TNI Debate Paper Number 9 - Drugs and Conflict in Burma (Myanmar) - Dilemmas for Policy Responses
1 January 2003
TNI Drugs & Conflict Debate Paper 9, December 2003 - Burma is on the brink of yet another humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people who depend on the opium economy risk being sacrificed in an effort to comply with international pressures about drug-free deadlines. Community livelihoods face being crushed between the pincers of the opium ban and tightened sanctions. The unfolding drama caused by the opium bans is forcing the international community to rethink its strategies. Enforcement of tight deadlines will result in major food shortages and may jeopardise the fragile social stability in the areas.