or listen to the radio, which makes it more difficult to communicate with men,” said Day Day Paw.

As the wife of the KNPP’s prime minister, Day Day Paw is regarded as the “first lady” of the Karenni people, as well as a leader in her own right. But this doesn’t prevent her from openly criticizing the KNPP for failing to promote women in the party. She is also outspoken about the need to offer encouragement to women who wish to pursue political careers.

For Myint Myint San, a member of the Thailand-based Burmese Women’s Union, the root cause of many of these problems is the traditional religious belief in hpoun, which ascribes male domination to the inherent spiritual superiority of men, based upon their past merit.

Because of this deeply ingrained cultural belief, many women come to accept a lower status or feel powerless to rise above their current station in life. This makes it difficult for most women to even imagine a more active role in politics.

In border areas, where armed conflict has been a fact of life for generations, women are further discouraged from pursuing political careers by the perception that only those with proven military track records are qualified to lead.

Myint Myint San said that many men regard themselves as “protectors” of women, and therefore as the rightful leaders of society. This view, she argued, does not do justice to the strength of women.

“In fact, we have to protect ourselves, and besides this, we have to sacrifice our lives to serving our soldier husbands,” she said.

To achieve equality, she said, women must be prepared to go to battle—not in the jungle, alongside men, but against cultural assumptions that confine them to their homes.

They should never stop educating themselves; they must also educate men about their true potential and their contribution to society.

“If there is no equality between sexes and classes there can be no justice,” said Myint Myint San. “Equal opportunity and equal participation are the keys to developing and improving any society.”

There is a great deal that women can do individually to show men what they are capable of, but  ultimately, it will require a concerted effort on the part of many highly motivated women to make a lasting change.

“If we want a new system, we need to have constitutional acts to deal with women’s affairs,” said Khin Ohmar, a founding member of the Women’s League of Burma, an umbrella group of exiled Burmese women’s organizations. “If we women do not unite and work systematically, we will be left behind the male leadership.”

Today’s women leaders are playing an important role in supporting and encouraging more women to engage in political activism, promoting the idea that women have to take joint responsibility for Burma’s development. 

“I really do not like it when other women say that they are weak,” said Zipporah, the executive secretary of the Karen Women’s Organization and a member of the KNU’s Central Executive Committee.

“Although tradition and the political system in our country work against Burmese women, we can still try hard to overcome the obstacles we now face and battle to change the ruthless system,” she said. 

Meanwhile, in the KNPP, Day Day Paw has been busy encouraging a generation of women to take leadership positions in the party. “We will see change in the next KNPP election,” she said confidently. 

Women activists inside Burma have the extra problem of working under the restrictions of the military regime, which makes debate around this issue all the more difficult.

“We cannot provide a place to empower women and teach them what they can do for the movement,” said Lae Lae, a member of the NLD’s Central Executive Committee.
“We don’t have any resources to educate young women.”

Until there is real change inside the country, it seems that the majority of Burmese women will remain subordinate to men. But this hasn’t stopped many exiled activists from keeping women’s issues on the agenda of the struggle against military rule.

“We were ignored throughout history,” said Khin Ohmar. “It should not happen again.”

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=13191

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Hunger Pains
By KYI WAI
JULY, 2008 - VOLUME 16 NO.7

There may be a global food crisis, but few countries are feeling the pinch like Burma. And for thousands of people in the Irrawaddy delta, desperate times lie ahead

Refugee children eat donated food in Kyauktan Township, 20 miles south of Rangoon. (Photo: AFP)

RANGOON — MA Thein is a senior clerk at the Ministry of Industry in Rangoon. Her husband sells medical supplies, and her son works in a noodle factory. They all work full-time.

Despite the family’s combined earnings of 140,000 kyat (US $117) per month, she still can’t afford to put one balanced meal on the table each day.

In June, the United Nations met in Rome to discuss the global food crisis. Prices of staple foods were going through the roof and food riots had broken out across the world, from Egypt to Indonesia to Peru.

