UN drug control officials call for more funds to Burma

The international policy of isolating Burma should be reversed to allow more humanitarian funds to areas undergoing opium crop reduction programs, UN officials say. European states, as well as human rights groups, have led the call for severe limits on aid to the military government in Rangoon until improvements are made in its human rights record. But UN officials are arguing against the isolationist policy, saying funds are needed to assist ongoing efforts to reduce the output of opium from Burma’s northern regions.

Reuters, 29 Jan 2002