Perhaps it isn’t the accurate title, because a lot of things happened during the last year that – drugwise – began on 26 June 2012, notably:

• More poppy fields were seen most of which failed to yield much
• More synthetic drugs were seized but a lot more were produced and traded

Drugs seized recently were burned by the Restoration Council of Shan State / Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA) on Sunday, 7 April, on the Sino-Burmese border township of Namkham, according to the SSA South, as the RCSS/SSA is commonly known.

Related to the fatal shooting incident between Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 331 commander and his deputy Tachilek, the commander of the city’s operations command has been called to Kengtung by the Triangle Region Command for further interrogation, said news sources close to Tatmadaw.

By KP, unedited

The SHAN has already reported (in Shan and Burmese) about the shooting incident took place in the Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 331 Burma army based in Tachileik. Toward the end of February there occurred a rare incident shooting in the Burma army military compound in Tachileik, Shan State, opposite Mae Sai, Thailand. According to the local sources who are familiar with the Burma army circle, the incident was related to methamphetamines ceased from drug dealers in which disputes occurred in unequal sharing among the top military elites.

Speaking on the 4th day of the 6th session of the Amyotha Hluttaw (National Assembly), Kachin State Constituency # 1 MP Khet Hting Nan laid the blame for the country’s being on the top opium producers list to internal discord since Independence in 1948, reported Hot News, 14-20 March issue.

On 7 March, SHAN had the honor to meet and interview Mr Jason Eligh, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC)’s country manager for the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, during his visit to Chiangmai.

Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF)’s latest report has accused both police and military authorities of “making money out of the (drug) issues, instead of trying to address them” and violating human rights in the process.

Convicted ‘godfather’ of Mekong Naw Kham still has a chance, though slim, of escaping a death sentence, according to sources on the border.

He had withdrawn his guilty plea in court on 20 December after being sentenced for the murder of 13 sailors on the Mekong on 5 October 2011.