Undercurrents Issue 3

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Undercurrents Issue 3 1

UndercurrentsMonitoring Development on Burma s MekongApril 2009, Issue 3

Undercurrents is a publication of the Lahu Development Organization (LNDO). LNDO was set up to promotethe welfare and well-being of Lahu people, including the promotion of alternatives to growing opium. LNDO alsofosters unity and cooperation among the Lahu and other highlanders from Shan State. Previous publications byLNDO are all available at www.burmariversnetwork.org and www.shanland.org

To contact LNDO, please email [email protected]

UP FOR SALE:Tiger skin and other

wildlife parts ondisplay in Tachilekmarket

Mekong Biodiversity Up for Sale........................................2

A new hub of wildlife trade and a network of direct buyersfrom China is hastening the pace of species loss

Rubber Mania........................................................................6Scrambling to supply China, can ordinary farmers benefit?

Drug Country........................................................................11 Another opium season in eastern Shan State sees increasedcultivation, mulitple cropping and a new form of an old drug

Construction Steams Ahead..............................................16 A photo essay from the Nouzhadu Dam, one of the eightplanned on the mainstream Mekong in China

Digging for Riches..............................................................18 An update on mining operations in eastern Shan State

Washed Out.........................................................................21Unprecedented flooding wreaks havoc in the Golden Triangle

Land cleared for Hongyu rubber plantations in Tachilek

Site of the Nouzhadu Dam

COVER PHOTO: Wild cat on the market in Mongla


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2 Undercurrents Issue 3

The border towns of Mongla andTachilek have been known aspopular posts for illegal wildlifetrade to China and Thailand for

years. Rare animals were openlyon display at markets in the townsand illegal purchases were madein plain sight. Over the past two

years, however, a significant shifthas occurred. Keng Larb, locatedon the Mekong in northeast ShanState, has emerged as a newcenter for wildlife trade, withalmost all traffic now headed toChina and the bulk of tradehappening under the table directlybetween a network of buyers andsellers. Sop Lwe, the Burmeseport town on the Mekong in

Special Region #4, and MuangSing, a China-Lao border point,are also replacing the old wildlifetrading centers.

Keng Larb: New hub of thewildlife tradeIts location on the Mekong makesKeng Larb a good place fortransporting goods by river toChina, Laos, Thailand and otherSoutheast Asian countries. It waswith the aim of developing Keng

Larb into a regionaltransportation and trade hub thatit was upgraded to a township in2004. The town itself was once a Shan-Akha village withapproximately 700 families butnow houses several governmentdepartmental offices. The SPDChas even set up a high school(although no one attends it asalmost all students never pass the

sixth standard).The futility of the developments inKeng Larb is also evidenced by

the six bridges that have beenplanned along a 50-mile road fromTa Lerh (see Undercurrents 1 ).Although an initial bridge at PangPeng was finished in 2003, theother six bridges have been in a state of half-construction since2004.

Villagers from the surroundingarea are repeatedly forced tocarry timber to the bridge sites butthe material inevitably disappearson the black market. SPDCmilitary officers changefrequently. Every year a newmilitary outpost camp officerarrives, he demands that villagerscollect timber and proclaims we

must finish the bridge(s) this year. Yet since 2004 not even oneof the six bridges has beencompleted. Local authorities have

UP FOR SALEMekong Biodiversity

CAUGHT: Thismonkey is beingkept alive so that aChinese customer can drink his brainmatter


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been pilfering their share of thetimber to make as much gain aspossible before moving on to theirnext post.

According to traders, the realadvantage of Keng Larb as a trading center is that it is cheaperto do business. Compared toTachilek, there are fewer roadcheckpoints and departmentoffices, and no immigration orcustoms offices. Therefore fewerbribes and taxes need to be paid ateach step of the trade. Oneshopkeeper trading in illegalwildlife explained how expensiveTachilek is: I have to pay

10,000 Thai Baht (US$285) per month to the customs group as abribe to do business. After that the police or militaryintelligence officers comeasking for some cash for their

personal needs. Sometimes, just to cross the bridge or the river of the border from Tachilek to

Mae Sai, a trader has to payone tenth of his costs as a bribeto the customs group. (Thecustoms group includes militaryintelligence, special police, andcustoms and township authorities.)

Due to the expenses in Tachilek,Keng Larb has become an

attractive alternative and isconsequently now a center fordrug-running, illegal logging, andhuman trafficking. It is also fastbecoming a booming market forillegal, exotic animals and wildlifeproducts bound for China, puttinggreater pressure on the region sendangered and threatenedanimals such as tigers, bears, andpangolins. Chameleons, grasslizards, crickets, geckos, dungbeetles, snakes, and variouswildlife, big and small, aregathered at Keng Larb from MongTon and Monghsat townships.Some wildlife destined for China istransported from Thailand to Keng

Larb, mostly live pangolins.Tachilek now has a limited varietyof wildlife on offer, with themajority of deals happening insecret.

Keng Larb s location is also idealfor transporting wildlife parts orlive animals by river to Chinesemarkets. In the past wildlife wasrarely smuggled on the Mekongitself. Today it is more commonbecause although it takes longer, itis cheaper than transport by road.There are much fewercheckpoints and no customsofficers.

A new hub of

illegal wildlifetrade and anetwork ofdirect buyersfrom China ishastening thepace of speciesloss

A shift from Thailand to ChinaThe trade to Thailand overall hasdeclined significantly. This beganslowly ten years ago when theThai government banned thetransport of live animals acrossthe border and enforcement hasbeen improving. Over the past two

years almost all trade has shiftedto the China side except meat forconsumption, and elephant anddeer horns. For example MongHta and Maisoong villages of Mong Ton Township, under controlof UWSA-South s 171 Brigade,have become a market for bearmeat export to Thailand.

Cattle smuggling that in the pastwas almost exclusively to Thailandhas also turned to the Chinesemarket. One water buffalo that inthe past sold for 10,000 Thai Bahtto Thailand, now sells for 3,000Yuan, or over 15,000 Thai Baht, toChina. Buffalo are transported byfoot across the border, by road,and some are sent up the Mekongfrom Tachilek Township. Sales of buffalo have picked up since theincreasing commercialization of farmland in China, including theParty decision in 2008 to allowfarmers to buy and sell their lands.


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On 13 January a big tiger attacked and killed a farm ox in

Mong Kai village (Kengtung Township). After the tiger retreated, the owner put Chinese-made poison into the oxcarcass. That evening the tiger returned and ate the poisoned meat. The ox owner and somevillagers easily found the dead tiger a few yards away from theox near a stream.

We skinned the tiger and begandrying the carcass. Within twodays, buyers from different

places came for bargaining. Theowner didn t make any decisionto sell because the villageheadmen suggested that he goto Keng Larb for the famous

prices. We didn t want to keepthe tiger too long in the villagebecause the owner had to payten people daily to keep securityover the carcass.

