Myanmar activists say destruction of opium fields blocked

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Anti-drug activists said Friday the military and local police are preventing them from destroying fields of opium poppies in northern Myanmar, a major cultivation area for the drug that can be made into heroin.

The Myanmar government and local authorities in 1999 launched a 15-year plan to eliminate opium poppy cultivation, but last year the deadline was extended to 2019.

In some cases, ethnic minority groups fighting the government have helped finance their struggles through the drug trade, but in others the government has ignored the trade in exchange for ethnic militias' loyalty.

Pat Jasan was formed two years ago when community anti-drug activists joined hands with the Kachin Baptist Convention, the state's most influential civil institution.