New Delhi (Mizzima) - An ethnic armed militia group operating in Southern and Eastern Shan State has alleged that poppy-opium cultivation in the area has increased off late as the Burmese Army is compelling local villagers to cultivate it in order to garner tax from them.

Ailong Khammwe, chairman of the Lahu Democratic Front (LDF), an ethnic militia group operating in the region said, while the Burmese Army is directly involved in growing poppy-opium they are also forcing local people to cultivate it.

Khammwe, who is in Thailand told Mizzima in an interview that poppy cultivation, has been on the rise in Mongsart and Mongtong in eastern Shan State as a result of the Burmese Army's involvement and encouragement of local villagers to grow poppy-opium.

"Burmese soldiers are forcing the local people to cultivate poppy and actively helping in producing drugs," Khammwe alleged.

The Burmese Army is profiting by collecting taxes from the local people for their poppy-opium cultivation, he said.

While Khammwe's accusation of the Burmese Army's involvement and forcing of local villagers to cultivate poppy-opium could not be independently verified, a Thailand based Editor of Shan Herald Agency for News, Khuensai Jaiyen, said 2008 saw the highest poppy cultivation in Eastern and Southern Shan state, which has been steadily registering a rise since 2005.

Jaiyen, who extensively covered drug production in Shan State, said following the decline in cultivation of poppy-opium in Northern Shan state, mainly in Wa and Kokang special regions, the cultivation trend has shifted to southern areas of the state.

Following the ethnic armed group United Wa State Army (UWSA)'s decision to stop cultivating poppy-opium in 2005, poppy cultivation in Northern Shan state had gone down relatively, Jaiyen said, but only to shift to the South of the state.  

"Local people said, the poor economic situation and difficulties in ekeing out a living were forcing them to cultivate opium," said Jaiyen, adding that forcible collection of taxes by local authorities, including the army has also worsened the situation for the people.

But contrary to LDF's claim, a local villager in Mongsert Township told Mizzima that he is unaware of the Burmese Army forcing villagers to cultivate opium though admitting that poppy opium cultivation has drastically increased in recent years.

"I do not know about any forced cultivation at the behest of authorities but I am also not aware of any kind of restriction or prohibition on not to do it. So it means that the authorities are allowing people to cultivate," said the villager, who wished not to be named.

He said he has witnessed the drastic rise in the cultivation of poppy-opium in the past 10 years but denied knowledge of the Burmese Army forcing the local people to cultivate.

The authorities have been into drug trade and they do not need to force the people to cultivate as it provides mutual benefits, the villager said.

However, Khammwe said, he is willing to prove his argument by taking anyone interested to areas in Mongsert and Mongtong to witness local villagers, particularly ethnic Lahu, who are being forced to cultivate poppy-opium.

"If the international community wants to go there and see for itself, we the LDF are ready to take them to the SPDC's opium fields in Mongsert and Mongtong area now," said Khammwe, referring the Burmese junta by its official name – the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

Reporting by Solomon, writing by Mungpi