The 20 th of January was an Ox Day on the Lahu /Akhacalendar. We believe a day of oxis good luck for trading. Theanimist hill people have tochoose those days that are good luck on the calendar. For hunting, Chicken or Pig daysare good luck. For trading, wecan never choose a Dragon or Snake day. We also sacrificed achicken and checked whether it

was safe to go by the omens inthe chicken bones. All was fine,so we started our journey.

On the way we were stopped bymany dealers wanting to buy thetiger. Mostly they were agents of Chinese businesses. We stayed over night at two places on the

way. The news spread fast of our catch. Nine people from

Kengtung to Mongla came to find us and bargain.

When we were half way to Keng Larb, we met with a buyer whocame from the Lao side. This

guy was following us for twodays and gave the highest price- 700,000 Baht (US$20,000) for the skin and the bones that weighed just over 14 Viss (51 lbs.).

The ox owner had already spent 30,000 Baht (10,000 to themilitia leader in the village,1,500 to the headmen where we

stayed the night, 2,000 to 2military camps, and 16,500 for the trip (to pay helpers)). So hewas able to keep 670,000 Baht,but once he returned home heneeded to buy some ox tosacrifice in thanks at 8,000

Baht a piece.

SELLING A TIGERIn January 2009 LNDOinterviewed a helper of a tiger skin seller

Lahu hunters yesterday and todayLahu across China, Burma, Vietnam, Laos,and Thailand are very fond of hunting.Chinese call them La Hu, or tiger hunter.Shan call them Muser , meaning those whoare happy in the jungle like tigers. Burmesecall them La Hu Mote Sol , the hunter Lahu.

Lahus have handed down the skill of huntingfor generations. Traditionally every Saturdayis a day of hunting. On Saturdays everybodyis free from working; women go to catch fish,and men go to hunt. In the past hunting wasnot for a market but only for eating. Lahu area mountain people and mostly very poor. In a village there was no big merchants and it was

very hard to get meat or any food in the market. Therefore the meat of wild animals was for their survival.

However, nowadays, under the rule of the Burmese military, taxes and levies have become very heavy.Every household is seeking income to meet this burden. Some seek work logging or mining, othersbecome drug traffickers or cattle smugglers.

Similarly, Lahu are now hunting for money. These days in every village either the headman or an agent

of a Chinese boss keeps a certain amount of money with them to buy what the villagers can get fromthe forest, whether it is rare wild orchids, herbs, or animals, alive or dead. Sometimes a hunter can getadvance money easily since the cash is in the village. The incentive is very high for hunters that arealready skilled and knowledgeable.

Lahu hunting group in eastern Shan State (Nam Hen forest) April 1999


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Animal Product Amount Price

Leopard Skin and fullset of bones*

Bone 5-12Viss(18 - 43.2 lbs)

500,000 Baht(US$14,300) for 12 Viss

Pangolin Shell 1-10 tical(16.33 grams)

120 Baht(US$3.40) / tical

Bear Dried gallbladder

4-5 tical(14.4-18grams)

70,000 Baht(US$2,000) for 5tical

Otter (Small type -yellowishstomach)

Skin 8-24 inches 150 Yuan(US$22) /8 inches

Otter (Big type - whitestomach,

webbed feet)

Skin 8-40 inches 260 Yuan or 1,300 Baht(US$37)/

8 inchesTurtle Dried shell or

Alive1 Viss (3.6 lbs) 450 Baht

(US$13) / Viss

Small black treeants**

With nest 1 Viss (3.6 lbs) 60 Baht(US$1.75) / Viss

GOING PRICES in Keng Larb New buyers, new pricesInstead of Thai or western buyersthat used to frequent the marketsin Tachilek, the majority of buyersin Keng Larb are Chinese tradersbased in the town. They use Lahu hunters as contractors to catch orkill rare animals and gather forestproducts (see box Lahu Hunters).The Lahu sellers can get a betterprice for animals in Keng Larbthan in Tachilek, with the followinggoing rates (see table).

Losing the futureA recent study reported that 1,068species were newly identified byscientists between 1997 and 2007

in areas around the Mekong River.This reaffirms the Greater

Mekong s place on the world mapof conservation priorities saidStuart Chapman, the director of the World Wildlife Fund s GreaterMekong Programme when thereport was released in December2008. Yet, wildlife trading fromBurma over the past twenty yearshas threatened various species andnow several animals are becomingscarce. Some have alreadydisappeared.

TESTIMONY OFDISAPPEARING WILDLIFEInterview with a 71-year oldhunter from Keng LarbTownship, December 2008

I don t know how many kindsof wild animals are on the

Burma side along the Mekong. But so many times I watched onthe bank and saw deer, boar,

gaur and other migrating animals cross the water.

About 50 years ago a herd of 30to 50 elephants used to cross theriver from Muang Sing in Laosto Nam Yawn forest in Burma 2or 3 times a year. Later we never saw them. We knew a group of thirty used to pass through the

Loi Pha Lang mountain range

to Loi Na Kha yel of Mong Hai tract. But so often poachers

from Thailand and Burmahunted them for ivory and killed many. In 1990 I heard therewere only 13 left.

Fifteen years ago there weremany groups of gibbons in Loi

Maw Hta Lon forest. Now theyhave all disappeared because of logging and the noise of thechain saws.

Ten years ago I went to hunt in Loi Phakuton forest beyond thebank of the Mekong. I found a

pair of monkeys bigger thanbear with long yellow hair. I had never seen anything like thembefore in my hunting life. Later my son returned there several times but never saw any tracksof those monkeys. Maybe theymoved to the other side into

Lao s forests.

Today Chinese wildlife traders give various kinds of traps to

the local people to catch thewild animals. They have otter

traps, civet traps, bird nets,tiger poison, and tools for skinning too.

Lahu hunting could be lost completely. Now in just a short time we have a hard time finding turtles, otters, and bears. Tigersare scarce and pangolins arealmost gone.

Note: Currently there are an estimated 17elephants in Mong Lu forest (MonghsatTownship) where the Shan State Army-South bans elephant hunting. There are anestimated 31 elephants in Loi Pu Meungforest (Monghsat Township) whereUWSA-S bans hunting.

Fifteen years ago therewere many groups of

gibbons in Loi Maw

Hta Lon forest. Nowthey have alldisappeared...

* Dry skin and bones must be sold together ** Lahu have never heard of selling these ants before, it is a new product for the Chinese market


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Rubber ManiaScrambling to supply China, can ordinary farmers benefit?

