In the first piece, the Transnational Institute says 'others' criticise Patjasan for human rights violations but does not say whether TNI condemns or supports beatings of drug users. Does TNI take a stand on this?
Let's see if I have got the second article right. The CSO Forum supports nonviolent activities by Patjasan. Does Patjasan conduct any nonviolent activities? Where is the CSO statement posted online?
Jamie
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People’s War on Drugs in Kachin State: Indication of Failed Policies
TNI
21 March 2016
The creation of Pat Jasan and its ‘people’s war on drugs' have brought to light a number of key drug-related problems facing not only the Kachin State but also the rest of the country. Praised by some Kachin activists for finally addressing drug problems, they are also criticized by others for violating human rights and not providing any services to marginalized communities, including drug users and poppy farmers.
Communities in the Kachin State have launched a ‘people’s war on drugs’. Known as Pat Jasan (‘Prohibit Clear’), a new organisation was formed two years ago to combat the worsening drug problem among the local population. The self-appointed committee decided to take law enforcement into their own hands as they feel the government is not doing enough to stop the flow of harmful drugs into their communities.
The Pat Jasan vigilantes, often dressed in military-style uniforms and armed with stick and batons, have arrested and beaten drug users and put them into forced treatment camps, and they have sent teams into opium-growing areas to eradicate poppy fields. The Pat Jasan has been praised by some Kachin activists for finally addressing drug problems, but criticized by others for violating human rights and not providing any services to marginalized communities, including drug users and poppy farmers. Most recently, their poppy eradication efforts led to open conflict with opium farmers and local militia groups.
The creation of Pat Jasan and its war on drugs have brought to light a number of key drug-related problems facing not only the Kachin State but also the rest of the country.
First, there are widespread and serious drug-related problems in Myanmar. Problematic drug use has been reportedly rampant for at least two decades, and there is little evidence to suggest that the situation is improving. Some areas in the country, especially Kachin and northern Shan States, are facing a heroin epidemic, with devastating consequences for local communities. Injecting heroin use is one of the main drivers of the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country, and HIV prevalence among injecting drug users in the Kachin State is, according to statistics released yearly by the Myanmar Ministry of Health, among the highest in the country and in South-East Asia. Scores of young people die prematurely every year of drug use problems, including overdoses, although reliable data does not exist. Problems caused by drug addiction within families and communities have never been more acutely felt. According to a representative of a Kachin civil society organisation: “More Kachin people have died of drug-related problems than because of armed conflict."
Second, current policies to address these problems are clearly failing. The response by the central government and local authorities to this tragedy is very inadequate. The current legal framework focuses on arresting and criminalizing drug users. Arrests conducted by law enforcement agencies mostly target drug users or small-scale dealers. In contrast, very few major traffickers, corrupt officials or militia leaders involved in the drug trade are ever prosecuted. As a result, a very large part of the prison population in Myanmar, especially in northern regions, consists of drug users.
Drug treatment facilities, too, are largely insufficient. There are only two public hospitals offering drug detoxification services for the entire Kachin State – in Myitkyina and Bamaw, and not a single government-run rehabilitation centre is operational at present. Overall, the weakness of the national response starkly contrasts with the enormous show of opportunism and business priority that are deployed to exploit the rich natural resources of the Kachin state, including jade, timber and gold.
Third, there are many links between drugs and the continuing conflict in the country. After decades of civil war, many conflict actors rely on the drug trade to finance their armies and operations. Corruption is a big problem in Myanmar, and many representatives of government agencies and the Tatmadaw also profit from the drug trade. In consequence, drug producers and traffickers appear to have been given a free hand by the authorities.
Myanmar government officials privately admit that several Tatmadaw-supported militias are heavily involved in amphetamine and heroin production and trade. However, their relationship with the Tatmadaw, whose priority is security and not drugs, makes these militia groups untouchable. Many of these militias have no other political objectives than to maintain the status quo and continue with their businesses. Some of their leaders have even been elected into parliament in the 2010 and 2015 general elections.
At the same time, there has been a tendency to blame ethnic armed opposition groups for the drugs trade, some of which have strong anti-narcotics policies and who are calling for federal reform, based on democratic principles, to resolve the country’s social and political problems. This marginalization of those calling for reform has greatly frustrated local communities and raised serious questions about the sincerity of central governments to address the country’s drug problems, listen to ethnic nationality grievances and aspirations, and achieve a sustainable peace.
Against this backdrop of failure, communities in the Kachin State have decided to take things into their own hands. Initiated by members of the Kachin Baptist Convention, the Pat Jasan was set up. But the movement has rapidly gained momentum and is now gathering support way beyond its KBC start. Its popularity is the result of long-time accumulated frustration and anger endured by communities living in the Kachin State over neglect and ineffective drug policies.
