Gandar Mount P.S.O

It is small city on the hill-top in east Mong Su township but a lot of various nationals and tribes are living and striving to get money not only in a short time but also making a massive profit, by hardiness, although it is hazardous to them.

To the mountain city, where the natural ruby stones are dug and sold them as being good business, the merchants or visitors must depend on 4 wheel truck driving about 2 hours along mountainous route from botom of the mountain.

The ruby stones each weight from 2 to 20 carats could be found after diging out for 7 meters or more deeper and about 4 square-meters wide.

Many hard-laborers who risk to do across the country settle down here and try their luck.

The capitalists inclding Chineses, Indians, Burmese, Shans, Wa Army and Thais are waiting to buy alot of ruby stones.

The quality of the ruby is similar to ruby from Pai Lin of Cambodia.

The best ruby in the world is in Moe Goke mine in Burma and it is strictly controlled by the Burmese Junta.

The Junta allows only the Opium King Pins such as Lo Shin Han, Khun Sa and Way Zu Gong who pay revenue to run gem mines.

The alleged Mong Su city has since 1990 been popular with it’s beautiful red-ruby as the ruby-stones were firstly found by the Palawng tribe, who regularly living around the mountain area, during in rainy season.

But later after 1999 the situation in the city had apparently changed into turbulence because of inflowing original Chinese from mother land as in one hand, increasing drugs and weapons trafficking business in the area is on the other hand.

Merchants and capitalists are using the currency of US Dollar, Chinese Yuan and Thai baht only.

No electricity in the mountain-city but some,who are able to bring in a small petrol-engine for electricity from China, have own private electricity.

About 20,000 residents in the city strive to be rich only and also not to live in poverty while the country is being poverty-stricken situation.

Among the smugglers,hundreds of Thai involved in the arms, drugs and gems trafficking are also found in the City.

Thai traffickers, speak Shan and English for business talks (as Thais and Laos can talk to each other by using own language), run between the mountain city and Mae Sai border where their bosses or regular customers or investors are on alert in Takilek because of having better security than in Mae Sai.

For an example, short guns Pistols and Revolvers are being popular in the Ruby-land every body who have a lot of money ordered the guns from the Thai smugglers to use it for self- protection or resold them to others.

The Thai traffickers venture to do both illegal methamphetamine and guns business while they have friendships with the Red Wa Army and Shan Army forces, which had agreed cease-fire with the Burmese Government since 1998, being active around the mountain.

About 4,000 of Shans and Wa soldiers from the both armed groups are depending on these illegal business for their survival as long as they are alloted to base here by their high ranking leaders from Headquarters.

Only the majors and captains from each group command their soldiers and control their high income.

About 1,000 Burmese soldiers whose commanders must be friends with the cease-fire groups depend on the tax-payment from the Wa and Shan as well as from the wealthy Chinese-groups who run gambling dens business and brewery.

Two drug courier are able to carry 10,000 drug-pill, driving motorcycle from the mountain to the Thai border by gungle route.

The drug courier however have to hire the Shan motorcyclist who is familiar with the jungle route to avoid the Burmese security gates setting up for checking passengers who travel by cars and trucks loading with goods.

One amphetamine pill produced and sold by Wa army cost only 30 baht when sold it in border it would cost 100 baht.,the border price. A new revolver cost 40,000
baht and a new pistol coast 50,000 baht.

Both must be USA and Italy made as they preferred to use it than China made.

The used shot guns in good condition are also bought but cheap.

New or used short guns are collected in Mae Sai.

Bush signs law to ban gems trade

WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush on 29 July 2008 renewed a ban on imports from military-ruled Burma and also signed a new law that aims to keep Burma’s Gems from entering US markets via third-party countries.

In parallel the US treasury slapped financial sanctions on 10 companies owned or controlled by the Burmese Government or Government officials, including companies involved in the gem trade.

“On the Burmese regime,our message is: the United States believes in democracy and freedom,” Mr. Bush said during a White House ceremony in which he signed the two laws.