Over the last decade, rubber treeshave been planted at anincreasingly accelerated rate inBurma. Along the roads on theChina-Burma border in KachinState one can see vast tracts of rubber. In Shan State, also, rubberis spreading in several townshipsin the southeast and north. China sinsatiable appetite for the materialalong with its decreasing available

land, are driving forces behind thischange. China and Burma sinterest in using rubber as a drugsubstitution crop to eradicateopium is another.

In eastern Shan State, incentivesfrom Chinese businessmen,together with forced plantings andlarge-scale plantations, allconstitute a fixation with rubber.However, the promise of rubbermay never pay off. First, due tothe nature of uncontrolledcommerce, investors have alreadybeen cheated with poor seeds,poor or fake budded seedlings, orunfair price offers in severalareas. A general lack of technicalexpertise and knowledge aboutrubber, together with the lack of fire control in Shan State, resultingin the loss of rubber trees, also

make long-term successquestionable. Finally, the feasibilityof drug eradication is doubtfulwhen rubber is often planted alongmain roads while opium cultivationcontinues unabated in moreinterior areas (see Drug Country).The test of rubber s success willcome in measuring the actualbenefits to ordinary farmers andvillagers, which so far do not add

up.The political situation in easternShan State has worsened during

the latter half of 2008, and iscurrently extremely unstable.Following the constitutionalreferendum carried out by theBurmese military regime in May2008, and the announcement thatelections will be held in 2010, theregime has been increasingpressure on the ceasefire armiesin Shan State to surrender theirweapons and join the election

process. Various ceasefire armies,including the 40,000 strong UnitedWa State Army (UWSA), haveremained mistrustful of the regimeand are refusing to disarm. Theregime has responded by

reinforcing its military basesaround the ceasefire territories.One armed clash between theUWSA and the regime s troopshas already taken place in early2009. Within this context, villagersare at the mercy of not only theruling military junta in Burma butvarious armed groups, all of whomare interested in rubber.

Rubber lures ceasefire groupsIn Wa-controlled areas, whereleaders are pressured to provethat they are not involved in opiumcultivation, rubber has becomequite popular as a drug substitution

BURNED DOWN: Landcleared for Hongyu rubber plantation in Tachilek

Township

(photo taken with video camera)


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crop to clear their name. This,together with a policy instituted bythe UWSA in 1993 that eachbrigade or division commandermust be self-sufficient, hascompelled Wa leaders to increasetrading and farming businesses.Rubber is especially popular asleaders feel it will reap enoughprofits to support their troops andsend some funds back to centralheadquarters. For example, ten

years ago UWSA leader Bao You Chang planted 100,000 rubberplants.

More recently, since August 2008,Takap, a southern commander in

the UWSA, has employed localvillagers to plant rubber seedlingson their own lands in the Lahu village of Peinsa in MonghsatTownship. He provides the rubberseedlings and pays 3 Thai Baht

per tree planted. Villagers mustmaintain the plantations andprotect the trees from fire andanimals. Takap has said that whenthe trees produce, he will give30% of the profits to thelandowner. This year the villagersare happy as they were able toearn 3 baht per tree. However, itwill take several years for thetrees to produce and there is nowritten guarantee of the benefitsharing arrangement.

The productivity of the rubber is a serious concern. Ten years agoLin Ming Xian, the commander of Special Region #4 in the northeastcorner of Shan State, ordered hisofficers to grow rubber along theborder roadsides from Mongla to

Ta ping, Mong Ma, and MongKha. Today some of those treesare producing well. But in early2008 Lin Ming Xian reassessedthe project after greatdisappointment in the overallproduction of the tress andpercentage of latex in the rubber.One of his assistants recalled thatat one meeting the commanderslammed his fists on the table and

yelled, All my good forest is gone, millions of money hasbeen lost, now what to do withthis useless rubber?

The frustration of Lin Ming Xianmay be shared by many otherhopeful rubber entrepreneurs if they are not careful about thequality of seedlings they plant.One rubber farmer across fromMongla in China explained To get

good latex you must have good quality stock from an old rubber tree. It is very important. Youshould take a bud from that oneand graft it; otherwise you will not have good production. InUWSA areas, some rich men arebuying their own plants for a goingprice of 2 Yuan each, but it s notclear if the buyers know wellabout the seedling quality.

Ruling military and Chinesepromote rubber

Villagers forced into rubber Rubber is not only expandingunder the purview of the Wa andother ceasefire armies, but alsounder the promotion of the rulingmilitary government in cooperationwith Chinese business interests inShan State. Starting in 2006,headmen in Keng Larb Township,which lies along the Mekong

River, informed villagers that anorder had come from the townshipfield commander. Farmers wereforbidden to cut forest in shifting

China s demand - Burma s answer China is the world s top rubber consumer,overtaking the United States in 2002.Although it is a substantial producer of rubber itself, China s demand is too highfor its domestic product, making it alsothe biggest importer of rubber in theworld. To meet its needs, China hasturned to its neighbors. It is the largestinvestor in agribusiness in Laos, withalmost all rubber production in Laosdriven by Chinese demand. Burma is also an attractive site of landand labor. Official statistics show Burma cultivated 302,000hectares of rubber in 2006; the Ministry of Agriculture andIrrigation is aiming to increase that by a further 100,000 hectaresin 2008. Burma currently consumes 15% of the rubber it produceswith the rest exported mainly to China, Malaysia and Singapore.

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cultivation for rice fields, but theycould cut to plant rubber. As ricefields were restricted, Akha andLahu villagers began sufferingfood shortages. Villagers in Pa Liao, Keng Larb, Mongkok, LoiTaw Kham, Mong Phong, andPhan Min tracts had no choice butto ask money from Chinesebusinessmen to plant rubber.These agents provided seedlingsand paid villagers 3 baht per treefor planting.

Villagers are hoping to receivesome share of the profits once therubber starts producing. The Akha in particular see rubber as a

potentially lucrative cash cropbecause they believe that theirAkha relatives in China have a better standard of living due torubber. However, no one knows if they can make any money beforethe rubber produces, which couldtake up to seven years. Onevillager from Keng Larb Townshipbitterly explained:

We have no chance to survivein spite of growing rubber for Chinese bosses. The militaryorders us do not cut one tree,but for rubber plantation, cut as much as you can. We don t have any money for food but wehave to wait 7 to 8 years to get benefit from rubber - it isimpossible for us.

The situation in Keng Larbdemonstrates how villagers facedifficulties in representingthemselves against outsideinterests seeking to manipulatepublic law for private gain. Verbalcontracts of long term leasing for

rubber production are in fact landgrabs with no guarantee of benefits, reducing villagers tolaborers for Chinese agents.Private interests are colluding withmilitary authorities, forcing villagersinto arrangements that have nolong term security and threatentheir natural resource base.

