Jade, gem sales rake in moolah for Burma junta

IN AN auction this week, Myanmar will sell over 1,029 lots of jade and 312 lots of gems. The stones are a vital source of revenue for the junta, official media said recently. The auctions usually held yearly or twice a year, are being held more often, in order to help the cash-strapped junta earn more foreign income. Of the 890 buyers, 335 are foreigners, and they have been viewing the lots since Monday. The sales will start tomorrow, the newspaper
said. The next auction is slated for October.

Mining companies are threatened with punishment if they limit their exploration work and fail to produce enough gems for the sale. Although the junta does not divulge how much it earns from these auctions, estimates are that the amount could be as high as tens of millions of dollars.

Myanmar is one of the world�s poorest nations and is subject to the US and European economic sanctions because of human rights abuses and the house arrest of leader Aung San Suu Kyi.