The Mon State Hluttaw Deputy Speaker Dr. Aung Naing Oo said the drug issue is getting worse in the Mon State instead of declining.
“No matter how the authorities carry out drug eradication schemes, we see that the drug issue…these issues and challenges are rising among the public in the Mon State. They have admitted this. What I want to say is that the government has been carrying out various kinds of projects but [the drugs] haven’t been eradicated and they haven’t declined. They are unable to create a secure situation,” Dr. Aung Naing Oo said his speech at the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking ceremony, which fell on June 26.
Six Mon youth groups, namely the Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO), the Mon Youth Education Organization (MYEO), the Mawlamyine University Mon Youth Group, the Mawlamyine University of Institute Mon Youth Group, Mudon Township Mon Youth Group, Kyaikmaraw Township Mon Youth Group, and Paung Township Mon Youth Group, cooperated in hosting a ceremony on drug abuse and illegal trafficking at the Ramanya Hotel in Mawlamyine.
“Drug has been slowly flowing into the Mon State. Some parents start to think it’s normal to use drugs due to the high number of drug users,” Mi Ma Rot Swan, vice-chair of the MYPO, told the ceremony.
Based on a report written by the MYPO, she stated that people of all ages are using drugs in the Mon State and even women and monks are using them.
“An adequate number of government staff needs to be assigned in making drug arrests,” said an administrator of Hnee Pa Daw Village from Mudon Township, who attended the ceremony.
The ceremony attracted around 250 people including youths and offered discussions, a play, and drug awareness-raising song performances by Mon singers.
The Mon State government and the Mon State Anti-Narcotic Task Force also cooperated in holding a ceremony and a drug education exhibition at the State Hall in Mawlamyine to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking ceremony on the same morning.
During a parliamentary session held at the Mon State Hluttaw, the Mon State Chief Minister said 65 percent of the prisoners in the Mon State have been incarcerated on drug charges.