Armed groups scramble to invest In addition to rubber cultivation byindividual villagers, several Lahu militia groups have also startedplanting tracts of rubber inTachilek and Monghsat townships(see map). For example, west of Tachilek the militia chief Yeshelfrom Wan Pung (hot spring)village planted an estimated 1,000acres in 2007. The chiefs buyseedlings from Chinese traders at2-3 Yuan each in bundles of 20-30seedlings. They then use theirsoldiers and pay local villagers toplant the trees and clear theweeds once a year.

Burma Army military officers andterritory authorities with moneyare also scrambling to invest inrubber. As they rival with eachother to grow much more than theothers, nearby villagers are notspared the confiscation of theirlands.

Areas under rubber cultivation in Tachilek Townshipsurveyed by LNDO


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A retired Akha soldier fromTachilek Township had 20 acres of land that had been passed throughhis family for generations. Two

years ago he began growingmaezali trees ( Cassia siamea ) tosell for firewood. But before thetrees were big enough to cut, theLight Infantry Battalion 571 basedin Ta Lerh and a local militia groupconfiscated his land by force anddivided it up between them togrow rubber. He tried again andagain to get back the land butafter complaining several times hegot back just 2 acres. Thebattalion commander ordered himto replant rubber or another

vegetable on the two acres insteadof maezali trees. Unfortunatelythis case is not isolated. Heexplained: Many other villagerslands have been confiscated bymilitary, village, or townauthorities. They announce that the land must be developed for the country, and then they take it.

Hongyu PlantationsIndividual rubber plantings withvarying involvement of Chinesebusiness interests are coupled withlarge-scale plantations of onecompany in particular. The YunnanHongyu Group Company Ltd. hasintroduced rubber in Shan Stateunder the banner of opiumeradication and with license fromthe ruling military.

In 2004 Hongyu made an

agreement to plant 100,000hectares of rubber in Shan State(see box), and according to localresidents, in 2006 the companyreceived another license to grow5,000 acres of rubber in an area under the control of drug lord WeiHsueh Kang in Mong HsatTownship and 5,000 acres inTachilek Township. Villagers don tknow how much money the

authorities received from thecompany for this deal, just that thecompany paid the military toarrange land and labor for theplantations.

The Hongyu Group: Living up to its Global Compact pledge?

Projects will be executed on the principle of equality, mutual benefits, supplying each other s needs and mutual respect. - Ma Zhengshu, Chairman of the Yunnan Hongyu Group Co., Ltd., describinghis company s projects in Burma

Members of the three villages forcibly relocated for Hongyu rubberplantations in Tachilek Township (see article) may disagree with Ma Zhengshu s idea of mutual benefits. Local people have so far enduredunprecedented air pollution, land confiscation, forced labor, and forcedrelocation for the plantations. Nevertheless, Hongyu, a member of theUnited Nations Global Compact initiative on principled businesspractices, continues to work hand in hand with the military in Burma.

Established in February 1995 and located in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, the private enterprise began approaching Burmeseauthorities in 1998 supported and guided by the provincial [Yunnan]

government to develop drug substitution schemes in Burma. By 2004the Group had received acknowledgement from the United NationsOffice on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Yunnan Commission of

Narcotics Prohibition for its work.

According to a report submitted to the Yunnan Provincial NarcoticsControl Committee in 2004 by Hongyu, the company was to implement a project to build rubber plantations in Tachilek of Myanmar aimed atrelieving the shortage of rubber supply needed by China as well as theworld on the one hand, and reducing the opium poppy cultivated area onthe other. * The project will develop 100,000 hectares of rubberplantations during 2004-2014. Although the general narrative of thereport specifies Tachilek as the location of rubber plantations, thedetailed description of the project mentions Special Region No. 2 (WanHong District, in Mong Hsat Township).

It s not clear whether the area described in the article at left is part of a new agreement, as understood by local residents, or part of the largerproject described in the 2004 document. In either case, the complicity of the Hongyu Group in the abuses involved in establishing rubberplantations is clearly against the ten principles in the areas of humanrights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption that businesses areencouraged to follow and advocate as signatories of the United Nations

Global Compact.

Its 2006 annual report on the implementation of the Compact clearlystates that Hongyu Group prohibits any form of forced labor, and has a policy of a people-oriented and humanized work atmosphere. Thereport also notes that During the feasibility study stage of new projects,Hongyu Group puts priority in assessment of impacts on ecological andliving environment, and takes measures to reduce and even eliminatesuch impacts. While the Global Compact may accept Hongyu s self-definition of humanized work atmosphere, impact assessments, andmutual benefits, residents of Tachilek Township certainly wouldn t agree.

* Dedicating to Drug-crop Substitution Cultivation, Forging a Green Great Wall Project of Drug-crop Substitution Cultivation , 2004, available at http://english.ynjd.gov.cn/pubnews/doc/read/tdfz/906991389.117111478/index.asp


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The Tachilek project began inearnest in March 2007 when theTachilek Field Commander sentout the order that villagers were tocut and burn forest areasbelonging to 17 villages inpreparation for planting rubber.Every village lost some of theirlands.

A thick brown haze quicklyblanketed the region andunprecedented pollution levelswere registered as far away asthe northern Thai city of ChiangMai, 270 kilometers to the south.On the 10 th of March the fire inYangshin village whipped out of

control and two houses were burntto the ground. Two children (ages4 and 6) were killed when theirparents could not save them fromthe flames.

Orders also came down from theCommander demanding villagersto plant the seedlings, encouraging

volunteer labor for the country sdevelopment. Militia chiefs andvillage headmen rounded up thelaborers to fulfil the fieldcommander s order, givingvillagers 2.5 baht for each holedug and 2.5 baht per seedlingplanted.

Three months after the land-clearing began, the FieldCommander then forced three of the seventeen villages to move toPakook tract ten miles away to

make room for the plantations.They were Pha He, a village of 46households working in shifting ricefarms for generations, Ho Na, a village of 150 households growingbeans for their survival, and JiMai, a village of 35 householdsbreeding goats; all were Akha.

When the newcomers arrived inPakook with their farm animals,

the existing residents wereextremely unhappy with the newcompetition for land and conflictshave arisen. It is also difficult for

the newcomers to find enoughforest materials to make newshelters and homes. Withoutenough land for everyone and littleland to work, young Akha, bothboys and girls, are leaving for MaeSai to find work in Thailand.

Adding insult to injury

First biofuel trees, now rubber take over landsAs we reported in our last issue,the military junta has ordered theentire country to plant jatropha trees for biodiesel production. Inits report Biofuel by Decree , theEthnic Community Development

Forum documented how theprogram for biofuel is a fiasco,causing forced labor, loss of lands,and impacting food security.Meanwhile, failure of plantings iswidespread and facilities toprocess the oil are not adequate.