But Ma Thein didn’t have to watch the news on TV to know there was a food crisis, nor did anyone else in Burma. The unstable economy, international sanctions, corruption, bird flu epidemics and a poor annual rice harvest had already pushed food prices higher this year.

Then, on May 2-3, Cyclone Nargis ravaged the Irrawaddy delta, the source of 90 percent of Burma’s rice and the majority of its agricultural produce. Overnight, 2.5 million acres (more than 1 million hectares) of rice paddies were inundated with seawater and an estimated 150,000 livestock were killed. The Irrawaddy delta—the so-called “rice bowl” of Burma—was devastated.

The following day, Ma Thein joined the throngs of other panicking customers at the central market. Tempers flared as some influential people pulled up in a truck and bought up as many sacks of rice as the truck could hold.

Overnight, prices had almost doubled. No matter how she budgeted, Ma Thein simply could not afford to buy provisions for the month. Beef had risen from 3,000 kyat ($2.50) to 5,000 kyat ($4.17) per viss (1.63 kilograms). The cost of pork had increased 33 percent and the price of chicken had gone from 5,000 kyat to 7,000 kyat ($5.83) per viss. 

That night, Ma Thein’s husband suggested they buy fish. Fish was also more expensive, but market traders were prepared to make deals, because many people were reluctant to eat fish and seafood for fear the fish had been feeding on bodies in the waterways of the delta. Ma Thein’s husband and son went fishing at a lake that weekend.

Many farmers in the delta—who were, until recently, relatively self-sufficient—are now without animals or crops and must buy their food at the market.

The military junta, for its part, sanctimoniously suggested that survivors in the delta hunt frogs as a source of protein.

At a local market in the delta, an elderly woman cried when she realized she had no more money to buy food this month. She pointed to her shopping basket—a small bundle of
chin paung (sour roselle leaves), a bunch of water spinach, two eggs, some frog meat and a viss of salt.

The cyclone also damaged salt farms in Irrawaddy and Rangoon divisions and in Mon State, causing a salt shortage and driving prices up. State-run media reported that a total of 24,431 acres (9,890 hectares) of state-owned and private salt farms were affected by Nargis.

Before the cyclone struck, one viss of salt was selling wholesale for 450 kyat (38 cents). The same amount by the end of June cost 1,200 kyat ($1) with retail prices as high as 1,500 kyat ($1.25) per viss.

A salt merchant in Rangoon said it was clear production had decreased severely and that prices would never return to previous levels.

The most important food source of all—rice, which is the foundation of almost every Burmese meal—doubled in price.

High-quality rice, such as paw sun, was selling for 28,500 kyat ($23.75) per 50-kilogram sack before the cyclone. Shortly after the disaster the price of a sack rose to 50,000 kyat ($41.67) before leveling off at around 45,000 kyat ($37.50) at most markets.

The price of a sack of ziyar (low-quality rice) rose to 28,000 kyat ($23.33) in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis before leveling off at 20,000 kyat per sack.

“People have been forced to lower their food standards in order to make end meets,” said a rice trader at the Bayintnaung wholesale market. “For instance, some well-off customers have had to change from high-quality paw sun rice to a lower quality, such as paw kywe. Those who used to eat paw kywe are now buying ziyar.”

According to the Rangoon rice trader, truckloads of rice that was spoilt by seawater began arriving in the city after the cyclone. The rice was soon in high demand among the poorer people of the city.

A Rangoon physician said he could not foresee any harm from eating seawater-soaked rice, although its nutritional value is very low.

For many people there is no alternative. According to the rice trader, the amount of rice arriving in Rangoon by mid-June had significantly decreased. Prior to the cyclone, 60,000 to 80,000 sacks of rice—mostly from the Irrawaddy delta—were transported to Rangoon markets every day. Now traders and merchants are struggling to bring in 40,000 sacks a day, a minimum requirement for the Rangoon market.