Supporters of the Pat Jasan movement are happy that finally someone is taking action against the drug problem in the Kachin State. However, without addressing the root causes of problematic drug use, production and trafficking in the Kachin State and country as a whole, the problem is unlikely to go away. Blaming and targeting the weakest links in the drug trade – marginalised drug users and opium farmers – is also problematic as these people need social support rather than punishment. It will not solve the underlying crisis. Punishing them will only push them into further misery and poverty. Instead, it is time that the government and other concerned actors start targeting those really controlling and profiting from the trade: i.e., the larger traffickers and those who support them.
In the field, the problems do not end here. In recent months, the militant activities of Pat Jasan have risked creating new conflicts among the local population. In particular, Shan communities in the Kachin State have complained that the arrest of members of their community by ethnic Kachin Pat Jasan members, and sometimes handing them over to the armed opposition Kachin Independence Organisation, is feeding into existing tensions between Shan and Kachin communities. At this critical period in the country’s history, this is a very sensitive issue that needs to be handled carefully. As Myanmar’s political transition continues, it is important to promote peace and inclusion rather than aggravating community grievances and conflicts.
In summary, among the many challenges facing the country today, it is now vital to acknowledge the magnitude of the drug use epidemic in the Kachin State and other northern regions, and to develop a set of policies that will match the severity of problems caused by drug use and production. To be successful, such policies should be made in consultation with affected communities, who include drug users themselves and impoverished poppy-farmers growing opium as a means to survive.
A real debate also needs to be held around the different strategies that can be adopted to tackle the detrimental problems caused by drug use and production. After decades of the international ‘war on drugs’, a growing number of countries are moving away from this one-dimensional approach and are recognizing that strategies merely based on repression have actually failed to produce results and only made matters worse. Most recently, the United States of America, which has long led this international endeavour, has begun considering different approaches to drug control because of this history of failure. Therefore, as international strategies change, the question is whether another ‘war on drugs’ in the Kachin State, launched out of frustration, is really the best option.
The encouraging news is that there are alternative methods that have proved effective in addressing the most serious problems caused by drug use and production. Many countries have already introduced them with success, and there are many experiences and materials available that can be learned from. In general, such policies consist of placing the focus of interventions on supporting the most vulnerable – the drug users and small-scale impoverished farmers – rather than punishing them, while police and judicial efforts are re-directed on dealing with major drug-related offences.
Based upon these experiences, what will be needed at the community level in Myanmar in the coming years is the provision of effective treatment and services for drugs users in different parts of the country, which are voluntary, based on needs and respect human rights. Similarly, as most opium-cultivating communities grow poppy as a livelihood strategy, the development of their communities should be prioritized rather than arresting individuals and destroying their livelihoods.
In short, the drug crisis in the Kachin State is an urgent warning of the failures of anti-narcotic policies in the past and a wake-up call for inclusive, informed and reflective actions that are in partnership with the local peoples in the future.
This commentary is part of a project funded by Sweden.
https://www.tni.org/en/article/peoples-war-on-drugs-in-kachin-state-indication-of-failed-policies
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Pat Ja San: A controversial mission
Yola Verbruggen
Myanmar Times
Monday, 21 March 2016
A Group of sickle-wielding vigilantes made its way through Myanmar’s northern Kachin State in January and February, clearing poppy fields nearly ready to be harvested in a quest to end production of the illicit drug. The mission turned farmers whose livelihoods were being cut down into angry and, at times, armed adversaries.
Pat Ja San’s anti-drug campaign refocused attention on a problem that has long plagued Myanmar, the second-largest producer of raw opium in the world. Though opium production in Kachin State was estimated to have decreased by 17 percent last year – from roughly 5100 hectares in 2014 to 4200ha in 2015 – it still accounts for 7.6pc of the nationwide total, according to numbers from the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime.
“Each Kachin family has a problem with opium. They get angry about opium. Their families are broken and many young people have HIV,” said Reverend Samson Hkalam, general secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention, which backs Pat Ja San.
In 1999, the government of Myanmar committed to a 15-year plan to eliminate illicit crop production, but the deadline has since been extended to 2019. The consequence of this plan, according to experts, is a repressive opium eradication policy which landed many small-time drug offenders in jail and saw swathes of poppy fields eradicated. But the problem remained.
The futility of these policies is most visible when the monsoon rains recede and opium poppy blossoms in the green hills of Kachin, Shan, Chin and Kayah states. With few other means of survival, the poppy farmers continue to replant their crop despite the threat of destruction.
“[The farmers’] investment is probably not from their own savings but from loans. When you eradicate more you push the farmers to grow more because they need to compensate [for their losses],” said Sai Lone, a representative of the Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum.
The farmers pay a high price. Farmers cultivate opium in mountainous areas where not many other crops will grow, or at least can’t compete with the income generated by poppy. According to a 2012 UNODC survey, the average yield of dry opium per hectare is about 19 times that of rice in mountain areas.
“The large majority of opium farmers are not rich and grow it for their survival. Therefore, they should not be treated as criminals,” Myanmar opium farmers said in a statement released in September last year.
Many opium-growing communities face huge challenges, particularly from drug addiction, which often tears families apart. There is a lack of rehabilitation options and counselling for drug users and limited healthcare to deal with consequences of the addiction, like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.