While the country is being coveredin jatropha (in 2006 General ThanShwe ordered 8 million acresplanted within three years), at thesame time Chinese businessmenhave licence to grow rubberacross large tracts of lands,converting vital grazing grounds,forests, and farming areas. Nativefarmers have fewer and fewerlands to grow their food crops.Without land the hill peoples haveno job and no future. One poppyfarmer from Monghsat lamented:

Poppy farming is good for us

but we don t know it makes theworld a problem. Now rubber

farms make us a bigger problem. Rubber takes our conservation forest and cleansout the fire wood; there is nowood to build a house and noland for our cattle grazing.

What benefit?Farmers in Burma s Mekong

region have been forciblyrelocated for rubber plantations,employed by armed groups toestablish tracts of rubber, and

coerced into planting rubberthemselves due to land userestrictions.

While some remain hopeful thatonce the rubber trees startproducing they will enjoysubstantial earnings, the lack of security for ordinary farmersremains a looming issue. Even inLaos, land has been granted toChinese investors withoutcompensation to villagers thatpreviously owned it. In Burma,where the country is run by themilitary and armed groups vie forcontrol, a guarantee of land rightsis more precarious.

The long-term environmentalimpact of rubber must also not beoverlooked. The clearance of forests, some of them communityconservation areas, for a mono-crop system, reduces naturalbiodiversity and eliminates vitalharvests of non-timber forestproducts that many villagers relyon. Erosion caused by rubberplantations has also been a concern.

The vitality of trees of varyingquality stock and the percentageof latex they can produce will becritical uncertainties to resolve inthe coming years. In the shortterm, however, the biggestquestion that remains is what willfarming families eat during theseven years before the rubber

actually starts to produce?


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Drug CountryAnother opium season in eastern Shan State sees increasedcultivation, mulitple cropping, and a new form of an old drug

If one looks at a geographical mapof Burma you will find a mountainrange of 5-8,000 feet running fromChina to Thailand, cutting througheastern Shan State. It is one of thefour main ranges in Burma, namedTaungwin Mountain Range.Historically Taungwin wasfamous as the range that

protected from the Chinesemerchants because it madetransportation difficult.

Green forests follow the line of the range all along the way. Someparts are thick jungle covering theravine, but some areas arecultivated. The land is excellentfor growing opium. The soil is sogood that land is passed downthrough generations in the same

family and never sold. It cannot bebought because it is priceless.

A peak of 8,694 feet at the China-Burma border is the starting pointof the range. Called Orlong Mountain, the Lahu Tubo (onegroup of Lahu animists) say it istheir Holy Land. The peaks then

roll steadily downward in a thinline west of Kengtung, fromMount Nabokha at 7,087 feet to5,330 feet, forming the Loi phemountain range.

The mountains rise again to Loi Sam Sao (7,810 feet) and afterKengtung, the range expands andwidens to include Ar Ma point(7,665 feet) west of Mongphyak.The range continues toward the

Thai border point of Doi Maekhalon (6,473 feet), crossesonto Thai soil and ends at Doi Tung , now a national park.

Every year all of these mountainsare blooming with poppy flowersdue to the excellent soil for poppy.And every year this green swath

of peaks never ceases to be a prime drug trafficking route.

Cultivation in 2007-08 seasonEach year LNDO surveys poppyfarms in seven townships of eastern Shan State (Kengtung,Mongping, Monghsat, Mongton,Mongphyak, Tachilek, andMongyawng). During the 2007-08season, field researchers notedmore poppy farms than in recent

years in these areas. Goodharvests were found in everyplace.

Decreases in prices for opiumreflected the increase in poppyproduction. From Mongping to theThai border (an area controlled bythe United Wa State Army orUWSA), the price of raw opiumduring April-July 2007 was fixed

at 25,000 Thai Baht (US$716) perkilogram. This represents a 15%decrease from the same period theprevious year, when one kilogramwas sold at 30,000 Baht. A villagerfrom Mongphyak Townshipdescribed how easy it is to findopium in the area: Nampang village has a market every 5days. You can buy as muchopium as you want at that

market.

The collection of taxes on opiumfarmers also seemed to go more

Main Drug Trafficking Route of Eastern Shan State


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Unusual poppy seasonUsually the poppy season begins in

November and the crop isharvested in January. Dependingon the local weather conditions,some places, such as MountMonghtalung and Nakhayel inTachilek Township, start inSeptember and harvest in

November. Mount Arma starts inOctober and Loi Sam Sao in

November. In some areas plantingcan take place twice per year.

Regardless of slight variations inplanting and harvesting times, thepoppy plant cannot withstand rain.If the rain falls within a week

after planting, all the seedlings die.So everyone is careful to wait untilthe rainy season has stopped. If itstops early, poppy cultivation canbegin earlier.

Formerly, poppy growing in thesummer months of March andApril was unheard of. However, inthe 2007-08 season LNDO fieldresearchers discovered poppiesflowering in Mongton andMonghsat townships in March.

A Palaung poppy farmer fromMongton said, We got some

good quality poppy seeds fromThailand. The seeds are not afraid of the rain and can grownot only on high mountains but also the lower lands.

An Akha poppy farmer fromMonghsat said, Since our ancestors time we have a lot of experience of how to grow

poppy. Today we can growanytime we wish, not only 1 or 2times per year. If we avoid thenormal poppy season maybe wecan evade the tax of theauthorities and the Burmesemilitary poppy cutting operations.

New form of drug Khatpong , or Kha khu in Kachinlanguage, is a kind of mixture of raw opium and banana leaves thathas been consumed for a long time

in Burma. Kachin say thatsmoking Kha khu protects frommalaria and relieves fever. Thestrength of the mixture and risk of addiction depends on theproportion of opium that is mixedwith the leaves.

Kha khu is made by firstlysplitting young banana leaves intosmall strings and drying them inhot ash. Pieces of opium (as bigas a thumb) are put in a cup or a pan, then water or weak alcohol isdropped in and the mixture isboiled on the fire. After a fewminutes, the dried roasted banana leaves are mixed in to the stickymixture, being careful not to burnthe leaves. The mixture iscontinually rolled over and over ina ball using long sharpenedchopsticks. Once ready the ball is

separated into smaller portionswhich can be smoked with a bamboo pipe.

Kha khu has always been madewith banana leaves. Recently,however, a new form is emerging,one that uses the stalks of thepennywort ( Hydrocotyle asiatica,a vine growing on the ground,called Myin khwa - horse s hoof -

in Burmese) plant instead of banana leaves. This mixture hasno smell and is very difficult tocheck.

smoothly in the 2007-8 season. Asusual, each house had to pay 2tical (32.66 grams) of opium to a local authority. (Depending on thearea, this could be a militia chief, a village headman, or a middle-man, all of whom then pass thetax to a local Burma Armybattalion or township authority). Incontrast to other years, however,there were no complaints,punishments, or token destructionof fields by regime authoritiesafter the tax collection. Somebelieve that since the regime wascarrying out its constitutionalreferendum in May 2008, theauthorities did not want any

disturbances or resistance and sorefrained from these activities.

