Pubdate: Thu, 06 Sep 2001
Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH)
Copyright: 2001 The Columbus Dispatch
Contact:  http://www.dispatch.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93
Author: Andrew Selsky, Associated Press Writer

COLOMBIA CALLS FOR DRUG WAR STUDY

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - President Andres Pastrana called Thursday for a 
review of the global war against drugs, saying it should extend beyond the 
U.S.-backed spraying of drug crops.

Pastrana - who is to meet here with Secretary of State Colin Powell next 
week - also said Washington's suspension of joint interdiction of drug 
flights with Colombia and Peru "has allowed a lot of drugs to pass over our 
territory because there is no control of our air space."

The program was suspended following the accidental shootdown of a U.S. 
missionary plane over the Peruvian amazon in April. Pastrana urged the 
United States and its allies to establish a policy on interdiction.

"I think we can truly hit the heart of the (drug) business, through 
interdiction and not simply through fumigation," Pastrana told a small 
group of foreign reporters.

The fumigation of drug crops - mainly coca from which cocaine is made - by 
U.S. State Department crop-dusters is the linchpin of Washington's $1.3 
billion counternarcotics policy in Colombia, which makes most of the 
world's cocaine. But it has come under increasing fire recently amid 
allegations it is harmful to humans and the environment.

Pastrana gave no indication that he would backtrack on the spraying, but 
said he wanted to focus on coca plantations that are protected and taxed by 
leftist rebels and right wing paramilitaries in Colombia.

Speaking with the reporters in the presidential palace, Pastrana said 
President Bush should organize an international conference to re-evaluate 
anti-drug strategies.

Wiping out drug crops has had some success, Pastrana noted. But he said 
high drug demand in the United States and Europe makes the global narcotics 
business one of the largest in the world, worth some $500 billion annually.

Pastrana said the conference should look at past successes and "errors" of 
the global anti-drug strategy and should also focus on money laundering and 
nations that supply chemicals used to process cocaine.
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