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NEWS - Drug Producers Point Finger
NOTE: If the U.S. refuese to supply money to countries that fail drug
enforcement certification, then why did the funel $3.8 million and Japan
another (approx) $600,000 throught the U.N. drug program for
Burma/Myanmar ???
Also, are they aware, when they sprayed the poppy fields and others
before, the local (un-informed) inhabitants suffered very ill effects
from chemical pesticide exposure?
The U.S. DEA and drug Czar Barry McCaffrey must be informed.
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Drug Producers Point Finger at U.S. and Its Drug Users
AP
09-JUN-98
UNITED NATIONS (AP) Leaders
from two of the world's major sources
of narcotics told the U.N. drug
conference Tuesday that programs to
wipe out illicit crops will fail without
money to help farmers grow
alternative crops.
The United States has been
noncommittal to a U.N. proposal
under discussion at the three-day
General Assembly special session
on drugs to provide financial
incentives to Third World farmers to
stop growing cannabis, opium
poppies and coca, the raw ingredient
of cocaine.
President Ernesto Samper of
Colombia told reporters that his
country's experience showed that
"forced eradication" will fail in the
long term "if not accompanied by
crop substitution programs."
"Once the field has been fumigated, if
there is no program to offer the
peasant crop substitution, he has no
other choice but to resow coca,"
Samper added. He said Colombian
farmers can earn 10 times more
growing coca instead of corn.
In a speech to the second day
session, the interior minister of
Myanmar, Col. Tin Hlaing, said lack
of funds could be the "Achilles' heel
for the plan" to eliminate" illicit
narcotic crops during the coming 10
years.
He said Myanmar, formerly known as
Burma, "attaches great importance"
to eradicating opium poppies but
needs "sufficient funds on a
sustained and predictable basis" for
"alternative development projects."
Colombia is the world's leading
producer of cocaine, and its
traffickers bring home an estimated
$5 billion a year from selling the drug
in the United States. Myanmar is the
world's largest source of illicit opium
and heroin.
U.S. officials have shown little
enthusiasm for the U.N. crop
substitution program, apparently
because funds could go to countries
such as Afghanistan and Myanmar
which have not been formally
certified as a U.S. drug-fighting ally.
Afghanistan and Myanmar have been
decertified. Countries that fail
certification are denied aid, unless
the president waives penalties in the
national interest.
The United States waived the
sanctions against Colombia last
February, citing improved
counternarcotics performance and
Samper's departure from office in
August.
Samper was viewed as an ally of
drug lords based on a $6 million
contribution he received during his
1994 presidential campaign.
During his speech to the opening
session Monday, President Clinton
announced a $2 billion, five-year
media campaign against drugs.
Afterward, U.S. drug czar Barry
McCaffrey criticized crop substitution
programs for certain countries.
McCaffrey would not say whether the
United States would support a global
crop substitution program. "It's a
problem for regional community
solutions, not just funding for
alternative economic development,"
he said.
The United Nations conference ends
Wednesday.