Division of power Poppy farmers face restrictionsfrom local armed groups whenselling opium. These groups areauthorized by the military regimeto control certain areas and guardagainst resistance activities. Thefarmers must not deal with anybuyers other than those who havepermission from the armed groups.

There are three general areas of control in southeastern Shan State.Between Monghsat and MongPing (including such mountains asMonglin, Mong Kok, Pang Mu, LoiKha, Topang, Taseng, Winbo) iscontrolled by Eh Ngweh, a Lahu militia chief based in Ponako.

Those growing opium betweenMonghsat and Mongton (includingLoi Sang Kang, Loi Pa Hoo leng,Loi Phakan, Loi lem, Loi Ho Koo,Hopang, Hoyaw and Apuko) mustsell to buyers who have a permitfrom UWSA s 214 th Brigade.

All those in the area south of Mongton to the Thai border andMong Pulon southwest of

Mongping Township must sell tobuyers who have permission fromUWSA s 171st Brigade. The orderis that whoever goes against thissystem will be punished heavily.

A new form Kha Khu, made withopium and pennywort leaves, isnow a hot item in Thailand and southwest China


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The new Kha khu form is nowspreading into China and Thailand.In China s Yunnan province, it issimilar to the traditional smokingof tobacco with a bamboo pipe, soit is hard to know who is smokingit. In Thailand, one route for the

Kha khu is through Doi Angkhangfrom Nakawngmu of MongtonTownship, under the control of UWSA s 171st Brigade. Twograms sells for 80-100 baht andthe market is spreading. Thaiofficials are looking for the sourceand trafficking route of this newdrug.

However, only a few people

recognize the difference betweenthe old and new drugs. Lahu andAkha only know the name Khakhu to refer to the old drug, whichis famous as herbal medicine.People say it is good for health,long life, and sweet dreams.

Failure of drug eradicationeffortsOver the last four decadesBurmese military dictators havecontinuously proclaimed that theyare eradicating opium. Newsabout the destruction of poppyfields, the detention of drugtraffickers, or drug-relatedcriminals being sentenced to jailterms, are recorded in annualgovernment reports and broadcastin government-controlled media.Every year Burmese authoritiesburn purportedly seized illicit

drugs, including opium, in front of journalists and foreign dignitaries.

The United Nations and otherinternational organizations havespent hundreds of millions of dollars on opium eradicationprojects in Burma. Developmentprojects for locals, includingeducation, health, agriculture,livestock breeding, etc., were

arranged and implemented. TheWorld Food Program has beensupplying rice to former poppygrowers for five years. Drug

Division of Power: Control of the opium market 2007-2008

Opium cultivation 2007-2008 over previous season


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eradication programs have beentried again and again but after 35

years there is no progress. TodayBurma is still the second largestopium producer in the world afterAfghanistan.

Although some areas controlled byethnic cease-fire groups, such asSpecial Region 1 (Kokang),Special Region 2 (UWSA) andSpecial Region 4 (Mongla) have

been declared opium-free zones,opium production is still increasingevery year over the whole ShanState. According to UNODC sannual opium surveys, during the

year 2005-06 opium productionseemed to decrease slightly, but itincreased 3% in 2007-08. Thatmeans that even according to theUN s own agency, internationalefforts to eradicate opium inBurma have not had positiveresults.

Within the so-called opium-freezones, cultivation of opium alsocontinues. In 1997General Khin

Nyunt declared that there was nomore poppy in Special Region 4,controlled by Lin Ming Xian, butpoppy is still cultivated along NamLwe creek in this area. UNODCalso calls Special Region 4 a drug

free area. Opium and heroin arenot the only drug menace comingout of Burma s Mekong region.

Even in areas where there is littleor no opium, the threat of otherdrugs looms large. A passengerfrom Mong Mao in the UWSAcontrolled area said Now at our

place there are no poppy plantsbut still opium dealers. Mostlythere are too many amphetaminedealers and so many addicts.

Drugs are obviously not just a

problem in these areas or inBurma alone. On November 11,2008, two drug traffickers fromTaiwan were arrested in Phuket,Thailand in a heroin mega-bustthat uncovered a web of drugtransfers. Heroin from the GoldenTriangle was being carried throughThailand for distribution to Taiwan,Hong Kong, China and othercountries in the region. An LNDOfield researcher found that during

November 2008 the price of heroin was 400,000 Thai Baht perkilo in the Monghtalang area of Tachilek Township.

Why no progress?The ruling military clique has beenrelying on drug money to runbusinesses and stay in power.While the junta proclaims successin eradicating opium in order toreceive international assistance, atthe same time infamous drugkingpins such as Lo Hsing-han,Lin Ming Xian, and Wei Hsiao-kang are living luxuriously underthe full protection of the junta.Banks that were established bydrug warlords with drug moneyare used to finance roadconstruction and otherinfrastructure projects of themilitary elite and their associated

businesses. Drug lord Wei Hsueh-kang and his comrades control theHong Pang group of companies,which are involved in jewelry andgems, communications, electricalgoods, agriculture, mining, textilesand large construction projects.

News of drug seizures is oftenprinted in Burmese newspapers,but the sum of these seizures is a small percentage compared withthe magnitude of drugs handled bythe junta s accomplices. Arrestsare simply the result of disputes in

sharing benefits with authoritiesand those with high-rankingconnections inevitably avoidprosecution. In May 2008 AungZaw Ye Myint, the son of Lieutenant General Ye Myint (a member of the State Peace andDevelopment Council) wasaccused of drug dealing and bothhe and his father were put underhouse arrest. The General s wifethen threatened that if her son and

husband were prosecuted, shewould reveal the names of othergenerals involved in drug dealing.Since then the case has notproceeded.

Pawns sacrificed after accidental drug bust - big fish

still on the runSai Naw Kham, a militia chief formerly belonging to the MongTai Army (MTA), operated as a prominent drug lord based inTachilek after the MTAsurrendered to the Burma Army in1996. His grand house stood closeto the city hall and only 100meters from the local militaryintelligence office. On 26 June2006, the SPDC authorities werepreparing to hold drug destructionceremonies at the city hall.Embarrassingly, when special

police were checking security forthe ceremony they discovered a pill-producing machine togetherwith 600,000 methamphetaminepills, 80 kilograms of heroin, 2million Thai Baht, 800,000 USDollars, and 9 Viss of goldornaments in Sai Naw Kham sbuilding.