The Burmese freedom and Democracy Act renews a sanctions regime imposed since 2003 over the suppression of opposition leader Aung Sun Sukyi’s democracy movement.

Mr Bush also signed a new sanctions regime aimed at stopping gems including jade and rubies from entering the United State via third nations such as Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

The so-called Tom Lantos Block Burmese jade Act will deprive its ruling junta of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

The gems trade is one of the most lucrative sources of profit for the Junta, accused of blatant human rights abuses and stifling democratic opposition.

The bill also makes the generals and their families ineligible for visas to the United States and enhances existing financial sanctions against the regime.

It includes new reporting requirements that will provide greater transparency about the Junta in terms of financial holdings,information about countries that provide military aid to the regime,and background on Burma’s timber trade.

The US sanctions targeted two state-controlled conglomerates, the Union of Burma Economic Holdings Limited and the Burma Economic Corporation, which are both involved in the gem trade, banking and construction directly and through subsidiaries. AFP

In the early 1800s the British East India Company’s imports of Chinese tea, rare silk and Eastern spices were of far greater value than England’s coarse exports to China.

To balance this trade deficit and open up more ports to British merchants, England smuggled Turkish
and Indian opium into China, ignoring a Chinese ban on the drug.

As tea imports into England rose, so did opium imports into China.

Eventually the Americans involved in this lucrative trade,and in the 1950s the lead of one of the largest smuggling companies was Franklin D.Roosevelt’s grandfather Warren Delano II.

Near the end of the 19th century ethnic Chinese Triads,which started in the 17th century as an underground network of patriotic citizens who opposed the conquering Manchus from Mongolia, derived their name from a Chinese concept that identifies the the three sides of an equilateral triangle with man, heaven and earth.

Their members were involved in various failed revolutions over the centuries,and most triads slowly evolved into convenient vehicles for thinly veiled thuggery.

The Triads attracted adventurers who found the upward path blocked in normal society.

By the 20th century their main resources and activity were the heroin trade, extortion, gambling and prostitution.

Members held meetings, not to resolve political problems but to assign assassination jobs to Red Poles, as their hit men were called.

From the very beginning China’s most powerful triad members, the Chiu Chao, helped facilitate the opium trade.

The Chiu Chao were a seagoing people from southern China who migrated to many Southeast Asian countries.

In time, the Chiu Chao dominated smuggling and opium traffic along the China coast.

When Westerners imagined wicked Chinese pirates smuggling gold bars, drugs and frightened maidens,and lurking in the dark recesses of the Spice Islands, they were picturing the Chiu Chao Kingpins heading major banks in the region control the international narcotics trade from the Golden
Triangle of Indochina through Bangkok.

Lo Shin Han had been under house-arrested in Rangoon and released after 2 years.

He endorsed not to be involved with politics, arms smuggled business and no connections with any rebellion force as well.

He must be in northern Shan State (included Go Gang State).

He was agreed to carry on his initial business such as ruby, Jade, liquor and imported goods from China.

Tonns of teak-logs are exported to China via Mu Se.

All his soldiers were regrouped and set up as the Go Gang Reginal Defence group, which has been a group of extraodinary strength in running business, as year and year extended its large profitable business.

More and more Chinese capitalists were called to be shareholders.

Lo Shin Han business group developed Mu Se small town, which is undeveloped although closed to China, to be modern city.

The group bougth large plots of land in downtown and on the main road to build commercial buildings, luxurious hotels,modern houses, golf-course, clubs, entertainments centers etc. For good transportation, the main road between Mu Se and Mandalay via La Sho, Hsipaw,
Kyauk Me Nong Cho and Pyin U Lwin.

The construction costed 300 US million dollar.

They also set gates in each town to collect wheel tax.

Besides, the old iron-bridges across river were rebuilt.

Tens of thousands tourist from Europe, America, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand visited Mu Se through China land almost whole-season.

The small City opposite Mu Se is called Jaecao where it ’s likely can get every thing.

– Part 3 be continued –