The volunteer drug eradicators of Pat Ja San – which loosely means “fighting against drugs” in Kachin – have become notorious for military-inspired tactics used against drug addicts. The group faced heavy criticism last year when a video was circulated on social media showing alleged members flogging addicts to deter them from using.
But the group’s current eradication campaign has gained widespread local support, including from civil society groups. “We commend and support community-led anti-drugs campaign (Pat Jasan) in Kachin and Shan State as their non-violent measure is decent and targeting the common enemy of mankind conscientiously where State failed to take effective measures,” according to a recent CSO statement.
Equality Myanmar, led by human rights activist U Aung Myo Min, was one of the over 200 organisations that are part of the CSO Forum that issued the statement. U Aung Myo Min told The Myanmar Times that even though he supported Pat Ja San’s goal to eradicate opium, he did not support all the means they use to achieve it. “We cannot tolerate it, despite their noble goal,” he said.
He said that the statement included a clause that explained the CSOs’ position on the issue of human rights. “We recommend Pat Ja San leaders and concerned community leaders refrain from the harmful act/activities vigilantly and strongly encourage developing strategic leadership and direction,” the groups said in the statement.
Experts say that Pat Ja San’s approach will disproportionally harm farmers. “UNODC does not support eradication without alternative development for the farmers,” said Troels Vester, country manager for UNODC Myanmar.
“There is still much work to be done to address the underlying causes of illicit cultivation. Sustainable results in reducing illicit cultivation can only be achieved when the socio-economic conditions of communities and the livelihoods of rural households have been improved,” Mr Vester said.
Sai Lone of the Myanmar Opium Farmers’ Forum warned that a crackdown on opium could also lead to an increase in the production of amphetamines. A 2009 report by the Transnational Institute refers to this phenomenon as “displacement”, “when the campaign against one drug leads to the rise of an equally or perhaps even more dangerous substitute”.
“They target farmers and lose sight of the whole picture. Lots of people are involved and the problem is not just opium. Over 30 years of eradication did not work,” Sai Lone said.
But previous opium-replacement programs in Myanmar, undertaken by international organisations and China, have also failed to take hold.
Kachin State’s opium farmers were impoverished under China’s 2006 Opium Replacement Fund, which encouraged monocrop cultivation of mainly rubber, according to a 2012 TNI report, which describes it as “morphing what was once known as the ‘Golden Triangle’ into a ‘rubber belt’”. It said the program risked further marginalising opium-growing communities because profits ended up in the pockets of Chinese businesses, not with the farmers.
Some Kachin maintain that – for the moment, at least – Pat Ja San is the community’s best hope, because the government does not do anything to stop the drug trade and its impact on communities, while the authorities are involved in the trade themselves.
“This group did not come up out of nothing. They have been trying to do all these things by legal means but, if you go to the police, they are selling it themselves,” said a Kachin community leader who asked not to be identified.
A week-long stand-off in January between the vigilantes and the authorities, who had first provided the group with protection and then refused to let them continue, only increased rumours about officials’ involvement in the trade.
The case of Pat Ja San ended up in parliament in February, with an urgent proposal to support the anti-narcotics campaigners approved with an overwhelming number of votes.
Later that month, the Kachin vigilantes – while under government protection – were attacked with stones and, reportedly, guns and grenades. Dozens of Pat Ja San volunteers were injured. The Christian anti-drug squad alleged their attackers were members of a pyithu sit, or People’s Militia Force, and the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), an ethnic armed group that became a Border Guard Force in 2009.
According to Rev Hkalam, land near the Chinese border that is controlled by the NDA-K is rented out to Chinese business-owners who then hire day labourers to grow poppy on the fields.
Aid organisations working in Kachin State said the ownership of the poppy fields that Pat Ja San aimed to destroy was mixed. In some places, Chinese businesses hired local workers, and in other areas local farmers grow opium and then sell it, mostly to Chinese buyers.
Most opium fields in Myanmar’s Kachin and Shan states are located in areas where government-allied militias operate. The government turns a blind eye to their involvement in the narcotics trade in return for their help to fight against the country’s plethora of ethnic armed groups.
While the farmers struggle under harsh eradication campaigns, leaders or people connected to several government-sponsored militias in Shan and Kachin states were elected to parliament in the November 8 polls, including some heavily implicated in the drugs trade.
“Militia leaders walk around freely and sit in parliament, while opium farmers face eradication and extortion,” said Tom Kramer, a researcher with the Transnational Institute.
U Zahkung Ting Ying, a representative of the NDA-K, which was allegedly involved in the attack on Pat Ja San, is an elected Amyotha Hluttaw representative.
With previous eradication campaigns seemingly futile and targeting mainly impoverished farmers, the exposure of the trade’s bigger players has made Pat Ja San’s anti-drug campaign a success, said a Kachin community leader. “They have achieved their purpose,” he said. “They have shown the world who owns the fields and who is protecting them.”
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/in-depth/19566-pat-ja-san-a-controversial-mission.html