Sai Naw Kham immediately fledto Laos where he lived freely untila shoot-out on the Mekong inFebruary 2009 (see Late Addition).

Without democratic change there is no solution to the drug problem.Democracy, development and an end to the flow of narcotics are all

linked. - Khuensai Jaiyen, Shan Herald News Agency


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A source working closely to the Naw Kham told a headman of one

Mekong village, We supported every battalion commander, field commander and militaryintelligence officer of Tachilek with at least 2 million baht (US$57,000) per month, or asmuch as they requested, for ten

years. We had many friendsboth in Senior General ThanShwe s gang and in Senior General Maung Aye s gang. But after General Khyin Nyunt wasousted in 2004 many armyofficers rivaled for position.This led to our downfall.

Several smaller fish who wereworking in Sai Naw Kham s webof drug production and traffickingdid not fare as well as their boss.Marku, a Lahu militia chief fromTachilek, was imprisoned after themilitary seized 300,000

amphetamine pills, and 14 gunswithout license from his property.His wife says Marku gave at least100,000 Thai Baht (US$2,860) toTachilek Burma Army battalionsper month, that the unlicensedguns belonged to militaryintelligence of Tachilek, and thathe collected tax for Sai NawKham from drug traffickers andcattle smugglers passing throughtheir area. She doesn t understandwhy only her husband has beenprosecuted when everyone wasinvolved in the same business. She

Secretary (1) Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt addressing the opening ceremony of a museumcommemorating the declarationof drug free zone in Mongla on22 April 1997

Despite declarations of less production, 261 bars of heroin from the Golden Triangleconfiscated from a drug gang in

Phuket, Thailand in November 2008

and her four children are nowliving in impoverished conditions.

Yaw Na, a Lahu militia chief fromMonghai tract of Tachilekcollected significant taxes alongthe main route of drug traffickingand cattle smuggling from Mongla to the Mekong river bank and hadclose links with military officers.His income generation abilitiesgained him favor with the topGenerals and he was selected tobe a Lahu delegate at the 2005

National Convention. However hewas addicted to opium and diedduring the convention in Rangoonon March 3 rd , 2005. Others havealso succumbed to this fate.

Late Addition:According to several reports, onFebruary 18 a Chinese cargo boatwas stopped on the Mekong by

Naw Kham s gang and was thenfired upon by a Burma Army

patrol, resulting in the death of oneChinese crewman. The Burma Army is denying that they are atfault and are blaming Naw Kham.A four-nation manhunt is nowunderway for Naw Kham but heremains at large. At the time of publication 350 kilograms of heroinand 217 million Thai Baht (US$ 6million) had already been seized.Until this shoot-out, he had beenone of the most successful druglords in the Golden Triangle due tohis ability to pay off so manylevels of authority.

Opium-free: Possible withoutdictatorship

Thirty years ago Doi Tung mountainrange in northern Thailand, wheremany Lahu and Akha live, had plentyof poppy farms. After years of developing alternatives for thevillagers, one Lahu farmer testifiesthat life is better.

Kya Kaw, age 78, is the oldestmember of Hoe Nam Rim village.In the past he stayed at Doi AngKhang on the Thai border and wasa poppy farmer. He also worked ina heroin factory of a Kuomintang(Taiwan Chinese) camp. He says:

In 1995 when druglord Khun Saand Wa troops were fighting at my

place I fled into Thailand. My group and another Shenlen Lahu from Mae Suan Township cametogether and set up a village here.Twenty years ago it was the best soil for poppy in Thailand. When

I arrived I grew poppy for a year it was very good but I became anaddict.

In this hillside we are 4 Shenlen Lahu villages. We have never been forced to relocate and never been forced to porter like in

Burma. Now we have no more poppy and every villager is growing flowers. We can sell asmuch as we produce. Somebecome richer and richer and have a prosperous life.


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M e k o n g R

i v e r

L a n c a n g

J i a n g

completed

Eight large dams onthe mainstreamMekong River inChina have createdmuch controversyamong downstreamcountries . China has so farcompleted three of the dams -Manwan in 1993, Dachaoshan in2002 and Jinghong in June of 2008.Many blamed unprecedentedfloods in August 2008 on the dams

(see Washed Out).

Nuozhadu Dam is the largest of the dams in terms of totalgenerating capacity, at 5,850 MW.Once completed it will be one of the tallest dams in the world.Construction on the 258 meter-high structure began in 2006.LNDO visited Nuozhadu in 2007.The following photos are from thattrip.

Dam Expectedcompletion

MW

Gongguoqiao 2008 750Xiaowan 2013 4200Manwan 1996 1500Dachaoshan 2003 1350Nuozhadu 2017 5850Jinghong 2010 1750Ganlanba n/a 150Mengsong n/a 600

NOUZHADU DAM:The construction site in 2007

Construction steams ahead


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In 2007 there were 30,000 workers at the Nouzhadusite. This was expected toreach 50,000 in 2009.Rows of buildings (picturedbelow) were in place for

worker accomodation.

According to an officer atthe site, Huaneng Power International Ltd., thecompany managingconstruction, wants to finishthe project before theexpected completion dateof 2017.


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An update on mining operations springing up across Shan State

Mining operations have beenspringing up across Shan State inthe past few years, as interest bytop officials has spurred onbusiness deals and exploration.Part of this is due to Lieutenant-General Kyaw Win, who was a field commander in southeasternShan State for a long time beforebeing transferred to Kachin State.He is now a member of the State

Peace and Development Councilunder the Ministry of Defense andhas overseen several miningoperations in Shan State. Thefollowing is an update on new andexisting mine fields.

Coal mines on the rise

New discovery in Mongphyak A new coal seam was discoveredin early 2008 in the area of SaiKhao Village, MongphyakTownship (southeast Shan State).A Chinese company is working themine in cooperation with the sonof Lieutenant-General Kyaw Winand Sa Hin, the son of notoriousdrug lord Khun Sa. Each day themine is producing 3 trucks (up to20 tons) and the coal istransported through Mong La toChina. They have an arrangement

to transport 100 tons per day in2009. Local people are concernedthat they may have to relocate asthe operations expand.

Unexplainable delays in Kengtung It looks as if full-scale operationsat the coal mine outside of Kengtung that we reported on inour last issue (see story

Unhindered Prospects ) havebeen delayed. No one knows whythe Thai company that had beenoperating at the mine is nowabsent. However, a Chinese boss

gang has been digging at the sitewith the permission of some troopsat a military outpost there. Everynight 2-3 trucks are taken out. Thefive villages that were ordered tomove out of the area in April 2006have not been allowed to returndespite relative inactivity at themine. Four additional villages thatreceived an order that they wouldhave to move in 2009 are waiting

anxiously to see what will happen.

