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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Laos
Index
United States landing craft on land along the Mekong River in
Vientiane, now used as storage containers
Courtesy Gina Merris
Laos is the world's third largest producer of
opium--primarily
in the northern provinces. Narcotics trafficking in Laos
is
difficult to control because of the remoteness of many
border
areas, their attendant lack of communications, and the
scarcity of
resources, all of which which make stationing officials at
many of
the border crossings difficult. However, several
counternarcotics
policy initiatives have been undertaken. During the late
1980s,
narcotics control became an important United States
concern,
because Laos is a major producer of opium and marijuana.
In 1987
Laos began to cooperate with the United States in drug
control
efforts when it requested assistance in providing a viable
crop
alternative to opium farmers. Increased efforts on
counternarcotics
cooperation have been evident since January 1990 when a
memorandum
of understanding on the Bilateral Cooperation of Narcotics
Issues
was signed. This agreement focused on ways for the United
States to
provide antinarcotics programs. The United States provided
narcotics-related training to a number of Laotian
officials in June
1990 and again in August 1991. And, in 1992, United States
Customs
Service officials held a training session in Vientiane for
Laotian
customs officers and other officials. Since then, Laotian
officials
have also traveled to Australia, Japan, and Europe for
counternarcotics cooperation training.
In late 1992, as part of the continuing
counternarcotics
effort, the LPDR Customs Department set up an
antismuggling unit in
Vientiane. The Council of Ministers approved the formation
of this
counternarcotics police unit operationally under the
Ministry of
Interior but with policy controlled by the Lao National
Committee
on Drug Control and Supervision. Progress in the
configuration of
the unit was negligible. As of mid-1993, however, the
United States
was working with the LPDR to provide support and training
for the
unit, and the site for the unit was being renovated.
Estimated opium production has declined annually since
1989,
largely through successful crop reduction and replacement
programs
that target specific areas and are funded and initiated by
the
United States and the UN Drug Control Program. Laos has
facilitated
these crop substitution programs--aimed at developing
alternative
crops and occupations--in Houaphan, Vientiane, and
Xiangkhoang
provinces. In 1989 there were an estimated 42,130 hectares
of land
deemed "potentially harvestable" for cultivating opium. By
1993
there were approximately 26,040 hectares. The potential
opium yield
declined from 380 tons in 1989 to 230 tons in 1992 and to
180 tons
in 1993. The United States government estimated that opium
production in Laos had declined some 27 percent in 1990
over the
previous year, approximately 13 percent from 1991 to 1992,
and
about 22 percent from 1992 to 1993, the latter mainly as a
result
of adverse weather because the estimated hectarage under
cultivation did not decrease.
Decreased opium cultivation and production are also the
result
of increased law enforcement efforts, narcotics-related
arrests and
crop seizures, and a greater effort to disseminate
information on
the disadvantages of drug trafficking. Although the
government
tends to deny that it has a domestic drug problem, a
public
awareness program stressing the dangers of drug use and
trafficking
has been established, and, as part of the information and
education
campaign, there has been increased publicity on penalties
for
offenses.
In April 1993, Laos was certified ("with explanation")
for
narcotics cooperation in 1992 by the United States
Department of
State. (Certification is granted for performance in
narcotics
cooperation in the previous calendar year and is
categorized by
cooperation or certification, noncooperation or
decertification,
and national interest waiver.) Certification guarantees
Laos
increased United States cooperation and funding of
counternarcotics
programs. Certification (with explanation), however,
stipulates
that in order to receive full United States support, Laos
has to
take visible, significant, and continuing action to
improve the
enforcement of antinarcotics laws, which were first
enacted in
November 1989. Other reasons for the designation
certification with
explanation include the slow pace of cooperation with
officials
from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and
allegations of involvement in drug trafficking by
high-level
members of the government.
In April 1994, the United States granted Laos a
national
interest waiver for certification of narcotics cooperation
in 1993.
It was determined that the waiver was preferable to
decertification
or certification and was in the United States national
interest in
order to exact continued cooperation on the POW/MIA issue.
Previous efforts--although modest--to curb the drug
trade
continue. At the same time, however, corruption among
civilian and
military personnel and their collusion in narcotics
activities
reportedly continue as well. In 1993 the prime minister
ordered the
provinces to organize antidrug committees and cooperate
with the
Lao National Committee on Drug Control and Supervision.
Cooperation
is to take the form of publicizing existing laws and
regulations
and educating the public on the dangers of drugs.
For the foreseeable future, drug production and
trafficking
will likely remain serious problems. Still, the 27 percent
drop in
opium cultivation, coupled with the arrests of drug
traffickers and
the government's stated commitment to take further action
on
enforcement, are encouraging. Laos has also signed a
memorandum of
understanding with China and Thailand on strengthening
regional
cooperation in controlling illicit drugs. In the near
term, the
United States will probably continue to assist Laos in
efforts to
decrease opium cultivation and production through crop
substitution
programs.
This improvement in the narcotics arena is indicative
of the
overall improvement in the country's national security
situation.
Since 1988 Laos has experienced a period of relative calm
in its
turbulent history. It has been at peace with its
neighbors, and its
internal armed resistance movement has been reduced to a
mere
annoyance. One of the last holdouts of communist ideology
in the
world, Laos has slowly opened its doors to the West in
order to
improve its economic situation. In mid-1994, however, Laos
was
still a long way from providing its citizens with the
basic civil
rights fundamental to Western societies. There are few
personal
freedoms, no freedom of the press or assembly, and harsh
prison
conditions for citizens who deviate from the party line.
It is
doubtful that the armed forces will modernize much in the
1990s,
unless the country's overall economic situation improves
or a new
political patron emerges. It is more likely that the
military will
lag farther and farther behind its stronger neighbors.
* * *
Detailed and current reference material on the military
forces
and judicial and penal systems is difficult to obtain.
Several
books written in the mid- to late 1980s are recommended
for a good
overview of the security situation. These include Martin
StuartFox 's Contemporary Laos: Studies in the Politics and
Society of
the Lao People's Democratic Republic and MacAlister
Brown and
Joseph Zasloff's Apprentice Revolutionaries: The
Communist
Movement in Laos, 1930-85. Written information on
military
training and equipment is sparse. The Institute for
Strategic
Studies' annual Military Balance is the best source
of
information on the status of military equipment. The
Asia
Yearbook also yields some information on national
security
issues. The United States Department of State's annual
publications, International Narcotics Control Strategy
Report and Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices,
provide yearly updates on narcotics production,
counternarcotics
operations, and human rights. (For further information and
complete
citations,
see
Bibliography.)
Data as of July 1994
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