According to official figures, in 2007, Burma produced 30 million metric tons of rice, of which 18.9 million tons were exported. The 55 million inhabitants of Burma require 17 million tons of rice per year—each person consuming an average of 234 kilograms annually.

Although the military government has claimed it is trying to restore rice production in the disaster-affected areas, independent experts estimate that only 20 percent of rice paddies will be reclaimed in time for this year’s harvest.

In the meantime, rice traders say prices will continue rising.

Even before the natural disaster, the diet of many poor people in Burma consisted of low-quality rice and little more. A bowl of rice is usually accompanied by sour roselle leaf soup, a spoonful of ngapi (fish paste) and a handful of leaves, roots and green vegetables. Many people frequently go without any kind of meat and the diet is as unchanging as it is unappetizing.

Saw Klo Htoo, a Christian Karen who is destitute after losing everything in the cyclone, is unable to afford even ziyar rice and has turned to the only remaining option—rice that was soaked in seawater during the cyclone.

This rice, which would usually be considered ruined and tossed away, is now being bought up readily by those who cannot afford anything else. Saw Klo Htoo’s wife, Rebecca, was able to purchase a sack at the local market for 13,000 kyat ($10.83), almost half the price of ziyar rice.

“When I opened the sack I could immediately smell it was moldy,” said Rebecca. “The rice grains were broken and colored yellow. I laid the rice out on the ground to try to dry it out. But when I cooked the rice, the grains quickly softened and stuck together.”

Rebecca said that when she served the rice it had the consistency of a thick soup. It tasted awful and gave her young daughter a stomachache.

Saw Klo Htoo said that even though his family is depressed, he can see that the other families around him are in a similar situation—they are also eating the yellow, foul-smelling rice.

“I have never eaten moldy rice before,” he said. “But when I asked the neighbors, they said it was fine and that they had been eating it for two weeks. With all the prices increasing, it is all we can afford.”

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=13186

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Myanmar business tycoon, Malaysian tried on drug-trafficking charges
Monsters and Critics.com
Asia-Pacific News
Jul 10, 2008, 6:20 GMT

Yangon - A Myanmar billionaire business tycoon and a Malaysian national are standing trial on drug-trafficking charges and face lengthy prison terms if found guilty, media reports said Thursday.

Maung Weik, 35, the managing director of Maung Weik and Family Co Ltd, which is involved in trading and real estate, was arrested May 31 on charges of trafficking in ecstasy, amphetamines and ketamine that were distributed at company parties and birthday celebrations, the Myanmar Times' Burmese-language edition reported.

Malaysian national Peter Too Huat Haw was also arrested and is standing trial along with five other Myanmar nationals - Aung Min, Nay Tun Lwin, Kyaw Phone Naing, Kyaw Hlaing and Kyaw Kyaw Win - for engaging in drug trafficking, reported the newspaper, which is privately owned but censored by the government.

The trial of Maung Weik, who like most successful Myanmar businessmen has close ties with the military junta, started June 10, police said.

If found guilty, he faces a 20-year jail sentence, lawyers said.

Maung Weik was known to be close friends with Aung Zaw Ye Myint, the son of retired lieutenant general Ye Myint, who was recently asked to retire by junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe.
Aung Zaw Ye Myint is reportedly undergoing drug rehabilitation.

There was speculation that Than Shwe launched the investigation into Maung Weik's drug dealing after his 17-year-old grandson Nay Shwe Thway Aung was found to be using drugs, said the Mizzima News, a news organization established by exiled Myanmar journalists.

Drug addiction is rife in Myanmar, once one of the world's main suppliers of opium and its refined derivative heroin. Although Myanmar's opium production has fallen over the past decade, the country is now a major producer of methamphetamines.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/ article_1416078.php/ Myanmar_business_tycoon_Malaysian_tried_on_drug-trafficking_charges

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