Increased production near Chinaborder Three coal mines located inSpecial Region #4 which used toeach produce 80 tons per dayincreased production to 100 tonsper day in 2008.

Coal destined for Thailand putsvillagers on edgeThe Saraburi Coal Company fromThailand has been given a concession to operate a coal minenear Mongkhok in MonghsatTownship. Mongkhok consists of a group of villages on the Kok Riverabout 40 kilometers north of theThai border.

Ai Kyai is the Lahu militia chief that used to control the area, but

over the years Burmese militarytroops have increased. Todaythere are three battalions of roughly 200 soldiers each based inthe area under a tacticalcommander.

Coal from Mongkhok was to fulfilla US$500 million contract thatSaraburi had to supply theElectricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). In 2007 Thaigeologists surveyed the mine field,leaving markers at the site.

Digging for riches

In December 2008 the Thaicompany marked the road for 60miles from Baan Thoed Thai onthe Thai side through the border toMongkhok and Thai workers couldbe seen in the area. Howeverreports have emerged of resistance to the road constructionon the Thai side due to securityconcerns and the route passingthrough a national park.

Regardless, one Burma Armybattalion based at the mine field iscurrently in the process of movingthree kilometers away so thatoperations can begin. In January2009, nearby Shan, Akha andLahu villages were forced to workin dismantling, moving, andreconstructing the battalion scamp.

Nine villages totalling an estimated600 people surround the mine siteitself and will have to move out.

In addition to relocation, given themine s proximity to the Nam KokRiver, pollution and runoff fromthe mine are also of concern. Noone knows for certain how fardownstream those impacts will befelt.

Zinc mine leads to forced labor1-200 hundred Lahu, Shan, Lisu,and Palaung villagers are beingforced to work on a new roadlinking a zinc mine to the mainroad from Mongping to Takaw.Some of the villagers have to walkone day by foot to reach theconstruction site. Each group of workers has to stay for 5 daysbefore they can go back andanother group comes in rotation. Abattalion based in Mongping isoverseeing the road construction


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The mine is located south of SenMao village and exploration isunderway by the Ministry of Mines. They are hoping to beginproduction in 2009. The Ministryhas invited the UWSA-South anda Chinese company to invest in theproject but until now the Wa arenot interested.

New antimony mine fieldWork was started on a newantimony mine at the confluenceof the Nam Hing and Khok creeksin December 2008. General KyawWin s son, Khun Sa s son Sa Hin,Chinese, Thai and Lao business-men have all invested in the

project. An estimated 80 houses inthe Shan village Mong Inn closeby and some small Lahu Kualaovillages in the surrounding area may be impacted. Mong Inn is1,000 years old and known forhaving good farm lands and manyfruit gardens.

High-security minesA mining area reported on inUndercurrents 2 as having eitherlead, silver or gold is now believedto hold platinum. Ten miles fromMonghsat and between theconfluence of the Maekeng andKhok creeks, the mine is under thecontrol of UWSA s Brigade 214who keeps strict security of thearea.

There are two main blocks of 3square miles each. One is

operated by Wa cooperating withChinese, Thai, and Lao investors.The other block is run by Lahu from the only two villages in thetriangle between the two rivers.Anyone who enters into either 3-mile block without prior permissionis shot on the spot by Wa soldierskeeping security. Many Lahu menhave already died after encroach-ing into the block areas without

knowledge. Lahu in the twonearby villages have starteddigging their own rice fieldslooking for platinum.

Workers at the Wa-run block arestrictly checked and must beregistered. They are Wa soldiersand Lahu from the nearby villages,together with a few Chinese andLao workers. Miners get 2,500Thai Baht (US$71) per kg of material.Workers from the Lahu block sometimes borrow machinesfrom Chinese at the Wa block toblast rock.

Work has been ongoing since 2003with investment from Wa leaders,

Chinese, Thai and Lao business-men. Even some Japanese havecome in. Agents for thesebusinesses stay in the Wa headquarters after getting a permitfrom Wa leaders. Businessmenhave to pay a percentage of theirprofits both to the UWSA and toSPDC authorities.

Manganese mining halted in

the northIn our last issue of Undercurrents ,we reported on a manganese mineunder operation in Special Region

Mine Areas in Eastern Shan State 2008

#4 near the Chinese border. Themine produced an estimated34,000 tons of rock per year inboth 2004 and 2005 and wasclosing in on the villages of WanSaw and Wan Pha. After thepublication of Undercurrents ,mining at the site was stopped inearly 2007. Today the trucks havedisappeared and piles of rock sitidle.

Illegal Chinese miners crossby day in Special Region #4

Today many small groups of Chinese miners are crossing theborder daily to search the earthfor whatever metal or gem mayearn them some money. PoorChinese villagers come in groupsof 2-5 and dig or pan all daybefore walking half an hour acrossthe mountain back to buyerswaiting on the China side. Eachcan earn 80-200 Yuan (US$12-29)

per day.LNDO interviewed illegal mineworkers near the old manganese

cannot place - map name is NewMine ESS-so


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site who said they were able tofind xin, wu, and mu. They did notwrite down these names inChinese characters, but thesecould be zinc, tungsten, andmolybdenum. The miners knowwhat they are looking for and howto find it, so they may have hadsome experience in themanganese mine or in other mines.LNDO was unable to getinformation from the China sidebut it is possible that there is a

factory in Jinhong where buyersbring the metals.

Gem seeking for ChineseagentsA pattern that has gone on for thepast two years expanded andincreased in 2008. Chinesebusinessmen have been enlistingLahu villagers to seek out preciousstones and potential mine sitesthroughout eastern Shan State.According to information from

Lahu villages in Ta Lerh,Kengtung, Mongpin, Monghsat,Tachilek and Mongphyaktownships, businessmen that canspeak fluent Lahu and havepermission to travel freely havebeen instructing village headmenthat villagers should look for andcollect precious stones in localstreams.

Agents sometimes stay in thevillage, examine the lootthemselves, and pay according totheir own assessment of theworth. They ask the collectorwhere the gems were found inorder to further investigate

potentially lucrative sites. If anyarea seems to have potential as a substantial mine site, the agent willinform a bigger boss.

In other cases, money is given inadvance to the village headman ora village-based dealer, who is tokeep the stones until an agentreturns, upon which timeappropriate reimbursement will bedoled out. This system is similar tothat set up for wildlife purchases(see Mekong Biodiversity Up forSale). In the case of wildlife,prices are fixed in advance, butfor stones, an agent must assessthe worth before payment is made.

An illegal Chinese worker pans for wu just a short distance fromthe China border. Lahu villagers have been solicited to pan for gemsin local streams like this across eastern Shan State

Piles of rock from thenow idle manganese mineblock the road at WanSaw village, May 2008


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Documents

Undercurrents Issue 3